Karen Hammond

From increasing productivity and engagement to reducing absenteeism and turnover, the data is clear: when people thrive, so does the business. That’s why employee wellness should be taking centre stage. Yet many companies still treat it as a once-off perk.

To stay competitive and retain great talent, it’s time to rethink how wellness fits into the fabric of your company. 

In this article, I take a look at why employee well-being is the secret weapon of high-performing businesses, how you can rethink what wellness means, and tips for implementing these practices into your daily operations. 

Why Wellness is a Business Imperative

Poor employee health costs companies billions of rands each year, highlighting how much businesses stand to lose by neglecting wellness at work. When we shift the focus to better health, you don’t just get happier employees, you also create a stronger business.

According to a Gallup study, teams with better and more consistent well-being practices experience 41% lower absenteeism and 17% higher productivity. Employees who feel cared for are also happier at work, with a LinkedIn report finding that they are 3.2x less likely to quit their jobs due to wellness-related factors.

This means that focusing on employee wellness can set your business up for long-term success.

Rethinking What Wellness Means

Despite an increasing focus on employee well-being, many businesses are still making crucial mistakes and treating it like a compliance box that must be ticked.

Wellness is about more than mental health days or a once-off initiative. While well-intentioned, these alone aren’t enough to address long-term issues, like burnout and other mental health stressors.

To move beyond generic solutions and build a brand that thrives, businesses must implement frameworks that allow people to feel supported in ways that are relevant to their roles, circumstances, and ambitions.

Whether it’s through improved planning processes that help prevent burnout or career development that supports long-term growth, wellness should be baked into how you work. 

Focus on providing real-world support to help your people show up more fully, contribute meaningfully, and stay for the long haul. 

How to Rethink Wellness in Your Own Business 

True employee wellness starts with a business design that wants to support its people. Here are five ways to shift from surface-level perks to meaningful support.

1. Manage workloads with balance in mind 

Burnout isn’t just about working too many hours. It’s often the result of poor planning, last-minute pressure, or lack of autonomy.

Build systems that allow for realistic workloads, proper support channels, and downtime between high-demand periods. Ask yourself where the pressure points are in your team and how better planning could alleviate this. 

Lastly, ensure that your planning and forecasting include employee capacity while keeping work-life balance in mind.

2. Train managers to lead with empathy and awareness

Your leadership team has the biggest impact on how supported people feel day to day. That’s why it’s crucial to ensure managers are equipped to have real conversations about well-being, recognise signs of stress, and know how to offer flexibility.

Include wellness and emotional intelligence in your management training to make it clear that leading well includes looking after people.

3. Broaden your definition of ‘wellness’

When you address all the dimensions of wellness, including career growth, connection, and a sense of purpose, your support becomes more inclusive and effective. Make sure your systems touch on all of these points while setting them up. 

4. Build wellness into your everyday systems 

Wellness should show up in how you schedule meetings, set deadlines, and make decisions. Whether it’s implementing workload autonomy or acknowledging life beyond work, the small decisions shape your culture more than any one-off initiative.

5. Measure and refine 

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Track wellness-related outcomes, such as absenteeism, turnover, and employee engagement, alongside your traditional business metrics. 

Make Wellness a Leadership Responsibility

Employee well-being is a long-term investment that can have a lasting commercial impact. But it’s about more than ticking a box, it’s about building an environment where people can thrive. 

At Meridian, our people are at the heart of everything we do, and they are the driving force behind our success. Visit our website to learn more about our people-first approaches.