19 May 2025 
Emma Walton-Pond, Communications Officer
A balanced and positive state of wellbeing is something we all aspire to. The ‘great reset’ of the pandemic in 2020, when we were all confined to our homes with only screens for company, made many of us consider more carefully the various mental, physical and financial demands of life – and the importance of addressing each in equal measure.
Although those days have thankfully passed, there remains a question over what role the employer plays, with respect to the mental, physical and financial needs of the people they employ.
Wellbeing: the employer’s role
For all the statistics that point to wellbeing and higher employee productivity going hand in hand, nothing is more convincing than first-hand experience. When are teams most effective? Is it when they’ve just had a landmark breakthrough on a project or hit a personal objective? Or is it when they’re looking for motivation on a Monday morning.
‘Wellbeing Utopia’ means being physically and mentally healthy across all stages of life, happy (with enough money to retire), productive and fulfilled at work, and supported by your employer. Put like that it sounds pretty straightforward – but balancing mental, physical and financial wellbeing, amid all of life’s challenges, is no mean feat.
5 ways to ace wellness
Wellbeing is a billion-pound industry innovating at an incredible rate, buoyed by technological advances and algorithmic analysis. Before too long, for example, we expect to see full-body scans feature in a standard GP checkup. They could even completely replace in-person health checks in the not-too-distant future. At the same time, AI coaches– already a feature of many health and wellness apps – will only become more sophisticated, empowering us to explore and improve our approaches to nutrition, work-life balance, mental and physical wellbeing and much more. It’s hard to keep up, both as an individual and an employer, but here are our top five tips for staying on top of the technology and optimising workforce wellbeing:
1. Gather insight to understand your workforce – Across nearly every aspect of modern life, we are starting to see the power and capabilities of AI and, crucially, its reliance on large amounts of high-quality data. The issue here is that employers don’t have that much data about their staff – and it’s not going to be easy to collect. That said, there are several new workplace data analytics products that can help you sensitively and transparently gather information and insights about your employees.
2. Focus on what will resonate – It’s often best to keep things straightforward. Too much choice means nobody makes a choice – and the stress of, for example, deciding which movie to watch quickly outweighs the enjoyment of watching it. So it pays to focus on what is actually going to resonate with employees. Running an inclusive fitness challenge with teams and prizes, for example, will be more engaging and morale-boosting than a simple gym discount.
3. Embed resources – Wanting to feel supported is more than a trend – it’s a human trait. People may not know when they will need that medical or financial support, but one day they will – and knowing how to access it is key. Embedding wellbeing resources at the forefront of company portals and regularly engaging in cross-channel communications gives employees peace of mind.
4. Support inclusive wellbeing confidence – Although every workplace has members who will naturally and publicly embrace wellbeing resources, those that lack confidence are typically the ones who would benefit most. Coaching will play a key role here, with an appropriate blend of AI and ‘real-life’ coaches, depending on employee preference.
5. Get the balance right – Promoting the most appropriate range of choices, wellbeing funds and good guidance and coaching – without being overbearing – isn’t easy. Wellbeing doesn’t have to be expensive, but it’s an extremely sticky part of an employee value proposition. A well-balanced wellbeing strategy can be the catalyst for a happy and productive workforce, and a valuable attraction and retention tool in any industry.
To find out how Isio’s grasp of technological developments in the wellness industry can help you help your workforce, click here to find out more.
If your institution bought a team ticket to UHR25, take advantage of this recorded session where Isio also offer a perspective 'Is Flexibility the Key to Better Outcomes for a Defined Contribution Pension Scheme?'
