Build a Culture of Wellness that supports people and performance

Why wellbeing needs to become part of how work happens

One-off activities can create a positive moment, but lasting progress depends on what happens between those activities: how managers lead, how teams communicate, how people are supported and how workplace decisions affect day-to-day wellbeing.

• Managers shape the employee experience: managers account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement, showing why leadership behaviour needs to be part of any meaningful workplace culture strategy (Gallup, State of the American Manager, 2015). Read Gallup’s employee engagement research.
• Work design shapes culture: under the model WHS laws, PCBUs must manage psychosocial risks. Safe Work Australia identifies common psychosocial hazards including high job demands, low job control, poor support, lack of role clarity, poor organisational change management and inadequate reward and recognition. Read Safe Work Australia’s guidance on psychosocial hazards.

Culture of Wellness© gives organisations a structured way to consider personal wellbeing and organisational conditions together, rather than treating workplace wellbeing as a collection of disconnected activities.

Talk to HSG about building wellbeing into the way your organisation works.

Enquire Now

How the Culture of Wellness program works

Culture of Wellness© is HSG’s structured process for assessing the current culture, defining the desired culture and embedding change across the organisation. The full program begins with an anonymous Culture of Wellness© Survey based on the Seven Pillars of Business Health, followed by executive consultation and vision design. Implementation is supported over a multi-year horizon, with quarterly reviews in Year 1, six-monthly reviews in Year 2 and a final review in Year 3.

Organisations not ready for a full multi-year program can begin with a single workshop or a narrower series focused on selected pillars.

The two frameworks behind Culture of Wellness

The framework considers workplace wellbeing through two connected perspectives.

The Seven Pillars of Business Health

This part of the framework examines the organisational conditions that influence whether people can thrive at work:

• Purpose: usually captured in your vision statement — the higher purpose your organisation serves, and the reason your work matters
• Attitude: how your people approach problems and change — bringing constructive energy while keeping room for honest questions and respectful challenge
• Relationships: how genuine bonds are built with management, staff, teams, customers, suppliers and community — moving from “me” to “we” through trust, diverse ideas, and valuing people for who they are, not just what they contribute
• Morale: the environment that makes people want to come to work, and stay — how your team really feels about where they work
• Support: how genuinely your people feel appreciated and recognised, and whether they can access the practical resources, guidance and help they need
• Acceptance and Inclusion: how well your business creates equal opportunity for everyone, and actively addresses harassment and bullying
• Performance: how clarity, appropriate resources, feedback, capability, reasonable demands and fair accountability support people to contribute effectively

The Seven Pillars of Personal Health

This part of the framework explores the personal factors that influence how employees experience work and life:

• Spiritual: there are as many definitions of spiritual health as there are people — prayer, religion, surfing, meditation, gardening and more
• Mental: how you engage your mind — attention, thinking patterns, learning and adapting when circumstances change
• Social: how you connect and bond with others — having a support network you can call on when it matters
• Emotional: how you notice, express and regulate emotions, and what supports genuine enjoyment in life and work
• Self (Esteem): how you see yourself, and how you speak about who you are
• Nutrition: what you eat and drink fuels how you think, feel and perform — nourishing your body, not just feeding it
• Physical: how you move, exercise and care for your body’s energy, rest and recovery

Together, the two frameworks help organisations consider both individual capability and the workplace environment in which employees are expected to perform.

Who the program is for

Culture of Wellness© can be adapted for whole teams, leadership cohorts, cross-functional groups and organisations seeking a shared approach to employee wellbeing and workplace culture.

It is particularly relevant for:

• organisations whose wellbeing initiatives currently feel disconnected or reactive
• teams navigating growth, restructure or organisational change
• leadership groups seeking a clearer framework for supporting people
• hybrid or geographically dispersed workforces
• organisations developing an annual or longer-term workplace wellbeing strategy
• corporate, government, healthcare, education and not-for-profit workplaces

What the program can involve

HSG works with each organisation to understand its workforce, current wellbeing initiatives, leadership context and priority areas before recommending an appropriate format.

Depending on your objectives, Culture of Wellness© may include:

• an anonymous Culture of Wellness© Survey
• assessment against the Seven Pillars of Business Health
• executive consultation and culture vision design
• facilitated leadership or whole-team workshops
• exploration of the Seven Pillars of Business Health and Seven Pillars of Personal Health
• structured discussion of organisational strengths and pressure points
• practical individual and team reflection activities
• development of an implementation plan
• scheduled measurement and review cycles
• integration with a broader annual workplace wellbeing program
• single-workshop or targeted-series pathways for organisations not ready for the complete program

Delivery can be tailored to the needs, size and operating context of your organisation. HSG delivers workplace wellbeing services onsite in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and regional areas, plus New Zealand and Asia-Pacific, with virtual delivery available nationwide.