It is World Wellbeing Week 2026, which is a useful opportunity to reflect on what workplace wellbeing really looks like in practice. This year I’m giving you a different take on things: Are we giving people permission to look after their wellbeing? It’s all about how we show up, what we role model, and the behaviours we make feel acceptable within our teams and organisations.
After working in wellbeing and high performance for around 14 years, I have seen many organisations do a huge amount to support their people. There are often excellent employee benefits, wellbeing resources, support services, mental health signposting, check-in questions, awareness campaigns and initiatives designed to help people feel better, work better and stay well. All of that matters.
There is another layer to wellbeing that I want to shine a light on. Because sometimes, what people really need is permission. Permission to use what is already available, permission to look after their wellbeing, permission to be vulnerable and honest, and that permission must be seen as well as heard.
Wellbeing resources are only useful if people feel able to use them
Many organisations have invested in wellbeing support, but there can still be a gap between what is offered and what people feel able to do.
For example, an organisation might encourage people to take proper breaks, but if senior leaders regularly work through lunch, people may not feel they can step away from their desk.
A business might talk about protecting recovery time, but if emails are constantly sent late at night, people may feel they need to be always available.
A manager might ask someone how they are in a one-to-one, but if the culture rewards busyness, overwork and constant urgency, that person may not feel safe enough to answer honestly.
This is where permission becomes so important.
Not just verbal permission, although that helps. But behavioural permission.
The kind of permission people see, feel and experience through the actions of leaders, managers and teams.
What are we giving people permission to do?
One of the most powerful questions leaders can ask is:
What behaviours am I giving people permission to adopt?
Whether that is consciously or unconsciously.
We may be giving people permission to rest, recover and work sustainably. Or we may be giving people permission to stay online late, skip breaks, tolerate unreasonable pressure or ignore the early warning signs of stress.
This is not usually intentional. Most leaders are not trying to create a culture where people feel unable to protect their wellbeing. But cultures are shaped by what is modelled, encouraged, rewarded and repeated.
If the stated message is “look after yourself”, but the observed behaviour is “keep pushing no matter what”, people are far more likely to follow what they see.
Showing, not telling
This is why role modelling is such an important part of workplace wellbeing. Leaders and managers do not need to be perfect. But they do need to be aware that their behaviour sends a message. So if the leadership teams are neglecting themselves, these behaviours could be unconsciously contributing to a culture of overwork, stress and burnout.
Taking breaks, protecting focus time, setting boundaries, using annual leave, speaking honestly about energy and workload, and asking thoughtful questions can all help give people permission to do the same.
It is not about lowering standards or reducing ambition. It is about creating the conditions where people can perform well without burning out. That is a key part of sustainable high performance.
Because people are more likely to engage with wellbeing resources and initiatives when they see that those behaviours are genuinely accepted and supported and led from the top down within the culture.
A question for leaders and senior teams
World Wellbeing Week is a good moment to pause and ask:
What are we giving permission for?
More specifically:
What behaviours are we modelling?
What are we incentivising?
What are we encouraging?
What behaviours might we be unintentionally rewarding?
And what behaviours might be contributing to stress, pressure or burnout within the organisation?
These are not always easy questions, but they are useful ones. They move workplace wellbeing beyond benefits and resources and into the everyday behaviours that shape how people actually experience work.
Permission is part of prevention
If we want people to take wellbeing seriously, we need to make it feel possible, acceptable and normal. That means creating cultures where people do not just know what they could do to support their wellbeing, but feel genuinely able to do it.
Resources matter. Support matters. Signposting matters. And permission matters too.
And often, that permission starts with what people see from those around them, especially their leaders.
So this World Wellbeing Week, perhaps the most useful question is not simply, “What wellbeing support do we offer?”
It might be:
What are we giving people permission to do?
Creating a culture of wellbeing and high performance
If you would like to explore how to build a more sustainable approach to wellbeing and performance in your organisation, let’s talk. My keynotes are designed to help teams understand resilience, manage pressure and create the conditions for sustainable high performance, with practical, relatable and simple actions.
