National Wellness Month & International Happiness Month

National Wellness Month & International Happiness Month

August is a perfect time to refocus on wellbeing, with National Wellness Month encouraging self-care, healthy habits and stress management, alongside Happiness Happens Month, which celebrates the everyday moments that bring joy and promotes a positive, mindful approach to living.

Why this matters

Employee wellbeing is directly linked to organisational outcomes. Global insights show that employees who feel supported in wellbeing are significantly more engaged and loyal. Positive workplace cultures reduce turnover risk and improve performance. This results in higher engagement and retention levels, reduced absenteeism, and improved productivity and morale amongst staff.

Building a Culture of Wellbeing and Happiness

Employers can use these awareness months as a simple but effective opportunity to promote wellbeing in the workplace. For example, they can:

Encourage participation: Share tips, resources, and communications that raise awareness of self-care, stress management, and positive habits.

Organise activities: Run wellbeing initiatives such as mindfulness sessions, fitness challenges, or healthy eating campaigns.

Promote open conversations: Create safe spaces to talk about mental health and wellbeing, supported by trained line managers.

Recognise and celebrate wins: Acknowledge individual and team achievements, and encourage employees to share what brings them joy.

Signpost support: Highlight existing support such as EAPs, occupational health services, or financial wellbeing resources.

Lead by example: Encourage leaders to model healthy behaviours, such as taking breaks and maintaining work-life balance.

By taking small, visible actions, employers can reinforce a culture that values wellbeing all year round.

CIPD have identified seven interconnected domains or areas that organisations should consider and address in their Employee Wellbeing strategy:

Health: Supporting physical, mental, and workplace safety through health promotion, safe practices, and access to services like occupational health and EAPs.

Good work: Creating positive work environments with effective management, fair workloads, autonomy, clear communication, and equitable pay and recognition.

Values and principles: Demonstrating strong leadership, ethical behaviour, and a commitment to inclusion, diversity, and trust.

Collective/social wellbeing: Encouraging employee voice, open communication, and respectful, supportive workplace relationships.

Personal growth: Enabling career development, lifelong learning, resilience, and opportunities for creativity and progression.

Lifestyle choices: Promoting healthy habits such as physical activity and good nutrition.

Financial wellbeing: Ensuring fair pay, benefits, financial support, and retirement planning.

Together, these domains can provide a holistic framework to help employers build a more healthy, engaged, and productive workforce.