Conversation recorded December 2023
Most wellbeing strategies assume the problem is the people. Give them an app, a webinar, a resilience course, and they'll cope better. But what if the workplace is what's making them unwell?
In conversation with Emily Warren. At the time of recording, Emily was Global Wellbeing Director at Avanade, looking after around 18,000 people worldwide, after years as a consultant in the business. She also holds a degree in physics and astrophysics.
A flood, two years of masking, and one person who noticed
In 2012, a house move went badly wrong. The new house flooded, nobody was liable, and Emily and her partner were effectively homeless for months. She went straight back to long days on client projects because she felt she had to. Two years later, while planning a wedding and renovating, a news report about a flood made her cry and she couldn't stop. She was still running workshops for 25 people, and nobody noticed a thing.
What changed it was small. Her coach pushed her to ask HR about a sabbatical, and the HR colleague who read that email thought it didn't sound like her. One phone call asking "are you okay?" was all it took.
"At the end of every single story there's a real person." Emily Warren
Masking costs more than people realise
Emily kept her performance up, but every ounce of energy went into keeping the mask on. It's also lonely. Once she started sharing her story, colleagues came out of the woodwork to say it had happened to them too. That's why she now builds story sharing into how Avanade does wellbeing.
Three things a wellbeing strategy needs
Sponsorship at the top, so wellbeing is treated as a performance driver, not a perk. Leaders who know how to lead for wellbeing, because organisations have spent 20 years selecting leaders for strategy and negotiation, not empathy, and empathy can be taught. And a hard look at structure: how work is actually done, and whether it's damaging people in the first place.
"We've not been selecting for empathy or authenticity." Emily Warren
Do less, but make it matter
Emily has merged wellbeing with inclusion and diversity, with shared plans, shared events and joined-up communications, so employees aren't hit with ten different initiatives a week. Her aim is fewer things with higher engagement. And she's done with the idea that another app will fix it.
"If nobody ever presented a wellbeing app to me again, I don't think I'd lose any sleep." Emily Warren
Petra's take
Emily's story shows exactly why I believe in culture champions. It wasn't a policy that caught her. It was people who noticed something out of character and had the confidence to ask. That's a skill you can build across a whole organisation. And she's right about the silos. When wellbeing, inclusion and engagement all compete for attention, the people they're meant to help switch off. Fix the system, connect the work, and train people to notice. That's the fence at the top of the cliff.
Three things to try this week
Notice the out of character. If a usually upbeat colleague goes quiet or asks an unusual question, ask "are you okay?" and mean it.
Map your initiatives. How many wellbeing, inclusion and engagement messages land on one employee in a month? Cut and combine.
Ask one structural question at your next leadership meeting: what about how we work is creating the stress we're trying to treat?
Bring this to your team: explore our Champions training
Watch the full conversation on YouTube
Related insights: Inclusion Is Business · Burnout Isn't Being Run Down
About the author. Petra Velzeboer is a psychotherapist, keynote speaker and author of Begin With You and Digital Wellbeing. She works with leaders and People teams to build healthy cultures where people perform at their best.