Well-being impacts morale, productivity, and retention, yet just 17% of workers say it’s embedded in their organization’s culture—here’s how HR can fix that.
By Maggie Mancini
In an economic environment defined by uncertainty, maintaining wellness at work—and at home—is critical. Wellhub’s latest Worklife Wellness report finds that 86% of employees consider their wellness at work as important as their salary. At the same time, 89% of workers say they perform better when they prioritize their well-being. If someone feels burnt out, stressed, or unsupported, no paycheck is enough to make that sustainable, says Livia Martini, chief people officer at Wellhub.
“We’re living in a moment where people have realized that their health and their work are inseparable,” Martini says. She explains that this marks a shift in how employees evaluate companies. Rather than just asking about the salary and benefits provided, they want to know how the workplace environment will impact their health and happiness.
HR, in turn, can meet that expectation by:
- making wellness visible in leadership behaviors;
- designing benefits that people can actually use; and
- treating wellness as a foundational part of performance, not a side perk.
The report also finds that just 14% of companies offer structured wellness programs, even as 95% of employees say physical, mental, emotional, and social health are interconnected. Employees with structured wellness programs not only report better overall well-being and physical health, but they’re also twice as likely to believe their HR team genuinely cares about them compared to those without access, Martini adds.
“A structured program is powerful because it makes wellness intentional rather than left up to chance,” she says. “That kind of trust is what creates loyalty and lowers turnover. These programs don’t just meet physical needs, they address emotional and societal ones too, which we know are deeply connected.”
As 77% of employees with wellness programs say they feel supported—compared to just 38% without one offered by their employer—it’s clear that this isn’t just a nice-to-have, Martini says. Wellness is a business driver that impacts morale, productivity, and retention. Yet, just 17% of employees say that wellness is ingrained in their company’s culture, according to the report.
“Culture is what people experience day-to-day, not just what’s written in a handbook,” Martini says. “Wellness spaces like gyms, yoga studios, and wellness hubs are increasingly becoming the new ‘third place’ where people build community and even connect with coworkers. That tells us employees don’t just want permission to care for themselves, but they want it woven into how they socialize and belong at work.”
HR leaders can embed wellness into culture by creating opportunities for connection, encouraging leaders to model self-care, and celebrating well-being milestones the same way they celebrate business ones, Martini adds.
“When employees see that wellness is a part of the rhythm of company life, they stop viewing it as optional and start seeing it as a shared value,” she says.
During periods of economic uncertainty and instability, business pressures often make wellness benefits the first thing to cut. But that’s exactly the wrong time to pull back, Martini says. With 90% of employees reporting burnout systems in the past year, stability and support are what employees are craving most.
“The companies that will come out stronger are the ones who double down on flexibility, access to mental health resources, and lower barriers like cost or time,” she says. “Even small moves, like offering direct pay for wellness services instead of reimbursement or encouraging leaders to take their own time off signal that employees aren’t expected to just push through. Those choices create resilience, build trust, and show employees that the company values them as people.”
Today’s HR and business leaders are witnessing a redefinition of what workplace success looks like, Martini says. While the old model focused narrowly on compensation—with an expectation that people would figure out the rest on their own—Wellhub’s data shows that healthier employees are more productive, engaged, and likely to stay.
“That’s why we describe wellness as the new performance metric,” she says. “It’s no longer about whether you can afford to invest in wellness. It’s about whether you can afford not to, because the companies that embed wellness into their DNA will be the ones attracting and keeping the best talent.”
