Employee wellness showed a few important shifts in 2025.
For many years, workplace wellness lived on the edges of HR strategy, as something that received little priority. In 2025, this started to change. Companies began moving away from once-off initiatives toward something that was more deliberate – a cohesive system of care that’s designed to support people consistently.
As we worked alongside HR teams throughout the year, it became clear that HR leaders were understanding the importance of designing an environment in which mental balance, movement, connection, recognition, and company leadership work together.
This shift matters. When well-being is treated as a system rather than an add-on, participation increases, engagement deepens, and well-being becomes part of everyday work culture, and not another item on the calendar.
In this article, we’ll share five key wellness insights from 2025 that stood out across our corporate wellness and well-being programs. Each insight reflects what worked, and what HR teams can carry forward as they begin shaping a more integrated, sustainable wellness strategy for 2026.
Insight #1: Mind Matters – Mental Wellness Became a Strategic KPI
In 2025, organisations started viewing mental well-being through a new lens. Rather than focusing solely on stress management, mental energy emerged as an indicator of team health. HR teams paid closer attention to factors such as concentration, mental fatigue, and employees’ ability to reset during the workday.
Mental wellness initiatives were most effective when they were short, accessible, and integrated into the natural rhythm of work – not positioned as additional tasks employees had to make time for.
In one client program, employees engaged in an average of 10 minutes of daily focus-based activities, with 82.1% reporting a noticeable reduction in perceived stress levels over the course of the initiative.
What Worked in 2025
- Short guided mental breaks that fit naturally between tasks
- Audio-based mindfulness content that employees could access on demand
- Weekly anchors, such as Mindful Monday, that created familiarity without pressure
What This Means for HR in 2026
As HR teams plan their employee well-being strategies for the year ahead, mental wellness should be embedded into existing structures rather than treated as a standalone initiative. Integrating short mental activities into team challenges, check-ins, or regular meetings helps normalise mental recovery as part of work.
When mental wellness becomes a regular, expected behaviour, it shifts from a support mechanism into a strategic asset.
Our previous post goes into great detail about physical self care.
Insight #2: Move More, Stress Less – Physical Activity as Connection, Not Competition
The role of physical activity in workplace wellness shifted in an important way in 2025. Rather than positioning movement as a competitive challenge that’s focused on leaderboards and step counts, many organisations began reframing it as a shared experience, one that builds energy, consistency, and connection across teams.
We saw a growing preference for movement initiatives that encouraged participation over performance. Step challenges, yoga sessions, and mobility-focused activities were increasingly designed as opportunities for community. This approach removed pressure and made movement feel more inclusive, particularly for employees with different fitness levels, physical limitations, or work environments.
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What Worked in 2025
- Programs that prioritized consistency and accessibility over intensity
- Micro-challenges lasting five to seven days
- Hybrid movement options that suited office-based and remote teams
- Mobility-friendly activities, including stretching, standing, and seated movement
What This Means for HR in 2026
As HR teams refine their wellness programs at work, physical activity should be positioned as a tool for inclusion and collective energy, rather than competition. Designing programs that allow employees to engage at different intensity levels makes participation more achievable and sustainable.
By shifting the focus from how much employees move to how often they move, organisations can build healthier habits that fit naturally into the workday.
If you’re curious about workouts at your desk, check out our earlier article.
Insight # 3: Connect to Engage – Team Challenges as Culture Builders
In 2025, workplace wellness stopped being a purely individual pursuit and increasingly became a shared, social experience. Rather than asking employees to improve their well-being on their own, organisations started designing programs that encouraged interaction, visibility, and collective participation.
Team-based challenges emerged as a strong driver of engagement. When wellness activities created opportunities for employees to interact, whether through shared goals, light-hearted tasks, or simple encouragement, participation felt less like another responsibility and more like a cultural touchpoint.
In one client program, this approach resulted in an 82% engagement rate, which was supported by more than 2,300 reactions and messages within the community challenge space. The level of interaction demonstrated that well-being programs designed as social experiences can significantly strengthen connection and participation across teams.
What Worked in 2025
- Team-based challenges that prioritised participation over performance
- A mix of physical, mental, and creative tasks within the same initiative (such as Movement + Kindness weeks)
- Shared digital spaces that encouraged conversation, reactions, and peer recognition, reinforcing a sense of belonging and shared purpose
What This Means for HR in 2026
As HR teams plan wellness programs in the workplace, it’s increasingly important to see well-being in terms of team dynamics, rather than individual achievement. Programs that create opportunities for employees to engage with one another, rather than compete, help build stronger connections and a more cohesive culture.
When well-being becomes something that teams experience together, it reinforces belonging, increases visibility, and strengthens organisational culture far beyond the duration of the program itself.
For more details about healthy habits to start, take a look at our prior publication.
Are you looking to transform both your business and the lives of your team members? BetterMe corporate wellness solutions provide a holistic approach to physical and mental health that boosts productivity and job satisfaction.
Insight #4: Recognize and Reward – From Gifts to Meaningful Moments
The importance of recognition in the workplace is well established. What stood out in 2025 was not whether employees were recognised, but how recognition was designed and integrated.
Organisations that combined wellness gifts with intentional moments of acknowledgement consistently achieved the highest retention among participants. At the same time, wellness-related gifts shifted away from being framed as prizes to be won and became expressions of care instead.
What Worked in 2025
- Wellness gifts framed as care-based recognition rather than competition prizes
- Self-care gift cards and curated wellness boxes aligned with well-being goals
- Micro-recognition for participation, consistency, and effort – not just outcomes
- Simple, well-timed moments of acknowledgement that helped employees feel seen and valued, without requiring large or costly incentives
What This Means for HR in 2026
As HR teams design wellness programs for employers, recognition should be treated as a core component of the well-being ecosystem, rather than an optional add-on. Even in short challenges, building in a moment of appreciation, such as an end-of-week acknowledgement, can significantly reinforce engagement and motivation.
Recognition signals that well-being is valued by the organization. When employees feel acknowledged for participating, wellness programs are more likely to feel meaningful, inclusive, and worth returning to.
Read more: Corporate Wellness Solutions of 2026: Programs for Retail Companies
Insight #5: Lead the Way – Manager and HR as Wellness Multipliers
The most significant shift in workplace well-being during 2025 was the role managers started to play within the wellness ecosystem. Rather than well-being being driven solely by HR or external programs, managers increasingly became visible participants and role models, which set the tone for how well-being was experienced within teams.
Programs where managers actively participated showed a clear difference in engagement. When leaders joined challenges, shared their own experiences, or simply made space for well-being conversations, teams were more likely to participate and remain engaged. In these environments, managers who demonstrated their own involvement increased team engagement by an average of 45%.
What Worked in 2025
- Managers visibly participating in wellness activities together with their teams
- Leaders setting the tone by modelling balance, recovery, and participation
- HR teams supporting managers with clear frameworks, rather than standalone initiatives
What This Means for HR in 2026
Well-being initiatives are most effective when they’re reinforced through leadership behaviour, not just policy or communication.
In this model, managers act as ambassadors for well-being, while HR serves as the architect and coach of the overall system. Enabling managers with simple, practical tools – such as mindful check-ins, positive reinforcement, and participation cues – allows well-being to be reinforced in everyday interactions.
When managers lead by example and HR designs the supporting framework, well-being moves beyond a program and becomes part of how teams operate.
Why This Approach Works
The most effective well-being initiatives in 2025 shared one common characteristic – they worked as a system. When mental well-being, physical movement, social connection, recognition, and leadership reinforcement are designed to support one another, well-being stops functioning as a standalone program and becomes a shared set of behaviours embedded in everyday work.
This integrated approach creates momentum. Employees aren’t asked to engage with isolated initiatives, but to move through a continual rhythm that supports energy, connection, and consistency over time.
As HR teams plan for 2026, the opportunity is to move away from short-term campaigns and toward cycles of impact:
Pause → Move → Connect → Recognise → Lead
When these elements are intentionally aligned, well-being becomes sustainable, scalable, and culturally embedded.
The Bottom Line
In 2025, employee well-being shifted from one-off initiatives to an interconnected “system of care.”
For 2026, HR teams should build a connected wellness ecosystem—where mental reset moments, inclusive movement, team connection, meaningful recognition, and manager-led reinforcement reinforce one another in a repeatable cycle (Pause → Move → Connect → Recognise → Lead) – so well-being becomes part of daily culture, not just a series of calendar initiatives.
