If the past decade was about proving that wellbeing matters, 2025 was the year the conversation grew up. The language of “wellbeing” began to give way to a broader, more strategic idea: human sustainability, the capacity of people and organisations to thrive together over time. The Great Maturity Shift For years, workplaces have focused on programmes: gym memberships, mindfulness apps, webinars, and wellness weeks. They helped raise awareness but rarely changed the conditions that made work...
3 days ago • 3 min read
This week’s article was written by a great peer of mine Helen Hayes. Helen works in Human and Organisational Performance (HOP), helping organisations redesign systems to put people at the centre of culture and performance. With a background in clinical practice, wellbeing consultancy and communications, she helps create cultures that enable people and their wellbeing to thrive. Her mission is to make a lasting impact by building workplaces that actively nurture people and their wellbeing,...
3 days ago • 3 min read
Many organisations are missing the real key to building human sustainability and high performance. They are throwing good money after bad by investing in the wrong solutions, delivered at the wrong time, to the wrong people. I see it repeatedly. Companies introduce mindfulness apps, resilience workshops, or “fun at work” campaigns, hoping to re-energise tired teams. HR departments launch pulse surveys, new perks, and awareness days. These ideas are not wrong; they are simply misplaced and...
3 days ago • 2 min read
I was speaking recently with a breast cancer survivor who had introduced a naturopath into her life. A naturopath, for context, takes a holistic approach to health, blending nutrition, plant-based remedies, and lifestyle guidance to support the body’s natural healing systems. You are probably wondering what any of this has to do with workplace wellbeing, leadership, or the future of work. Bear with me. Every few months, she sends her nail clippings to a genetic analyst for review, who then...
23 days ago • 4 min read
We spend a lot of time talking about wellbeing at work: mindfulness programmes, gym memberships, flexible work policies, EAP hotlines, and engagement surveys. These things matter, but they’re often just well-intentioned attempts to fix issues that were baked in long before a person’s first day. The truth is, employee wellbeing doesn’t start with yoga classes or mental health days. It starts with how you hire, or more precisely, with the paradigm behind the way you hire. The hidden foundation...
23 days ago • 6 min read
In October, leaders start urging their teams to “dig deep” for the final push to year-end. It sounds like the sort of thing a leader should do, right? Unfortunately not! Resilience gets praised as the magic ingredient that will see people through pressure. But here’s the problem: resilience is not an endless resource. Rely on it too much, and you risk breaking the very people you depend on. When Resilience Becomes a Burden Resilience fatigue shows up when employees are repeatedly asked to...
24 days ago • 3 min read
Done right, every employee signs a contract when they join a company. But the real deal that shapes daily experience is not written down. It is the psychological contract: the expectations and obligations between employee and employer. First discussed in the 1960s by Chris Argyris and Harry Levinson, and later formalised by Denise Rousseau, the idea explains why trust is gained or lost at work. Employers once promised stability and progression; employees offered loyalty and effort. For...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
There’s a paradox at the heart of most Request for Proposal (RFP) processes, especially in areas such as people and culture. Often, companies go out to market for expert help. And then tell those experts exactly what to do. The intention is sound (from a procurement perspective): define the scope, control the spend, and ensure apples-to-apples comparisons. But too often, these RFPs are written with limited subject matter expertise, shaped by assumptions, trends, or anecdotal insights rather...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
A fundamental shift is occurring in the relationship between employers and employees, signalling the rise of a new social contract. For business leaders, adapting to this change is not optional – it’s essential for future success. The end of the traditional social contract The old social contract between employers and employees was straightforward: companies provided stable jobs, and employees offered loyalty and hard work. However, this balance shifted dramatically over the past few decades....
2 months ago • 3 min read