Updated as of 5 July 2025

“If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.” This often-quoted truth has become more relevant as stress-related absences and burnout climb globally. A 2022 report by the World Health Organization found that 15% of working-age adults suffer from mental health conditions, costing the economy billions each year. But the case for wellbeing isn’t just economic—it’s human. What makes someone thrive, stay, or leave? How do we move beyond token wellness perks to lasting culture shifts? In this expert roundup, we explore what really works to support more productive and healthier, more humane workplaces.

Reward Outcomes, Not Screen Time

Creating a workplace culture that prioritizes mental and physical wellbeing without sacrificing productivity isn’t about offering yoga on Fridays or downloading another mindfulness app—it’s about building a system where rest, recovery, and real communication are embedded into the workflow, not bolted on as an afterthought.

One of the most impactful things I’ve done is normalize the conversation around energy, not just effort. We don’t just talk about deadlines—we talk about capacity. If someone’s showing up burnt out or foggy, we don’t push through it for the sake of output. We pause, recalibrate, and ask, “What would support actually look like right now?” That kind of leadership sets a tone where people don’t feel like they have to hide their burnout until it becomes a breakdown.

I’ve also made it a rule to reward outcomes, not screen time. We don’t celebrate the person who sends emails at midnight. We celebrate the one who delivered great work and signed off by 5. It sends a clear message: your value isn’t tied to your exhaustion. And ironically, when people know they’re not being judged for overworking, they tend to give more—not less—because they feel trusted and respected.

A moment that really solidified this for me was when a team member asked for time off to deal with anxiety, and instead of a formal process or awkward silence, the team’s immediate response was, “We’ve got you.” Projects were shifted, coverage was offered, and not one deadline was missed. That’s when I realized: the more we prioritize wellbeing, the more sustainable—and productive—our performance becomes.

Coming from a digital strategy and creative leadership background, I know how easy it is to glorify the grind. But long-term productivity doesn’t come from pressure. It comes from people who feel safe, supported, and seen. When your culture gives people permission to take care of themselves, what you get back is focus, creativity, and momentum. And that’s what moves businesses forward.

John Mac, Serial Entrepreneur, UNIBATT

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Leaders Must Model the Wellbeing They Preach

The obvious thing I do as the business owner is model this practice myself. I think as leaders, we spend a lot of time ‘telling’ employees what we want for them, but not ‘showing’ them. 

During the day, if I step into my sauna, I post a photo of it. If I take time to make myself a nourishing meal or if I take a break to sit in the sun, I share that. By doing so, I give my employees the freedom to move about their day in a way that doesn’t bring guilt or shame for prioritizing themselves or their families. 

I think the work system in which we operate has created unrealistic standards. And a leader may agree with that statement, but if he or she continues to operate by those unrealistic standards, then it perpetuates for their team, no matter what the leader says.

I have a fully remote team. I don’t want my employees to have to hide their lives from me, just so I think they are working more or being productive. I want to show them how I truly live, and in doing so, I encourage them to do the same. I am clear on standards and deliverables and desired outcomes. Their responsibility is to deliver on those items, in the time and space that makes sense for them.

Kerri Roberts, Founder & CEO, Salt & Light Advisors

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Integrate Wellbeing into Workflows, Not Alongside Them

As a psychologist, I see that organizations often frame well-being and productivity as competing goals, but in reality, they are deeply intertwined. Here are practical strategies to build a culture that nurtures both:

Model Healthy Behaviors from Leadership

When leaders visibly prioritize their own mental and physical health – taking breaks, managing workloads realistically, seeking support – it sets the tone for the entire team.

Embed Flexibility into Work Practices

Allow autonomy in how, when, and where work is completed where possible. Flexibility reduces stress, increases engagement, and empowers employees to balance their responsibilities effectively.

Integrate Well-being into Daily Workflows

Rather than siloing wellness programs, integrate short mindfulness breaks, stretch pauses, and brief check-ins into meetings. This normalizes self-care without sacrificing work time.

Encourage Open Conversations About Mental Health

Foster psychological safety by training managers to recognize mental health challenges and creating spaces where employees can speak up without fear of stigma.

Redesign Workloads and Expectations Realistically

Review role expectations to ensure they are achievable within standard hours. Chronic overwork undermines health and leads to burnout, which is counterproductive.

Provide Access to Professional Resources

Offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), counseling support, or mental health workshops. Ensure employees know how to access these services confidentially.

Measure Well-being Alongside Performance

Include well-being metrics in organizational assessments, such as employee satisfaction and burnout rates, to balance productivity-focused KPIs.

Why This Works

Research consistently shows that workplaces prioritizing employee well-being see lower turnover, higher engagement, and improved productivity. Healthy, supported employees bring greater creativity, focus, and commitment to their work.

Shebna N Osanmoh, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Savantcare

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Schedule Breakdowns to Prevent Actual Burnout

Here’s something unconventional we do to prioritize mental and physical wellbeing—without turning productivity into a casualty:

We schedule breakdowns.

No joke. Every 6 weeks, we assume someone on the team is going to crash: emotionally, mentally, or physically. So instead of pretending everyone’s a machine, we build in the buffer. Projects are scoped with margins that allow people to have an “off” week without the whole sprint collapsing. It’s like the “bus factor,” but for burnout. Weirdly enough, that slack makes us faster, not slower—because fewer people actually hit their limit when they’re not constantly toeing it.

We also discourage “hero mode.” You know, when someone pulls late nights to save a project last minute? Feels noble, but it sets a trap. People start thinking that overworking is what earns praise—when in reality, it just signals poor planning or unrealistic scoping. We’d rather celebrate someone who finishes work early and logs off at 3 p.m. than someone who pulls a heroic 10 p.m. save.

One more thing: when someone asks for time off for mental health, we treat it the same way we’d treat a broken ankle—zero shame, no prying questions, and total support. If a workplace claims to care about wellbeing but side-eyes you for taking a day when you’re overwhelmed, the culture’s broken. At that point, the productivity cost isn’t just stress—it’s attrition.

So the trick isn’t about adding wellness stuff on top of work. It’s about baking sanity into the architecture of how the work is scoped and paced. That’s what makes it sustainable.

Derek Pankaew, CEO & Founder, Listening.com

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Morning Check-Ins Transform Team Health and Output

Creating a workplace culture that puts mental and physical wellbeing first starts with leading by example. With over 15 years in the gardening and landscaping industry, I’ve learned that the key to long term productivity isn’t pushing harder, it’s working smarter and looking after your team. At Ozzie Mowing and Gardening, we make time every morning for a group check in where we talk through the day’s jobs, any physical strain concerns, and mental load. This isn’t fluff, it’s how I make sure my team feels supported and heard before they even pick up a tool. We rotate heavy tasks to avoid burnout, keep our schedule flexible enough to allow proper breaks, and actively encourage open conversations about mental health. Because of my background in both hands-on horticulture and formal study, I know how physically and mentally demanding this work can be. That knowledge helped me build a system that keeps my team strong, motivated, and focused without running them into the ground.

A good example is during our busiest season last year. Instead of pushing longer hours, I shifted the workflow to a split roster, ensuring everyone had a solid day off mid-week. It gave the team time to recover, reset, and come back fresh. The result? We actually increased output because everyone was more present and efficient on the job. It showed me firsthand that caring for your crew doesn’t slow things down, it lifts everything up. That balance between wellbeing and productivity only works when the culture backs it, and that has to come from the top.

Andrew Osborne, Owner, Ozzie Mowing & Gardening

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Wellbeing as Performance Strategy, Not Optional Perk

Creating a workplace culture that prioritizes mental and physical wellbeing without sacrificing productivity starts with understanding that the two aren’t opposing forces — they fuel each other. At Zapiy, I’ve seen this play out clearly. When people feel safe, supported, and energized, they bring their best ideas and focus to the table. But that doesn’t happen by accident — it requires intentional structures and a lot of listening.

One thing we’ve done is normalize conversations around wellbeing as part of how we operate, not just an occasional HR initiative. For example, during project kickoffs or team check-ins, it’s common for managers to ask, “How’s your energy this week?” or “What do you need to stay balanced while we push through this deadline?” It seems simple, but it signals that wellbeing isn’t an afterthought — it’s part of performance.

We’ve also rethought flexibility. It’s not just about remote work; it’s about outcomes over hours. We trust people to manage their time in ways that align with both business goals and personal health. Some of our best-performing team members block midday for a workout or take mental health days when needed — and productivity hasn’t suffered. If anything, it’s improved because burnout isn’t quietly building in the background.

The key lesson? Wellbeing isn’t a perk — it’s a performance strategy. When people know their health matters, they show up more focused, more creative, and more committed. That’s the culture we’re building at Zapiy.

Max Shak, Founder/CEO, Zapiy

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Stop Managing Output, Start Investing in Capacity

At Ridgeline Recovery, we don’t separate mental health from productivity—we treat them as the same thing. If your team’s running on burnout, your business isn’t running at all. That’s not philosophy. That’s lived experience.

One thing we do differently: we don’t glamorize overwork. If a clinician is still charting at 8 p.m., that’s not a badge of honor—it’s a leadership failure. So we restructured schedules, tightened caseloads, and built in mandatory admin time. It wasn’t about giving people less to do—it was about giving them space to do it well without frying their nervous systems.

We also embedded wellness into everyday systems. Staff don’t have to ask for mental health days—they’re expected to take them. We brought in trauma consultants for staff debriefs. And when someone’s off, they’re off. No Slack messages. No guilt.

It wasn’t always this way. In the early days, we tried to move fast and be “resilient.” But I watched talented people crash, burn out, or shut down emotionally. And in a field like addiction treatment, when your team loses their own stability, they can’t help clients find theirs. That’s when we got serious.

If you want both well-being and performance, you’ve got to stop managing output and start investing in capacity. Give people the structure, support, and psychological safety to work from a full tank—not fumes. That’s not soft. That’s how you get sustainable results.

Andy Danec, Owner, Ridgeline Recovery LLC

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Replace Meetings with Focus Blocks for Better Results

After a particularly demanding Q4 two years ago, one of my designers quietly resigned due to burnout. It was a wake-up call. We had weekly check-ins and team huddles, but none of that mattered if people didn’t feel safe enough to say, “I need to slow down.” Since then, we’ve shifted to a results-first culture with mental bandwidth as a key metric—not just output.

One change that’s stuck: we replaced mandatory morning meetings with optional asynchronous updates. It gives team members room to start their day in a way that suits them—gym, school runs, quiet prep. We’ve also built “focus blocks” into our calendar system where no messages are expected or checked. The results? Productivity has gone up, not down. People are more present, less reactive, and produce better work in less time. It’s not about adding wellness perks—it’s about removing friction and building trust that wellbeing isn’t a side note, it’s part of how we win.

Eugene Leow Zhao Wei, Director, Marketing Agency Singapore

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Smart Scheduling Builds Stronger, More Productive Teams

At Achilles Roofing, I don’t use buzzwords like “workplace culture” in meetings—we live it in the field. Mental and physical wellbeing isn’t some policy we print out and stick on the wall. It’s built into how we work, how we lead, and how we treat our people on and off the job.

First off, roofing is tough. Heat, heights, pressure to stay on schedule—if you don’t take care of your guys, they burn out fast. So I set the tone myself. I don’t just bark orders from the truck. I’m on-site, checking in, making sure they’ve had water, breaks, and enough rest between jobs. If someone’s showing signs of exhaustion or stress, I pull them aside—no judgment, just straight talk. I’d rather send a guy home for the day than risk an injury or a mistake that costs us more later.

We also run our crews smart. We don’t overload the schedule to the point where guys are dragging themselves from job to job, half dead. We leave breathing room in the week so they’re not always running on fumes. That actually makes them work sharper, faster, and with more pride—because they’re not operating in survival mode.

Mental health? It starts with respect. No one gets yelled at or disrespected on my job sites. You mess up, we fix it. We talk about it like men, not like bosses and workers. That builds loyalty and keeps guys mentally steady. They know they’re not just disposable labor—they’re part of something solid.

The result? We get more done with fewer guys, less burnout, and better work. When people feel looked after, they show up harder. That’s how you build a crew that lasts.

Ahmad Faiz, Owner, Achilles Roofing and Exteriors

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Focus Fridays Boost Completion Rates, Reduce Stress

When I noticed my team getting stretched thin by back-to-back calls and constant Slack pings, I carved out “focus Fridays”—every Friday morning is completely meeting-free and comes with an optional 10-minute guided stretch and breathing session led over video. By protecting those uninterrupted hours, people could tackle deep work or recharge with a quick physical break without feeling like they were falling behind.

In the first quarter after launching it, our sprint-completion rate climbed by 15% and our internal pulse survey showed a 25% drop in reported stress levels. That single habit of blocking headspace and encouraging small movement rituals gave everyone permission to prioritize their wellbeing while still delivering on key objectives—proving that you don’t have to sacrifice productivity to put people first.

Matt Purcell, Owner, PCI Pest Control

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Walk-and-Talk Sessions Speed Up Decision-Making Process

I swapped our usual conference-room retrospectives for “Walk-and-Talk” sessions—once a week we step outside for a 20-minute debrief as we stroll around the block. No chairs, no screens, just fresh air and a loose agenda. That brief physical break clears mental cobwebs while keeping us on task.

Last fall, during a crunch on our client portal launch, I insisted we do our sprint review on our feet. Within minutes people opened up about blockers they’d been holding back in the office, and we knocked out five actionable tweaks by the time we circled back. The combination of movement and open air not only recharged everyone’s focus but sped up decision-making—our next release shipped two days ahead of schedule.

Anthony Sorrentino, Owner, Pest Pros of Michigan

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Non-Negotiable Wellness Hour Improves Task Completion

I carved out a daily “wellness hour” from 1-2 PM where, without exception, everyone steps away from screens for a mix of light movement and mindfulness. Last fall, after a string of back-to-back site visits left the team visibly drained, I calendared a 15-minute guided stretch break, followed by 15 minutes of silent breathing or journaling, and then a 30-minute walk in the office park. By the second week, late-afternoon energy crashes all but disappeared, and our average ticket resolution time improved by 12%—because the team returned from that break more focused and less prone to mistakes.

What made this stick was treating it as non-negotiable work time rather than optional “wellness.” I track our daily completed tasks, and the data shows that days with full team participation consistently outperform the ones where people skip it. My advice: integrate wellbeing into your workflow by blocking the time visibly on every calendar, tying it to real output goals, and leading by example—when leadership embraces the pause, the whole culture gains permission to recharge without guilt.

Chris Rowland, Owner, Rowland Pest Management

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Put People First, Watch Productivity Follow

You start by proving you mean it, like cutting a tech’s route short after a brutal heat index day, or checking in after a tough call before you check numbers. When your team sees that people come first, they work harder because they know they’re not just tools—they’re trusted.

Jay Vincent, Owner, Smart Solutions Pest Control

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Human-First Logistics Reduce Sick Days, Boost Reviews

We had a driver whose personal crisis weighed on him, silently – until he suffered a panic attack from burnout while parked outside the Four Seasons.

That incident changed my approach to leadership.

At Mexico-City-Private-Driver.com, we don’t just think about productivity as being productive; we think about productivity as being sustainable. Our “human-first logistics” are based on flexible scheduling that works within everyone’s crisis, once-a-week emotional check-ins, and required rest-time after an airport shift of 12+ hours.

I instituted a no-penalty for rescheduling policy for drivers that are feeling a little “off” mentally, and there a rider; a rotating system to share hourly stress with each other and still provide great service to our clients. Since we’ve done all of this, we’ve reduced last-minute sick days by 40% and received 32% more 5-star reviews in 12 months.

The bottom line? We don’t see well-being as an expense; it’s our investment in growth. When drivers feel safe, they show up at their best. And also for our clients!

Martin Weidemann, Owner, Mexico-City-Private-Driver.com

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