Employee Well-Being: How to Create a Happy Workplace in 2025

| Employee Wellness

While hunting for more customers and revenues, companies often forget about employees—the heart of any organization. But what if its rhythm becomes uneven and irregular? Or what if its beat abruptly stops to a halt without proper care from you?

Then, your business will stop, too. As Brent Hyder, Chief People Officer at Salesforce, once said, “People are a company’s greatest asset—without our people, we have nothing.

Now, look at these statistics: 85% of workers consider employers responsible for their health and wellness. A slightly smaller group (83%) would leave the company if it wouldn’t prioritize employee well-being.

So, every employer must take a people-centric approach and carefully listen to their workers’ present-day needs. What are the current employee well-being trends to follow to make your workforce healthier and happier than ever? How should you support workplace wellness in 2025 and later on?

Let’s take it one by one, starting with the fundamentals.

Table of Contents

4 Pillars of Employee Well-Being

Holistic employee wellness relies on the four pillars: physical, emotional/mental, financial, and social.

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Physical wellness

Your workers should feel great in their bodies.

This condition presupposes:

  • Moving and being active 
  • Eating well
  • Staying hydrated
  • Maintaining an ergonomic workspace
  • Getting enough breaks and rest
  • Complying with workplace safety standards, etc.

The ultimate goal is a healthy body.

Mental (emotional) health

When approaching an emotional pole, the major aspect often circles around psychological pressure management to prevent burnout at work. Yet, in general, it’s all about employees’ positive thoughts and feelings.

The ultimate goal is emotional happiness.

Financial stability

Jeffrey Zhou, CEO and Founder of Fig Loans, says, “Rather than being dragged into the chasm of financial chaos and uncertainty, employees should be able to focus on work and life. They should stop worrying about finances”.

They can do that if they:

  • Fully cover their daily needs
  • Invest in personal and professional development
  • Save for the future (retirement, kids’ education, etc.)
  • Have emergency funds for unexpected situations

The ultimate goal is a sense of financial security.

Social wellness

Peter Čuček, Owner at Tuuli, says, “At this point, workers should have healthy, reciprocal relationships with colleagues, local communities, and society overall. They will feel socially well if they have enough team building, meaningfully engage with the community, and drive tangible societal change”. 

The ultimate goal is mutually beneficial, synergetic co-existence with others in surrounding social spaces.

Employee wellness apps

As many as 66% of companies plan to increase their budgets on stress management tools for employees.

Consider employee wellness software like these:

  • Wellness360.co 
  • YuMuuv
  • Headversity
  • Wellable
  • Headspace

For example:

Starbucks arms employees with two well-being apps—Headspace and Lyra Health.

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Then, there’s a huge rise in employee wellness programs driven by hyper-personalization. The wizard behind it is artificial intelligence (AI).

For instance, AI-powered chatbots like Youper, Stresscoach, or Wysa can measure employee well-being (on the mental side) and understand their emotional needs. Later, they guide them toward individual solutions: how to soothe anxiety, improve their mood, or resolve a workplace conflict.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

Modern organizations build happy teams with DEI in mind: 89% have a formal DEI strategy, and 44% hold it as a C-level priority.

DEI in hiring

For Roman Zrazhevskiy, Founder & CEO at MIRA Safety, a fast-expanding retailer of personal protective equipment for military and civilian defense, ”DEI starts not in the workplace. And not even from day one in the office. It begins with job application and hiring procedures. That’s when candidates looking for opportunities and finding jobs should understand that your company is a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.”

For example:

MIRA Safety’s HR team runs TestGorilla and Culture Index assessments to prevent unconscious biases in their recruitment process and give every job applicant a fair and equal hiring chance.

DEI in the work routine

Diverse holiday celebrations, such as Hispanic Heritage Month (to recognize Hispanic Americans) or Pride Month (to support LGBTQIA+ employees), are a surefire way to promote diversity and inclusion.

For example:

PlentyofFish honored the women-identifying employees on March 8th with an afternoon tea event and a poetry writing session.

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Many organizations also offer DEI training to seal the knowledge gap in this domain.

For example:

Over 7,000 employees at FORVIA, spanning different nationalities and backgrounds, received diversity training in 2023.

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Therapeutic days at work

Here are some of the most widespread types, majorly focused on physical and mental health support:

  • Laugh-out-loud day (they say laughter is the best medicine—why not try it?)
  • DIY crafts day
  • Gratefulness day
  • Outdoor day
  • Self-care day
  • “Bring your pet to work” day

Note: Over half of pet parents (58%) report having dogs at work can boost their workplace happiness.

You can also put such therapeutic days on repeat.

For example:

At Foresters Financial, employees have “Mindfulness Mondays,” which include guided meditation and yoga sessions to de-stress and focus on what matters.

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Digital detox initiatives

In the century of digitalization and innovative breakthroughs that cement us all to the screen, digital burnout in the office or work-from-home fatigue is real.

Under these circumstances, companies give employees more opportunities to disconnect from screens and indulge in tech-free relaxation.

David Speedy, General Manager at Workspace Direct, observes a distinct tendency among employers to support employee well-being with digital detoxes with a short- and long-term outlook. “For unplugging breaks during a workday, many companies design ‘No Tech’ zones with dimmable lights, soothing décor, and sensory elements like calm music or aroma candles. Over a longer haul, it’s not uncommon for global businesses to schedule tech-free retreats monthly or yearly.”

For example:

DoorDash piloted the “WeCharge” program. It presupposes special days for teams to “recharge, reset, and come back to work even stronger.”

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A sharper focus on team bonding

The team-building service market will see a 21.74% growth rate between 2024 and 2032.

Here’s one of the major reasons.

John Grant, Founder & CEO at Premier Bidets, says, “Companies voice a critical demand for such services basically due to return-to-office policies and the desire to “re-tie” employee bonds. With this on their agendas, they mix different team-building activities: virtual and in-person, on-site and outdoors”.

For example:

Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines organized a blood donation drive on World Blood Donor Day.

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Such philanthropic team-building events not only make colleagues flock together but also contribute to society and promote a neighborly vibe among employees through the feeling of solidarity.

How to Support Employee Wellness in the Future of Work

Be a trendsetter as a team or company leader.

How do you expect your employees to follow workplace wellness trends if you, yourself, are as involved as a toddler in taxes?

Adrian Iorga, Founder & President at Stairhopper Movers, recommends becoming a trendsetter in workplace wellness and showing the example. “Only then will you turn it into a positive well-being trend rather than a one-time activity forced out of your team members. It catches on faster and sticks forever when you lead the way and popularize a particular wellness initiative at work.”

For example:

As a health advocate, Adrian Iorga enthusiastically engages in fitness and athletics, and many movers share his passion. Besides, the company is smoke-free, too.

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Bring mental health to the forefront.

Let’s take off our rose-tinted glasses and acknowledge it. For years, mental health issues have traditionally taken a backseat in employee well-being (if not kept secret and frowned upon at all).

Now, 67% of workers expect employers to provide mental health assistance.

So, isn’t it time to put it under the spotlight it deserves?

Surely, it is.

Many global brands are already doing this. They promote mental health while encouraging open discussions about it at work and offering relevant benefits and perks. A great example here would be Salesforce.

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On this drift, Mental Health Awareness Month celebrations have also become a noticeable trend among brands.

For example:

Clear Street celebrated it with various uplifting activities for workers during the month: aromatherapy, homemade smoothie-tasting, massages, and others.

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Offer more diverse financial benefits.

In fact, 67% of employers claim financial well-being in the workplace will be their highest priority over the coming years.

That’s why they enrich their employee benefits packages with financial perks like these:

  • Transportation benefits (parking subsidy or commute reimbursement)
  • Employer-sponsored emergency savings accounts
  • Retirement planning (401(k) or pension plans)
  • Employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs)
  • Employee discounts
  • Insurance (dental, vision, or even pet insurance)

The vast majority of companies offer dental (93%) and vision (82%) insurance, among other types.

However, Dr. Mo Ziaei, Cornea & Vision Correction Specialist at Re:Vision, remarks, “Financial coverage for healthcare services, full or partial, is just a starting point for supporting employee well-being in the modern workplace. To approach it more holistically, today’s employers need to consider a more diversified benefits package to financially back up employees’ professional aspirations, hobbies, or critical areas in their lives.”

For example:

Re:Vision provides additional employee benefits totaling over $14,000 annually for each worker. These include personal/professional courses for eye-care specialists, staff and family surgery discounts, healthy lunches, etc.

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Promote the feeling of belonging.

“When people feel they belong to the team, they don’t just check in; they experience a total synergy between each other. And such connections are unbreakable,” notes Maryanne Fiedler, Director of Marketing at Psychic Source.

She emphasizes the importance of a family-like atmosphere to create a happy workplace where everyone feels welcomed, heard, and understood. Indeed, in their employee stories, the Psychic Source advisors confirm, “It’s like a family,” where everyone genuinely cares about each other.

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To forge those ties, strive for systematic employee recognition, celebrating your workers as exceptional personalities who bring their unique value to the company. It’s vital to recognize employees at every step of their journey, right from the launch.

For example:

At the very hiring stage, Psychic Source has a “New Advisor” spotlight series on social media to celebrate every newcomer and their particular strengths.

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One of the best wellness trends for your team is within a one-click reach.

Which?

Team building, of course! Get a quote from Outback and build the happiest team.

Remember: Happy teams = better results (and fewer Monday blues!).

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