We are delighted that Angela will be speaking in Chicago as part of our US Summit Mid-West. We caught up with her to see how she’s feeling in the runup to the event.
Hi Angela, we are thrilled that you will be speaking at the Wellbeing at Work US Summit Mid-West in May. Our first and most important question is, how are you doing today?
I’m doing great! It’s always exciting to engage with other HR professionals and business leaders on the topic of workplace wellbeing.
As a leader based in the region, what are the main challenges you are facing when it comes to employee wellbeing and mental health?
We continue to focus on supporting our teammates with burnout and balancing work-life and those boundaries. As a high-growth company, we have that challenge of increasing workloads, digital overload, and being able to normalize mental health conversations, offering flexibility where it’s needed and stress management initiatives. In addition, as a global organization, understanding that well-being needs vary by region, culture and demographics. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work.
What strategies have you seen developing over the past 6 months, both internally and externally, that are moving the dial on wellbeing in the workplace?
One of the strategies we are doing is trying to integrate well-being into the workday and within our culture. We have a core value of high performance which is all about focusing on how to better yourself. Getting our senior leaders to view well-being not as an HR initiative rather than part of our business strategy and alignment to our core values. We are embedding programs that tie to our core values and providing resources to our teammates that they can use throughout the day to improve personally.
Why is employee wellbeing so important to you personally?
Well-being is incredibly important to me personally because I have experienced firsthand how health scares can bring a different perspective to the importance of taking care of yourself. These experiences have made me realize that maintaining good health is not just about physical fitness or eating right, but also about mental and emotional well-being. When faced with health challenges, it becomes clear that taking care of oneself is essential for leading a fulfilling and productive life.
What impact is AI having in your organization and how are you managing that?
We are still new to AI within the organization. We primarily have used it to build communication and analysis. I think we have a way to go still. I’m a big believer, while AI can build efficiencies, you must build a sense of community and human connection within your workforce about the importance of well-being. You leaders must hold themselves accountable to supporting well-being and demonstrating that with their teams.
What areas do you think employers should be focused on over the next 12 months?
Remote and hybrid work have blurred boundaries, making it difficult for employees to disconnect. Leadership may still equate visibility to productivity. I think we all can do a better job at encouraging “right to disconnect” to our teams to ensure health work habits.
Do you feel that investment in employee wellbeing in the region is increasing or decreasing and is that a direct reflection on HR leaders’ increasing ability to demonstrate effective returns of their strategies to leadership?
I do feel investment in well-being is increasing. HR teams are getting better at demonstrating the impact of well-being and outcomes of their programs. Gone are the days of just having a standard “wellness program” – HR leaders are being more targeted with their approaches in my opinion, adding value that is more meaningful to the workplace.
How has your organization been leading the way?
In our organization, as I mentioned we have a strong focus on integrating well-being into the workday and within the company culture. This approach aligns well-being with our core values, providing resources to our teammates that they can use throughout the day to improve personally. We have opened up the conversation and have had senior leaders get involved with sharing their personal experiences of improving their lifestyle and personal health choices to lead a better life and be open about their focus on mental well-being, meditations, remaining optimistic and managing stress. We provide a global program, in partnership with Finding Mastery, that focuses on performing your best and personal growth, and supplement resources for our teammates through lifestyle accounts and the Calm app.
Angela will be speaking in Chicago at the Wellbeing at Work Summit US Mid-West which takes place on May 1 2025. Further details on the Summit can be found here.
