The end of piecemeal actions, time for a comprehensive approach

T Taking care of our health and balance should not end with a workout once a month or a healthy salad once a week. Thus, planning wellbeing activities within an organization requires a comprehensive approach - smart activities that will systematically encourage employees to introduce and then maintain healthy habits.

Why is it worth investing in wellbeing activities at all?

Our physical and mental health directly affects our productivity, efficiency and engagement at work.
Properly planned wellbeing activities promote integration, build informal relationships and contribute to company loyalty.
A program that takes into account the needs of employees builds their commitment, and employees feel more motivated and satisfied themselves.

For these reasons, the PAYBACK Lifestyle wellbeing program has existed in our organization for over 9 years. We started with activities planned for two weeks/month. We focused on healthy fruits, breakfasts, gradually expanding activities to include office massages and team activities. This program quickly gained recognition among employees.

In 2024, we focused on comprehensiveness and diversity. We incorporated wellbeing initiatives into our annual program of activities.

Where did the change in approach come from?

Let’s be honest, after a month of activities, our employees felt it wasn’t enough. We also! We felt the need to expand the package of activities while addressing the needs of the organization, the HR department, and the employees themselves.

We are diverse – our team consists of more than 200 people who carry out their tasks every day from different parts of Poland. What’s more, we have on board employees of 14 nationalities and quite a diverse generation distribution. Each of us has different needs, prefers different activities, ways of spending free time. So we have focused on even greater matching and diversity.
One of our values is collaboration. We work in cross-functional teams, and involving employees in HR initiatives has become our good practice. Our goal was to engage the team at every stage of the Program (from needs assessment to full handover, i.e., funding ideas proposed and coordinated by the employees themselves, to continuous openness to feedback). Their engagement resulted in an even greater number of new initiatives.
We aimed to inspire and encourage reflection. This cannot be achieved with a single email or initiative. Systematic communication, diverse materials, and formats were necessary here.
As an organization, we strive to implement and support CSR activities. We also know that our team consists of fantastic people who have passion and open hearts. So we provided the opportunity and financial resources, and they knew how to use them.

As a result, each month of our Program had a different theme, brought new inspiration and new activities.

What activities are worth including in the schedule of the Wellbeing Program?

Based on our experience, we can recommend:

Inspiring WEBINARS (the online version allows reaching employees working outside the office. It is important to match the topic and the length of the meeting.)
SPORTS ACTIVITIES (especially those that combine team elements, such as Ekiden, Activy, FRRuuu)
RELAXATION BREAKS (the tried-and-tested formula of massages or reflexology)
MEDICAL CONSULTATIONS (this is a great opportunity to motivate employees to take care of their health. All in the office space, in less time than a lunch break. We recommend breakfast check-ups or dermatological consultations)
TRAINING for SAFETY, such as Self-Defense or First Aid (because each of us should be “equipped” with a set of information that, when the situation requires, will allow us to help ourselves and others)
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES (with the possibility for employees to decide who and in what form they want to help)
A fridge filled to the brim with healthy snacks – let’s show employees that in the rush of meetings, they don’t have to reach for unhealthy food.

If you think that the organization of the full-year Program as well as the activities mentioned above requires the support of an external company, let me calm you down. You are able to do it by yourself, with the support of the project team and, of course, properly chosen vendors.

Where to start?

About the strategy, vision, and challenges of your company for the year – your Program should support them, no exceptions!
Needs analysis: Yours as the HR team, the management team, and finally the employees.
Defining the program’s goal, i.e., why are you doing this?
Checking the available budget and resources (including intangible ones).
Creating the concept and action plan, and defining KPIs.
If you have all the above information, it’s worth checking your concept with the management team. Their support benefits every HR initiative.
Next, define the project team, i.e., the group of people who will support you in implementing the plan.
Now, it’s just about preparing communication, coordinating activities, and maintaining engagement, which is the longest stage of the project.

P.S. Don’t forget to regularly monitor your plan and KPIs and when necessary make modifications.

What will the future of wellbeing look like…

In the Workmonitor 2025 survey, wellbeing ranked first among the most important factors influencing job satisfaction.

Employers who want to attract and retain talent must be aware of the impact of work-life balance, as well as physical and mental health, on engagement and efficiency at work. Moreover, it is worth remembering that wellbeing for employees is not a separate initiative but a permanent element of organizational culture.

However, taking care of this concern is the responsibility of the organization.

Author: Ilona Jabłońska, Senior HR Business Partner