Prioritising workplace wellbeing is no longer just a nice-to-have for employers; it has become a critical business strategy. Investing in employee wellbeing fosters a healthier, more engaged workforce, benefiting both employees and the business. However, in recent years, the rise of “wellbeing washing” has sparked concerns about the authenticity of workplace wellbeing initiatives.

What is Wellbeing Washing?

Similar to greenwashing, wellbeing washing refers to organisations presenting an image of prioritising employee wellbeing without taking meaningful action. While some companies showcase wellbeing initiatives through PR efforts, the reality often reveals a lack of real commitment:

• 67% of employees report moderate to high workplace stress.
• 28% say stress has hurt their productivity in the past two years.

Yet, only half of employers take a strategic approach to wellbeing (CIPD Health and Wellbeing at Work Survey 2024), and 38% of businesses engage in wellbeing washing, focusing more on perception than genuine support (Claro Wellbeing).

Moving beyond wellbeing washing

Genuine workplace wellbeing cannot be achieved through one-off initiatives or superficial gestures. It requires a long-term commitment, strategic planning, and leadership buy-in.

We asked Brian Crooke, Founder of Workplace Wellbeing Ireland, and Claire Carroll, Executive Coach at Claire Carroll Coaching Ltd., to share their expertise on building authentic and impactful wellbeing strategies.

“The key is ensuring that wellbeing efforts are part of a consistent, year-round wellbeing strategy rather than a once-a-year PR stunt.” Brian

“Wellbeing initiatives are impactful when they are relevant, senior management participates and outcomes are monitored and measured. When employees see leaders prioritising their own wellbeing, it gives them permission to do the same.” Claire

Blue Monday: Awareness or Wellbeing Washing?

The impact of Blue Monday depends entirely on how organisations approach it. Brian notes that “if it’s used as a marketing gimmick, offering one-off wellness activities, without addressing deeper systemic issues, it risks being perceived as wellbeing washing.” However, when leveraged to “highlight an ongoing commitment to wellbeing, foster conversations about mental health, and introduce meaningful support programmes,” it can drive real change.

Claire points out that Blue Monday was originally a marketing tool designed to book holidays. “If not handled thoughtfully, it can seem disrespectful to those dealing with clinical depression,” she explains. While some argue it raises awareness, Claire believes that “awareness is no longer the issue—what’s needed now is meaningful action and practical support for those experiencing mental health challenges.”

What makes a wellbeing initiative truly impactful?

From Brian’s experience working with organisations, impactful and sustainable initiatives share a few key characteristics.

“We use an 8 step framework as the basis for the postgrad in Workplace Wellness at Trinity and I could summarise the foundational steps as follows:

• Leadership Buy-In & Role Modelling: Wellbeing needs to be embedded at the leadership level. When senior leaders actively participate, advocate and communicate, it signals that wellbeing is a priority.
• Employee Involvement & Ownership: The best programmes are co-created with employees. Wellbeing champions, employee resource groups, and feedback mechanisms help ensure initiatives are relevant, practical, and engaging.
• Integration into the Employee Experience: Wellbeing should be woven into everyday work life— how meetings are run, how workloads are managed, training and development, and how managers support their teams.”

For wellbeing initiatives to be truly impactful, they must align with employee needs, have active participation from senior management, and include measurable outcomes. As Claire explains, if employees are struggling with long commutes and caregiving responsibilities, yet the company’s wellbeing programme only offers yoga classes and lavender candles, the impact is likely to be zero, if not counter- productive.

Overcoming challenges in workplace wellbeing

Claire mentions that some organisations have a ‘tick-box’ mentality around wellness initiatives, with no genuine commitment to employee wellbeing. “The commercial impact of maintaining or increasing wellness is often not measured. Employee surveys, health screenings, data on absenteeism, staff turnover, and productivity as well as exit interview insights are all great places to start.”

According to Brian, many organisations struggle with implementing genuine wellbeing strategies due to common pitfalls:

1. Focus on ‘changing the worker’ with little to no focus on ‘changing the workplace’

• Challenge: Many wellbeing programmes centre around personal wellness but neglect the work environment itself.
• Solution: An effective wellbeing strategy should include a focus on the four avenues of influence as identified by the WHO in their Healthy Workplace Model: the physical work environment, the psychosocial work environment, the enterprise community involvement and the aforementioned personal health resources.

2. Wellbeing as a ‘Nice-to-Have’ vs. a Business Imperative

• Challenge: Wellbeing is often treated as a perk rather than a core business strategy.
• Solution: Derive a wellbeing vision by connecting wellbeing to key business outcomes such as retention, engagement, productivity or financial performance.

3. Short-Term Thinking & ‘Event-Driven’ Wellbeing

• Challenge: Many companies rely on one-off random events like celebrating wellbeing on one day or week of the year rather than long-term cultural change.
• Solution: Shift from campaigns to culture change. Wellbeing should be integrated into everyday work, how meetings are run, how performance is managed, training and development programmes and how leaders support their teams.

4. Lack of Manager Capability & Support

• Challenge: Managers often feel stuck between business pressures and supporting wellbeing, or they don’t feel equipped to have wellbeing conversations.
• Solution: Provide managers with training and practical tools to embed wellbeing into their leadership approach. Prioritise and include wellbeing as part of the corporate strategy and that filter down into a mandatory wellbeing KPI for every colleague and line manager.

The future of workplace wellbeing

Looking ahead to 2025, both Brian and Carol identified key trends shaping workplace wellbeing:

• Wellbeing as a business imperative: Organisations are shifting from seeing wellbeing as a “nice-to-have” to a strategic priority with measurable business outcomes.
• Mental health action over awareness: There is a growing focus on embedding psychological safety into workplace culture, ensuring mental health is not just acknowledged but actively supported.

Final thoughts

Future-proof organisations will see workplace wellbeing as a long-term investment, not just an HR initiative. Employees expect genuine commitment, not token gestures. By embedding wellbeing into company culture, businesses can foster a supportive environment where employees feel valued and motivated to excel.

If you’re looking for further support in implementing workplace wellbeing initiatives, contact us at info@voltedge.ie. Our experienced HR Professionals can work with you to create a tailored wellbeing strategy that meets the unique needs of your organisation and employees.

About the Contributors

Brian Crooke is a wellbeing educator, speaker and adviser supporting organisations to promote and sustain wellbeing within their workplaces. He is the founder of Workplace Wellbeing Ireland and The Work Well Institute and is responsible for the design and delivery of the Postgraduate Certificate in Workplace Wellness at Tangent, Trinity College Dublin. He is the host of The Work Well Podcast. In his spare time Brian is bringing free resistance training to every county and community in Ireland through his parkHIIT project.

Claire Carroll is an Executive & Career Coach at Claire Carroll Coaching Ltd., dedicated to helping busy professionals build fulfilling careers while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. With a background in psychology and over 20 years of experience, Claire has always been passionate about mentoring and career development. Whether supporting team members, leaders, start-ups, or women in tech, coaching has been at the heart of her work.