Amy Hobson is the co-founder and Chief Executive of The Wellbeing Collective, a leadership and organisational development consultancy committed to creating healthier, more inclusive workplaces. Amy works with leaders, teams and organisations across health, care and the wider commercial sectors, specialising in workplace wellbeing, culture, engagement and meaningful conversation. Her approach draws on positive psychology, appreciative inquiry, psychological safety and trauma-informed practice. Amy is an experienced facilitator and speaker who creates engaging, thought-provoking spaces where people can reflect, connect and turn learning into practical action.
We are delighted to be partnering with The Wellbeing Collective for our UK summit where Amy will be running a workshop in London – “The Future of Health & Wellbeing at Work – Unlocking organisational culture through the right combination”. This session explores how organisations can shift from reactive fixes to preventative approaches that spark meaningful wellbeing conversations. Using real examples of culture change that genuinely lasts, we’ll show how leaders can embed trust, clarity and psychological safety into everyday behaviour. We’ll also highlight how courageous conversations connect wellbeing, inclusion and productivity, creating workplaces where people thrive and performance strengthens. This is a practical, forward‑looking exploration of what it takes to build cultures that work for humans first and organisations always.
We caught up with Amy to see how she’s feeling in the run up to the summit:
Hi Amy, we are thrilled that you are joining us at the Wellbeing at Work Summit in London in September. Our first and most important question is, how are you doing today?
I’m doing well, thank you. Like many leaders, I’m balancing excitement about what lies ahead with the realities of running and growing a business in a complex environment. I try to be honest about my own wellbeing rather than automatically saying, “I’m fine.” Today, I feel energised, purposeful and very pleased to be joining the Summit.
As a leader based in the region, what are the main challenges you are facing when it comes to employee wellbeing and mental health?
One of the greatest challenges is sustained pressure. People are managing high workloads, constant change and uncertainty, often while carrying significant responsibilities outside work. We are also seeing growing fatigue with wellbeing initiatives that place responsibility on individuals without addressing the conditions in which they work.
The challenge for leaders is to move beyond isolated interventions and examine workload, inclusion, relationships, psychological safety and how work is designed. In smaller organisations like ours, there is also a delicate balance between maintaining financial sustainability and protecting people’s energy and wellbeing.
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?
The strongest approaches are becoming more integrated into everyday leadership and organisational culture. We are seeing greater attention to trauma-informed practice, psychological safety, neuro inclusion, compassionate leadership and the quality of workplace conversations.
Internally, we focus on creating regular opportunities for honest dialogue, reflection and shared decision-making. Externally, we are helping organisations equip managers with practical conversational skills and accessible resources they can use in the flow of work. The strategies making the greatest difference are not necessarily the biggest programmes—they are the ones that change what people experience every day.
Why is employee wellbeing so important to you personally?
It is personal because I understand that people do not leave their identity, health or life experiences at the door when they come to work. I have my own lived experience of mental health challenges, disability and navigating workplaces that were not always designed with difference in mind.
Work can be a powerful source of purpose, connection and confidence, but it can also cause harm when people feel excluded, unheard or unsafe. I want more people to experience workplaces where they can contribute fully without sacrificing their health or feeling that they must hide important parts of themselves.
What impact is AI having in your organization and how are you managing that?
AI is helping us work more efficiently, explore ideas and make learning and resources more accessible. It can support research, initial drafting, content development and some administrative processes, creating more time for the relational and creative work that people do best.
However, we approach it with care. Human judgement, confidentiality, accuracy and ethical oversight remain essential. We are clear that AI should enhance rather than replace human relationships, professional expertise or original thinking. We are also attentive to the anxiety it can create, so we encourage open conversations about how it is being used and what responsible practice looks like.
Other than AI, are there any challenges that you are seeing for the first time and how are you addressing them?
We are seeing a particular combination of prolonged fatigue, financial pressure, rapid technological change and reduced organisational capacity. Change itself is not new, but the pace and accumulation of pressures feel different. People can appear to be coping while having very little reserve left.
We are addressing this by helping organisations slow down sufficiently to understand what people are experiencing, rather than moving immediately to another initiative. That means listening carefully, involving employees in designing responses and focusing on a small number of meaningful changes that leaders can sustain.
What areas do you think employers should be focused on over the next 12 months?
Employers should focus on the everyday conditions that enable people to stay well and do good work: manageable demands, inclusive job design, skilled and compassionate managers, psychological safety, meaningful connection and genuine employee voice.
They should also pay greater attention to neurodiversity, disability, financial wellbeing and the cumulative impact of change. Above all, organisations need to close the gap between what they say about wellbeing and what people actually experience. Wellbeing must be visible in decisions about priorities, resources, workload and leadership behaviour—not confined to a programme or calendar of activities.
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?
The picture is mixed. Commitment to wellbeing remains strong, but financial pressure means investment is being scrutinised much more closely. That is not necessarily a bad thing: organisations should understand whether their investment is making a meaningful difference.
HR leaders are becoming more confident in connecting wellbeing with retention, absence, engagement, performance and organisational risk. However, we must avoid reducing wellbeing entirely to a financial calculation. The strongest case combines measurable organisational outcomes with qualitative evidence about people’s lived experience. We need to demonstrate not only whether an intervention was delivered, but what changed as a result.
How has your organisation been leading the way?
At The Wellbeing Collective, we have spent more than a decade helping organisations make wellbeing part of how they lead, communicate and work together. Our approach brings together positive psychology, appreciative inquiry, psychological safety, emotional intelligence, trauma-informed practice and dialogic organisational development.
We create practical, accessible learning that helps leaders turn good intentions into everyday behaviours. This includes our nationally recognised trauma-informed wellbeing resources, Personal Mastery tools, leadership development, coaching and large-scale culture and engagement programmes. We also bring our own lived experience into the work. Our belief is simple but demanding: every conversation counts, and workplace cultures are changed through what people repeatedly experience.
Amy will be running a workshop in London as part of our Wellbeing at Work Summit UK 2026 which takes place in both London and Manchester this September. Click the links below to find out more and book your tickets:
London Summit 15th September: Find out more and Book Your London Tickets Here
Manchester Summit 17th September: Find out more and Book Your Manchester Tickets Here
