Introduction

PAUL'S BEEN WORKING AT A large professional services company for more than 25 years. As technology accelerated to warp speed, the challenge of keeping a sane work practice became more difficult. Balancing his busy work schedule with his other commitments became increasingly challenging and finally caused him to focus on his well-being. Not only did he improve his diet and start running, but he also developed a meditation practice. The new habits improved his physical health, and being out in nature allowed him to decompress.

Kerry works at the same company. She recognizes that her well-being affects her performance and admits striving for balance in her personal and professional life is challenging. Like Paul, she is conscious of eating healthy foods, exercising, and the need for getting time away from work.

What makes Paul and Kerry different from many other employees at Accenture is that they are also managers. What makes Paul and Kerry different from most managers at all companies is that they are not only trying to keep themselves healthy and well, they are also making physical and mental health part of the normal conversation with their teams.1 They even discuss mindfulness, a skill only recently, but quickly, starting to seep into the vernacular of leadership. Paul goes as far as developing a team wellness plan and designating a team member for keeping well-being on the team agenda. Kerry's a trained mental health ally, there to help her colleagues when they are going through a tough time.

"A great place to work starts with a culture that enables all people to have the opportunity to reach their potential," says Ellyn Shook, Accenture's chief leadership and human resources officer. "Our cultural building blocks have served as our foundation for years-our behaviors, our beliefs, how we develop people and how we do business."

It's this philosophy that has contributed to Accenture's recognition as one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For. And it's leaders like Paul and Kerry who have helped the company achieve 14 consecutive years as a great place to work.

Shook is one of many executives who recognize the impact of workplace culture on employee well-being. But how do we build a well-being culture and what are culture building blocks? When you type "workplace culture" into the Google search bar, you'll find more than 9 million results. However, when you enter "workplace-culture building blocks," you get one: an article on how to recruit physical therapists more effectively.2 But have no fear-there's a prescription for a happier, healthier, and more resilient team and organization through building a well-being culture, and you can find it in these pages.

Contrast Accenture with a company across the street (figuratively speaking). Sam pulled himself out of bed after another restless night of sleep; count him among the majority of employees complaining of work-related insomnia.3 Despite being tired and not feeling well, he drags himself to Toxic, Inc. Sam is not alone. Six out of 10 employees say they've gone to work sick (thank goodness this survey was before COVID-19),4 many out of concern their employment status would otherwise be in jeopardy. Sam will eventually quit his job to escape the stress, joining many other Americans who've done the same to save their health and well-being.

How can you achieve the same success as Paul, Kerry, and Accenture and avoid being on the path of Toxic, Inc.? Every day, leaders in organizations small, large, private, and public are struggling to reconcile their own well-being with their work and figuring out how to support the health of their teams. Leaders and employees alike are struggling to overcome the pervasive and sometimes invisible workplace influences on their behaviors and mood. Many companies offer programs, a wellness portal and health-promoting policies, but the environment, the people, and the business priorities aren't always aligned. Employees need more-a lot more-for their well-being.

When the global pandemic hit in 2020, employee health and well-being became an urgent issue. Everyone faced new stressors, inside and outside of work. Isolation compounded the problem. Many families, communities, and organizations lost people they cared about. Some employees learned to work remotely, while others lost their jobs as employers struggled to get their footing.

Yet there were other companies like Accenture that stood out in this time of crisis. Organizations in which employees worked together, helped each other, and were recognized as places where people were glad they worked. Their cultures are a large part of why their employees are happy and resilient.

For some employers, it took a pandemic to realize the value of their employees' health and well-being. However, the fracturing of the workforce along the fault lines of well-being started long before. In the United States, employer-sponsored health insurance costs almost $8,000 for single coverage and more than $22,000 for family coverage and there is no end to the increases in sight.5 That's a lot of donuts.

Employers have the real challenge of recruiting and retaining employees. In unhealthy workplace cultures, there is higher turnover. In addition to recruitment costs, vacancies take a toll on well-being. There are often overt or subtle messages that the work still needs to get done, albeit with fewer people.

Americans, as a group, aren't getting younger or healthier. The opposite is true. We have a nationwide culture of poor health and well-being. Chronic conditions are on the rise and we're one of the most stressed-out countries in the world.6 And that was before the global pandemic. The leading causes of premature death in America are generally preventable. Now, pair that information with an aging workforce, a falling birth rate, a tighter labor market, and people needing to work longer than expected because they aren't financially prepared for retirement. We've been waiting for the tide to turn, for community leaders and politicians to make real change happen, but we're approaching the edge of the cliff. If companies and organizations want to be successful, which means having a viable and dependable workforce, they have no choice but to act now.

For decades, employers have recognized the role they could play and the importance of acting. A lot of companies have been trying. Consider the title of a recent Forbes column: "The Rise of the Chief Wellbeing Officer."7 Count the number of articles on culture of health issues published in one week by the Society for Human Resource Management. Look at the growing number of universities offering degrees in health and wellness promotion to feed the demand from public and private organizations.

Leaders know the outcomes they would like to see and they're willing to make them a priority, but the wellness programs they offer-lunch and learns, biggest-loser contests, health-risk assessments, and the like-just aren't delivering. The real issue is that changing human behavior is too complicated to be shifted by transactional wellness tactics alone. If you are trying to live a healthy and well life, it's much easier to swim with the current of a workplace well-being culture.

In 2018, the majority of leaders from organizations representing more than 5.2 million employees around the globe conceded that they had not yet achieved a culture of well-being.8 However, more than 80 percent of these employers without a culture of well-being aspired to create one. One challenge is that culture is a loose concept. They often don't know where to start and how to build a workplace well-being culture. Consequently, they throw money at it and are disappointed when not much changes.

What you'll discover in this book is that creating a culture of well-being doesn't take much money. It may only take you (well, maybe invite a few friends to help). Leaders who take a systematic approach by using the six building blocks of a well-being culture described in this book can impact their team's well-being and even the whole company, depending on your role in the organization. By building a more positive well-being culture, you'll be able to unlock employee engagement, morale, and productivity while improving the health and resiliency of your team.9 When you act, you'll be able to compete for top talent. Frankly, a well workplace can make every leader's job more satisfying and enjoyable.

WHY CULTURE IS THE SOLUTION

We know, and research proves, that a key factor in anybody's ability to achieve their health goals is whether those goals are supported by the people they're closest to-at home and at work. We've all had the experience of working toward a goal with a buddy or family member, but we don't always recognize the more subtle influences of the other people around us and our work environment. But can organizations leverage these forces to support employees?

Compared to pervasive and often subtle cultural influences, employer-driven health and wellness tactics can feel transactional-or worse, hypocritical or manipulative. In one survey, 75 percent of respondents said their companies offered "wellness...