Straits Times Opinion – Workplace Wellbeing

Workplace wellbeing takes more than apps and stress management

Organisations need to look at leadership and systemic issues such as heavy workloads

Imagine a workplace that has various mental wellbeing programmes. Now imagine being an employee, giving those programmes a try – and realising that your wellbeing has hardly changed. 

That’s apparently the reality for many in the UK, according to a study published by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in 2024. It is believed to be the largest of its kind, involving more than 46,000 workers from over 200 organisations there. 

The study found no evidence of improved workplace wellbeing, despite organisations using 11 popular individual-level mental health interventions. These included wellbeing and sleep apps, mindfulness classes, resilience, energy or stress management programmes, workload or time management training and well-being coaching.

Study author Dr William Fleming said: “There’s growing consensus that organisations have to change the workplace and not just the worker.”

The UK situation holds lessons for Singapore. 

Going to the root cause

Nearly half – 47 per cent – of workers in Singapore feel mentally or physically exhausted by their work, according to a recent survey by health technology provider Telus Health. Exhaustion is one sign of burnout. In the poll of 1,000 workers across a range of industries, having too much work was cited as the top reason for burnout.

In such a situation, it is not just about helping individuals cope better. There is a need to review the employee’s workload, timelines, outside-work communications and other systemic stressors. The Mindful Business Charter, a framework to promote better mental health and well-being at the workplace, has practical guidelines to reduce unnecessary workplace stress.

Individual-level interventions can indeed show results. For example, when people practise mindfulness consistently and over a long term, this can lead to sustainable well-being. However, employees need to be supported to reduce factors in working conditions that prevent them practising such interventions regularlyas noted in the Work Wellbeing Playbook by the World Wellbeing Movement. 

Individual effort, however, is not a replacement for addressing systemic problems. It is useful to blend interventions at the individual, group and organisational levels for optimal impact. 

This means the problem of better addressing workplace mental well-being requires senior leadership transformation and commitment. And to achieve this requires examining  the values held by an organisation and society. 

Wealth also means well-being

If good leadership means getting results at all costs, and wealth is seen mainly in monetary terms and success is measured by how much money, status and power one has, then it is easy for collective wellbeing to be compromised.

The old English word for wealth is “weal”, which means well-being. Letting money drive decision-making hasn’t brought us true well-being. This involves the idea of inner wealth which includes dimensions such as care, compassion, service and growing in wisdom.

If we prioritise such values, it means well-being is not approached in a piecemeal manner but rather, integrated into an organisation’s core.

Well-being needs to be part of the organisational DNA. By this, I mean it is a strong thread that is pulled through all aspects – leadership selection and development, goals, policies, metrics, financials, accountability, job design, decision-making, communications –  impacting all.

For example, what are expectations on workplace communications outside working hours? When something is urgent, employee flexibility is needed. But if almost everything is perceived as urgent and workplace communication is often expected during employees’ rest time, then the leaders may need to review the organisation’s policies and their own example, expectations and communications to managers. 

How are employee voices heard? How is employee wellbeing measured? It is important to communicate how employees’ ideas, concerns and needs feed into change and decisions. 

Employers also need to factor in or even prioritise pro-social behaviours – which show concern for the welfare of others – and emotional intelligence when it comes to hiring, promotion and human development.  Then employees can co-create collective wellbeing through how they care for, appreciate, support and positively connect with colleagues. And they learn that those who live out such qualities are recognised as leaders.

Leaders being the change

It is vital for senior leaders to be the change to lead such transformation. 

This means they embody well-being. And it can be seen by how fully present and kind they are with people, for instance. 

Being the change also means senior leaders lead with care, compassion and wisdom. Managers will learn, by having a felt experience, what it means to be led this way. They can then do the same, and well-being will cascade out more naturally to employees, customers, families of all and others. 

Leaders teach leadership through their example. My conversation with a restaurant chain CEO on this subject was enlightening.

Mr Fu Yong Hong from Green Dot said he used to work every day and rarely took a break. Despite business success, he was unhappy. It took time to feel he did not have to prove his worth. He now makes time for his loved ones, and himself through exercise, yoga and meditation.  

When giving a work deadline, he asks staff if it is unrealistic. He believes his empathy and vulnerability make it safer for them to respond honestly. His office staff usually keep office hours and he is open to requests for flexible work arrangements.

“The biggest change comes when you learn what is toxic about yourself and remove thatThe best way to champion mental health is to lead by example,” he said.

Go beyond the business case

Some may think alot of this seems impractical in the competitive world we live in, where companies must make a profit to survive. 

But anxiety and depression could be costing Singapore 2.9 per cent of its gross domestic product each year, according to a study by Duke-NUS Medical School and the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). This is due to  absenteeism, less productivity and healthcare utilisation. 


And how about the immeasurable cost and painful impact on one’s health and family relationships?

The iOpener Institute for People and Performance has the longest-running, largest database of happiness at work-related global data. It has found that the happiest employees, compared with their least happy colleagues, are twice as productive, intend to stay in their job twice as long and take one-tenth the amount of sick leave. 

We need more leaders who emphasise the triple bottom-line – people, planet and profit/performance.  I say planet, as climate change has shown us how a narrow focus on profits has threatened all life. It is all connected. 

Let’s go beyond the business case and remember the deeper meaning of being human. That is, we are here to widen our circle of care, contribute to collective wellbeing, and grow in wisdom.

Vadivu Govind is the founding director of Inner Wealth, a consultancy that supports organisations in nurturing wellbeing.

This commentary was first published in The Straits Times on 11 September 2024.

Feel free to save the following pdf and share. There is no direct link to the online version which is for paid subscribers of the newspaper.