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How to build a workplace wellbeing strategy

Practical guide for health and safety professionals

A clear, practical guide to help occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals put workplace wellbeing at the heart of their strategy. Learn how to create meaningful, lasting improvements.

Why workplace wellbeing matters

Workplace wellbeing is no longer a “nice to have” – it is a strategic necessity. Organisations that fail to protect their workers’ wellbeing face significant costs through lost productivity, increased absence and reputational harm.

As a health and safety professional, you are well placed to lead this work. Your experience in risk assessment, systems and workforce protection gives you the foundation to shape an effective wellbeing strategy.

The business case is clear

  • Poor mental health costs the UK economy £117.9 billion each year
  • Organisations with engaged employees achieve 23% higher profitability
  • 86% of employees say workplace wellbeing directly affects performance

What is workplace wellbeing?

“An individual’s holistic state that encompasses both current mental and physical health circumstances based on influential factors.”

IOSH’s definition of wellbeing

Wellbeing is shaped by a combination of:

  • psychological factors – stress, job satisfaction, work–life balance
  • physiological factors – physical health, energy levels, sleep quality
  • work‑related factors – workload, culture, management support
  • personal factors – family responsibilities, finances, health conditions.

Key insight

Wellbeing is personal. What impacts one worker may not affect another. A good strategy must be flexible enough to support diverse needs while structured enough to deliver meaningful change

The wellbeing influence model

Workplace wellbeing operates across interconnected levels.

  1. Organisational

    Reputation is shaped by how well you support workers.

    Supplier, partner and recruitment relationships are influenced by your wellbeing culture.

  2. Team

    Culture is influenced by individual and team experiences.

    Policies, procedures and leadership behaviours shape wellbeing outcomes.

  3. Individual

    Collective wellbeing is shaped by the wellbeing of individual team members.

    Team behaviours, communication and workload can amplify or reduce stress.

  4. External

    Personal and work-related factors directly influence a worker’s wellbeing.

The layered wellbeing influence model highlights why wellbeing must be approached strategically – reactive responses achieve limited impact.

How to build your wellbeing strategy

Follow these six steps to build a wellbeing strategy that fits your organisation, from initial analysis through to ongoing reporting.

Step 1: analyse your starting point

Before you plan anything, you need to understand where your organisation stands today.

  • Get a clear picture of your current position by taking these actions:

    • review existing wellbeing initiatives
    • audit policies and procedures for wellbeing considerations
    • assess available resources and internal expertise
    • map wellbeing‑related data (absence, turnover, engagement surveys).

  • Use that picture to work out what's still missing:

    • identify gaps and priority risks
    • understand specific wellbeing needs in your workplace
    • determine resource requirements
    • set realistic timelines.

    The priority wellbeing gaps are mental health support, stress management, return-to-work processes and manager capability and confidence.

Step 2: choose your management approach

The most effective wellbeing strategies follow the structure of an occupational safety and health management system.

  • Lay the foundations before rolling anything out:

    • develop a wellbeing commitment statement
    • create a wellbeing policy aligned with the occupational safety and health policy
    • set objectives and targets
    • assign roles and responsibilities.

  • Put the policy into practice across the organisation:

    • roll out wellbeing assessment tools
    • train managers and supervisors
    • introduce support services
    • communicate clearly and consistently.

  • Check the strategy is actually working:

    • track wellbeing indicators
    • measure programme effectiveness
    • gather worker feedback
    • monitor return on investment.

  • Use those findings to keep the strategy current:

    • analyse results and trends
    • update the strategy
    • share successes and lessons
    • plan next phases.

Step 3: secure organisational commitment

Visible, vocal senior support is essential.

  • Build the business case around:

    • reduced absence and turnover
    • improved productivity
    • better reputation and recruitment
    • legal compliance and risk reduction.

  • You’ll need:

    • a dedicated wellbeing budget
    • allocated staff time for coordination
    • training and development.

    You may also need external expertise.

  • Embed wellbeing into:

    • health and safety policy
    • HR policies
    • risk assessment procedures
    • incident reporting and investigation.

Step 4: develop comprehensive action plans

Break these down into immediate, medium-term and long-term plans.

  • In the first three months, aim to:

    • deliver manager awareness training
    • implement stress risk assessments
    • introduce employee assistance programmes
    • launch wellbeing communication campaigns.

  • Within a year, aim to:

    • roll out wellbeing assessments
    • establish peer support networks
    • improve return‑to‑work processes
    • strengthen reasonable adjustments procedures.

  • In the long-term, aim to:

    • evaluate culture change
    • provide advanced manager development
    • integrate wellbeing metrics
    • work towards external recognition or reporting.

Step 5: implement risk management and control

Conduct a wellbeing risk assessment to identify factors that may negatively impact wellbeing:

  • workload and time pressure
  • role clarity
  • job security concerns
  • relationships and support
  • organisational change
  • physical environment.

  • Use this hierarchy of control:

    • eliminate – remove wellbeing hazards where possible
    • reduce – minimise exposure to risks
    • control – implement systems to manage ongoing issues
    • support – provide individual adjustments and assistance.

  • Useful assessment tools include:

Step 6: monitor, measure and report

Ongoing monitoring keeps your strategy accountable and shows where it needs to adapt.

  • These may include:

    • mental health‑related absence
    • turnover rates
    • engagement scores
    • wellbeing assessment results
    • use of support service.

  • This is done through:

    • monthly dashboards
    • quarterly trend analysis
    • annual wellbeing review
    • continuous feedback.

  • These include:

    • leadership briefings
    • board‑level updates
    • inclusion in sustainability reporting
    • documentation for compliance.

Making it work in practice

  • Strong leadership commitment

    Leaders set the tone for how seriously wellbeing is taken across the organisation.

    • Visible support
    • Clear accountability
    • Regular updates
    • Protection of wellbeing resources

  • Collaborative approach

    No single team can make this work alone.

    • Cross‑functional steering group
    • Worker involvement
    • Union engagement where applicable
    • External expertise

  • Systematic implementation

    A structured rollout reduces the risk of the strategy losing momentum.

    • Phased rollouts
    • Clear timelines
    • Regular progress checks
    • Flexibility to adapt

  • Continuous improvement

    A wellbeing strategy should evolve as your organisation does.

    • Frequent strategy reviews
    • Learn from experience
    • Keep up with best practice
    • Encourage innovation

Common challenges and solutions

Challenge Solution
“We don’t have the expertise.”

Build capability gradually:

  • use free HSE tools
  • partner with occupational health
  • access IOSH resources
  • work together with HR.
“Workers won’t engage”

Prioritise consultation:

  • co-design your strategy
  • ensure confidentiality
  • demonstrate leadership commitment
  • celebrate progress.
“Management won’t invest”

Strengthen your business case:

  • quantify current wellbeing costs
  • benchmark performance
  • offer phased implementation options
  • demonstrate early wins.
“We can’t measure wellbeing effectively”

Use mixed methods:

  • combine qualitative and quantitative
  • track leading and lagging indicators
  • use validated tools
  • focus on trends, not exact numbers.

Your next steps

Get started with these immediate actions:

  • complete a wellbeing audit
  • present the business case
  • start your wellbeing strategy framework
  • access training and development.

Remember

Implementing a wellbeing strategy is a marathon, not a sprint. Build foundations, progress step by step and celebrate success along the way.

Frequently asked questions

  • A workplace wellbeing strategy is a structured approach to improving workers’ mental, physical and organisational wellbeing.

    Occupational safety and health professionals are well placed to lead this because they already assess risk, manage systems and understand workforce needs.

  • An effective assessment involves auditing existing wellbeing initiatives, reviewing policies, analysing data, such as absence and turnover, and identifying gaps around mental health support, stress and manager capability.

  • Successful strategies follow an occupational safety and health‑style management system: setting policy and objectives, training managers, launching support services, monitoring wellbeing indicators and continuously reviewing and improving progress.

  • Leaders can strengthen their business case by quantifying the cost of poor wellbeing, demonstrating how improved wellbeing boosts productivity and reputation, and outlining phased, achievable actions that show early impact.

  • Organisations can track metrics such as mental‑health‑related absence, engagement scores, turnover and use of support services. 

    Tools like wellbeing surveys, stress risk assessments, focus groups and validated assessment methods help create meaningful insight.

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