Employee Health and Wellness:The Boardroom Blind Spot

IN TODAY’s COMPETITIVE business environment, companies are starting to realise that a healthy, supported workforce is the foundation of productivity, innovation, and organisational growth. Businesses that neglect employee wellness often experience higher absenteeism, burnout, staff turnover and reduced performance.
While many companies proudly highlight their investment in employee wellness through wellness policies, commemoration of health days, or even subsidised health insurance, the critical question remains: are these initiatives truly yielding measurable returns? Too often, the wellness function exists as a checkbox rather than a strategic arm of the business.
Unlike technology, infrastructure, or marketing areas where detailed plans, budgets, key performance indicators, and performance reviews are non-negotiable, employee wellness is frequently left without the same rigour in planning and execution. The result is that wellness programmes fail to translate into meaningful impact for both employees and the organisation.

EVERY COMPANY NEEDS A WELLNESS DEPARTMENT

The wellness function must be guided by a clear wellness policy supported by a dedicated budget, and executed by qualified health professionals. Without these three pillars: policy, resources, and expertise, wellness programmes risk being reduced to symbolic gestures with little impact on employee well-being or organisational performance.
The size of the company should determine the scale of its wellness department, but no company is too small to invest in wellness. While large enterprises may require a team of health practitioners to cover the diverse needs of their workforce, smaller businesses can still operate effectively with a single qualified health professional serving as a wellness practitioner capable of planning, executing, and evaluating health programmes.
At its core, this means assessing the overall health status of the organisation, identifying risks and threats to employee well-being, and designing sustainable interventions that directly address these challenges.
RETHINKING WHO QUALIFIES AS A WELLNESS PROFESSIONAL

A troubling trend in corporate recruitment is the narrow focus on hiring only candidates with backgrounds in psychology for wellness roles. While psychologists bring vital expertise in mental health, employee wellness is far broader than psychology alone. Limiting recruitment to one discipline risks creating programmes that lack the clinical breadth and practical versatility needed to address the full spectrum of workplace health.
Professionals such as nurses bring unmatched value to employee wellness. With their clinical training, extensive healthcare experience, and holistic approach to patient care, nurses are uniquely equipped to manage workplace health screenings, lead prevention programmes, and provide first-line support for both physical and emotional health needs. Importantly, mental health is not outside their scope. Nurses undergo extensive mental health and pyschology modules as part of their curriculum, which equips them to identify, support, and appropriately refer employees experiencing psychological distress.

Wellness Is Not Optional – It’s Strategy.

The message is clear: employee wellness must be professionalised, prioritised, and properly resourced. Organisations that integrate wellness into their core strategy not only safeguard their people but also future-proof their success. Investing in wellness is not simply an act of care, it is an act of leadership. It signals to employees that they are valued, to clients that they are working with a responsible partner, and to competitors that this is a business built for the long run. After all, a company’s greatest asset is its people and the future belongs to organisations wise enough to protect that asset.

*Lylie Ndeikemona-Uunona is a registered nurse who is passionate about corporate health and wellness.

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