Stella Gavinho
Group Head of Wellbeing, Entain
Workplace wellbeing has changed.
And it’s still changing fast.
When I started working in this field over a decade ago, only a handful of large organisations had a formal wellbeing programme - let alone a dedicated wellbeing team.
I still remember explaining my job to friends and watching their faces go blank. No one quite knew what “workplace wellbeing” actually meant. I would often joke that it felt like being Chandler from Friends - nobody really understood what I did.
Fast forward to today, and the picture looks very different.
According to McKinsey, nine in ten organisations globally now offer some form of structured wellbeing programme. Mental health is on board agendas, leaders talk openly about burnout, and wellbeing benefits are widely available.
And yet - here’s the paradox.
Despite all this activity, mental health challenges are still rising. Research continues to show strong links between poor wellbeing and organisational outcomes such as higher attrition, absenteeism, lower engagement, and reduced productivity.
So, the question is obvious:
Why isn’t all this effort delivering better results?
In my experience, it often comes down to this:
Too much focus on wellness initiatives - and not enough focus on wellbeing systems.
Wellness apps, yoga classes, stress management workshops and international awareness day events all have value. But on their own, they won’t shift culture, improve performance, or address the root causes of poor wellbeing at work.
This is where Workplace Wellbeing 2.0 comes in.
The next evolution of wellbeing requires a more strategic, data-driven and preventative approach - one that is embedded into how organisations operate, not bolted on as an extra.
Here are five key shifts that are transforming workplace wellbeing.
One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is launching wellbeing initiatives into an unhealthy culture.
If employees don’t feel they have permission to look after their wellbeing, they won’t.
If leaders don’t model healthy behaviours, others won’t either.
If there is low trust, poor psychological safety, or unrealistic expectations, no wellbeing initiative will stick.
Culture always wins.
A healthy workplace culture is one where people feel safe to be their authentic selves, supported by their manager, able to maintain a healthy balance between work and home, and trusted to do their work without constant pressure or fear.
One of the simplest - and most powerful - ways to influence culture is by upskilling people managers.
Managers sit at the intersection of wellbeing and performance. They shape the day-to-day experience of work. They influence workload, boundaries, conversations, and whether someone feels seen or stretched to breaking point. In fact, they influence up to 70% of engagement variance, according to Gallup.
But here’s the catch.
Running the occasional optional manager workshop isn’t enough. These sessions usually attract managers who already care about wellbeing - not the ones who need it most.
To truly shift culture, organisations need a well-designed, top-down approach:
Which leads directly to the next shift…
Too often, wellbeing is not set up for success.
It’s not connected to company values or objectives.
It becomes a calendar of activities delivered in silos.
Something HR owns on the side.
But no organisation would approach a major transformation - digital, operational, or process-driven - in this way.
For wellbeing to work, it must be treated like any other core business initiative.
That means:
When these elements are missing, wellbeing programmes struggle - just like any other initiative would. And wellbeing quickly becomes seen as “fluffy”.
The organisations seeing real impact are those that set wellbeing up for success from the start, positioning it as a strategic enabler of performance.
You wouldn’t launch a new product without market research.
Yet many organisations still roll out wellbeing programmes without a clear understanding of their people data, key risks, or priority needs.
This is one of the biggest missed opportunities in workplace wellbeing.
A strong wellbeing strategy starts with insight:
This data helps organisations move away from guesswork and towards targeted action.
Just as importantly, measuring the impact of wellbeing initiatives is now critical. How do you know your wellbeing strategy is actually working?
The evolution here is a shift in narrative:
From: “How many people used this benefit?”
To: “How is this reducing risk and protecting performance?”
From: What is the ROI (Return on Investment)?
To: What is the ROV (Return on Value)?
When wellbeing is framed as operational risk mitigation, it becomes more relevant to senior leaders - and much easier to secure long-term investment.
Support services remain essential. Employees must have access to help when they need it.
But the real opportunity lies in prevention.
Instead of waiting until people are burnt out, unwell, or already struggling, organisations are increasingly focusing on identifying risk signals sooner.
By using data intelligently, organisations can create early-action pathways that connect employees to the right support at the right time - based on the most common drivers of mental health and wellbeing issues.
This proactive approach doesn’t just protect wellbeing - it safeguards productivity, retention, and long-term sustainability.
Finally, I can’t talk about the future of workplace wellbeing without mentioning AI.
The potential here is immense.
AI can act as a first layer of support for employees - offering timely information, personalised recommendations, and easy access to resources. It can also support managers through guidance and role-play for having better wellbeing conversations.
But the real differentiator will be organisations that strike the right balance between technology and humanity.
Because when it comes to wellbeing, empathy, trust, and genuine human connection still matter most - especially in moments of vulnerability.
AI can support the system.
Humans still hold the relationship.
The evolution of workplace wellbeing is not about doing more.
It’s about doing things differently.
Moving away from surface-level wellness initiatives and towards systemic wellbeing.
Embedding wellbeing into leadership, culture, and operations.
Using data to inform decisions.
Shifting from reaction to prevention.
And embracing technology without losing the human touch.
Workplace Wellbeing 2.0 is a necessary shift. Organisations that get this right won’t just have healthier employees - they’ll have more resilient, engaged, and high-performing workplaces.