Article Summary
The Make Work Better Conference 2024 was a testament to the growing importance of embedding a culture of wellbeing in the workplace. Leaders and experts across industries shared insights on how to integrate wellbeing into business strategies, focusing on areas like mental health, flexible working, and strong leadership.
This three-part blog series explores the key themes discussed at the event and provides practical takeaways for creating supportive, people-first workplaces.
At the Make Work Better conference Paul Devoy, CEO of Investors in People (IIP), revealed a stark reality: there’s a growing chasm between what HR leaders believe employees want and what employees actually value. While HR focuses on perks like wellbeing apps, employees are asking for something different – flexible working and supportive management. This disconnect is more than a miscommunication; it’s costing businesses dearly in productivity, engagement and even revenue.
The event brought together leaders and experts across industries to explore the future of employee wellbeing, uncovering strategies that go beyond surface-level perks to address the core needs of today’s workforce. From mental health to flexible working the discussions centred on how organisations can create sustainable, supportive environments that enhance both employee wellbeing and business performance.
What emerged were 10 key themes that have the potential to reshape how organisations approach wellbeing. From the critical role of leadership to the economic costs of neglecting employee health these insights provide a roadmap for building a workplace where wellbeing isn’t just a priority, it’s the foundation for success.
So here are the first of 10 lessons every organisation needs to understand if they want to make work better for their people and their bottom line.
Paul Devoy – CEO, Investors in People
Ruby Wax – Actress and comedian with Paul Devoy
1
Make sure that everyone, particularly the potential apprentice, understands what’s involved.
To drive business success you must prioritise employee wellbeing as much as you prioritise profits.
The wellbeing of your employees is not just an HR issue, it’s integral to the performance and success of
your organisation, speakers agreed. IIP’s Devoy highlighted a significant disconnect between what HR directors think will engage employees and what employees actually want. “Recent CIPD research finds that flexible working comes number two after pay. That’s how important flexible working is to employees,” Devoy said, emphasising that perks like wellbeing apps or fitness classes won’t fix deeper issues related to work-life balance and management support.
The consequences of neglecting employee wellbeing are clear. Gethin Nadin, CIO of Benefex and a leading expert on workplace wellbeing, pointed out: “Salespeople who rate their mental health as excellent or great sell more than those with poor mental health. WE know that poor wellbeing correlates with poor innovation.” When employee wellbeing is compromised productivity and creativity decline, costing organisations more than they realise.
Declan McAllister – Director of Registration and
Corporate Services, NISCC
Gethin Nadin – CIO, Benefex
At the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC), Declan McAllister showed how deeply embedding wellbeing into the culture transformed his organisation, helping them achieve platinum accreditation. “Health and wellbeing isn’t an add-on anymore. It’s part of the DNA of every organisation, or at least it should be,” McAllister noted.
Evidence from Oxford University Business School supports the fact that focusing on cultural change within organisations yields better results than individual mental health interventions like mindfulness or employee assistance programmes (EAPs). The study analysed data from Britain’s healthiest workplaces and found that individual-level interventions showed little effectiveness compared to efforts to improve workplace culture. In fact some individual interventions resulted in worse outcomes.
Organisations that actively listen to their employees, integrate flexible working and create supportive management frameworks will see stronger business results. As new research from IIP and YouGov finds, employee wellbeing is not a perk. “When it comes to creating a healthy environment for employees, we need to go beyond offering the perks and focus on how we can create a culture of wellbeing,” Devoy concluded.
2
The critical role of leadership
in workplace wellbeing
Across multiple sessions strong leadership was identified as a key driver of wellbeing. Effective leadership is the cornerstone of a thriving workplace and wellbeing must start at the top.
Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology, argued that wellbeing should not be left to HR alone but should be a strategic responsibility at the top of the organisation. “If we’re serious about wellbeing, why shouldn’t it be done by a member of the board responsible for employee health and wellbeing?” he asked.
Cooper drew parallels with the gender pay gap, which saw real progress when it became a boardlevel mandate, compelling leaders to take action. He emphasised that productivity isn’t just about technology or infrastructure but about how people are managed. “Productivity is how much a person produces in an hour or a week. That’s partly a function of how I’m managed and my team,” he explained. Cooper pointed out that without leadership driving the wellbeing agenda issues like stress-related sickness and poor productivity will continue to drag down performance.
Sir Cary Cooper CBE – Professor of Organisational Psychology & Health, Manchester Business School
But leadership is not just about implementing wellbeing initiatives, it’s about embodying them. Devoy pointed out that trust and autonomy in leadership are crucial for employee wellbeing. “One thing that has the most impact on our employees’ wellbeing is trust. As long as you hit the objectives, how you organise your time is entirely up to you.
Only two rules come with this. One is that the way you organise your time is not to the detriment of the customer and the second is that it’s not to the detriment of your colleagues achieving their objectives. Outside of that it’s up to the employees to decide how they organise their time,” he said, urging leaders to give their employees the freedom to manage their schedules.
Petra Velzeboer – Founder, PVL
Petra Velzeboer, mental health consultant, added that leaders who demonstrate vulnerability and openness create a psychologically safe environment for employees. “A healthy culture is about all of these things: Safety. Conversations. Bravery,” she noted. Employees follow what their leaders model, making it essential that leaders prioritise their own health to support their teams effectively. “The most important quality of a leader is to model the way,” she said.
Nadin urged the audience to seize the opportunity to put wellbeing at the heart of culture. “This is your moment to lead,” he said. “We are at a decisive point, and the decisions we make over the next 10 years will be really important and these will be led by the workplace and the work that you do.”
Leadership isn’t just about hitting targets; it’s about creating a culture where wellbeing thrives. Leaders who take care of their own health and demonstrate empathy and trust will inspire employees to do the same.
3
Why mental health should be a top priority in your organisation
Mental health conditions, including stress, anxiety and depression, are now the leading causes of longterm absenteeism in the workplace. Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology, noted: “When somebody’s off with depression or anxiety they’re off two or three times longer than if they have cancer.” Ignoring mental health not only affects individual employees but can also have devastating financial and cultural repercussions for organisations.
Nadin added: “The cost of presenteeism now far outweighs the cost of people not even being in the workplace.” Employees showing up for work while mentally unwell costs businesses more than absenteeism, draining productivity and innovation.
Mental health is not just about managing stress. It’s also about creating environments where employees feel safe to address their wellbeing. Actress and comedian Ruby Wax introduced the concept of being “frazzled,” when your brain is stuck in overdrive, overwhelmed by constant inputs, whether it’s work demands or the non-stop flow of bad news. “Frazzled is a neurobiological word; it means stressed about stress. It’s that inner dialogue of ‘I’m not good enough,’ and your thoughts are sabotaging you,” she explained.
Kirstin Furber – HR Director, Channel 4
Ruby Wax – Actress and comedian
However, she made an important distinction between being frazzled and suffering from a mental illness like depression. Frazzled is something you can manage, she said. You can pull yourself out of it with mindfulness or a change in perspective. But depression is a physical illness, she said, stressing that recognising this difference is crucial in providing the right kind of support for employees.
Stress builds up even before the workweek starts. Channel 4 people director Kirstin Furber shared research into the Sunday Night Blues, which found that 79% of individuals experience this phenomenon. She said it can be a predictor of burnout, even for those who love their jobs. “Did you know that more than two thirds of us suffer feelings of anxiety and sleeplessness on a Sunday night? And after five o ‘clock on a Sunday there is a spike in Google searches for sadness as people look for help,” she said.
The message is clear: while stress management tools like mindfulness can help with frazzled states, deeper mental health issues need more serious intervention. Creating a workplace that actively supports both is critical for long-term wellbeing.
Read the full article series
You can also watch all sessions from the conference online now and register your interest to attend the Make Work Better Conference 2025, to be held on 9th September in London.
