Workplace Wellbeing FAQs

The term “workplace wellbeing” describes people’s day-to-day experience of work – i.e. how they feel about their job and when they’re at work. Organisations that actively support employee wellbeing through programmes and initiatives create the conditions where people thrive.

Workplace wellbeing is influenced most by organisational choices around:

• Leadership: culture, behaviours and management practices
• Job design: the structure, responsibilities and flexibility of roles
• Support: resources, policies and systems that help people succeed
• Mental health support – access to workplace wellbeing resources, mental health support and safe working conditions
• Organisational culture – a culture of respect, inclusion and belonging and also psychological safety
• Work relationships – positive team dynamics and trust
• Flexibility & work life balance - flexible working including hybrid working and respect for boundaries between work and personal life
  
  
  

Employee wellbeing is a strategic driver of business success. When organisations invest in it, people thrive and performance follows.

A strong wellbeing culture leads to:

• Higher engagement and motivation: employees feel valued and connected.
• Better business outcomes, including productivity, retention, innovation, and long-term performance.
• A stronger employee experience: wellbeing shapes trust, inclusion, and belonging.
• Easier compliance with workforce-related ESG reporting.

Poor wellbeing can result in high turnover, low productivity, disengagement, and strained relationships. A proactive approach builds resilience, trust, and a healthier culture.

The ROI is clear:

• Employers with strong wellbeing programmes perform better.
• Oxford research links wellbeing to stronger valuations and profits.
• Indeed’s Work Wellbeing 100 shows wellbeing-focused companies outperform market benchmarks.

Beyond the numbers, wellbeing is a leadership opportunity. It signals care, strengthens employee experience, and creates lasting value for people and business.

Creating a Successful Workplace Wellbeing Programme

Here are three steps that can help you move from idea to implementation:

Start with listening, not assumptions. The most effective programmes solve real problems. Use employee surveys, informal feedback and existing data to understand what your employees actually need, rather than guessing.

Secure genuine leadership buy-in. A workplace wellbeing programme will only succeed if it is championed from the top. Show leadership how positive employee wellbeing can drive measurable business outcomes - including improved productivity, talent retention and organisational performance.

Focus on impact. Based on your findings, choose two or three priority areas - like leadership, inclusion and belonging and mental health - and set clear, measurable goals. This allows you to track your progress and demonstrate real value.

Ready to build your strategy? Getting these foundations right is critical. Ibec’s wellbeing experts can provide the strategic support to help you design a programme that delivers lasting results for your people and your business.

To create a healthy workplace, an employer needs to ensure that its culture, leadership and people management are the bedrock on which to build a fully integrated wellbeing approach. Sustainability comes from embedding wellbeing into organisational culture. This requires leadership commitment, manager capability, ongoing measurement, and alignment with business strategy, all areas that Ibec can help you with.

Ibec offers a tailored consulting service, an evidence-based wellbeing accreditation (the KeepWell Mark), and leadership and manager training through the Ibec Academy — providing an end-to-end solution to embed wellbeing into your organisation.

Our expert consultants can help you design wellbeing strategies and programmes aligned with your business goals and workforce needs. All our solutions can be tailored to suit your requirements. Areas we help customers with include:

• Strategy Development Workshop
• Embedding Organisational Resilience: Systems, Culture & Strategy
• Equipping Managers to Support Team Wellbeing
• Creating a culture of belonging, psychosocial safety & mental health support
• Tackling hidden costs: presenteeism, absenteeism & substance misuse

The KeepWell Mark is Ibec’s evidence-based accreditation that benchmarks your organisation’s wellbeing strategy against recognised best practice. It provides a structured framework for aligning an organisation-wide strategy and approach to workplace wellbeing. Achieving the mark demonstrates your commitment to employee wellbeing and enhances your employer brand.

The Ibec Academy delivers leadership and line manager training to help embed wellbeing across all levels of your organisation. Our programmes build capability in managing people, supporting mental health, and creating a culture where wellbeing is prioritised.

Yes. Through tailored L&D programmes, workshops, and coaching, the Ibec Academy equips managers with the skills and confidence to support employee wellbeing, handle sensitive issues, and integrate wellbeing into everyday management practices.

Ibec is the trusted partner of many of Ireland’s top employers, helping organisations of all sizes put wellbeing at the heart of their culture. What sets us apart is our combination of expertise, credibility, and impact:

• Business-led and grounded in real workplace insight.
• Access to leading experts in HR, health & safety, public policy and workplace wellbeing.
• Tools and resources based on global best practice.
• National recognition through our evidence-based workplace wellbeing accreditation: The KeepWell Mark.
• Tailored consultancy and learning & development programmes to support the workplace wellbeing strategy of organisations of all sizes.
• We combine expert consulting, independent benchmarking and wellbeing frameworks through the KeepWell Mark, and leadership and management training via the Ibec Academy — giving organisations the tools and expertise to embed workplace wellbeing at every level.