Health

4 Pillars of employee well-being

23 de July, 2025

Employee well-being is taking on an increasingly central role in companies. There is an increasingly widespread belief that the consistent promotion of well-being has a positive impact on people and, consequently, on the organization.

On the one hand, workers feel more satisfied, more motivated and more involved. On the other hand, companies experience higher levels of productivity, profitability and lower turnover.

However, despite this growing awareness, many organizations still struggle to create well-being strategies that have a significant and lasting impact.

For this to happen, those responsible must recognize that well-being depends on several factors and is based on different pillars.

1 – Physical well-being

This pillar is linked to physical activity, nutrition, sleep and general habits that support a healthy lifestyle. Companies should play an active role in promoting physical well-being, since several studies show that physical activity positively influences mental health, improves mood, self-esteem and reduces stress.

As such, some of the initiatives that can be considered in a global well-being strategy are:

  • Encouraging and facilitating access to a healthy and nutritious diet, as well as adequate hydration;
  • Promote breaks throughout the day;
  • Organize activities that meet different preferences and interests (for example, walks, stretching, classes in different sports, sports tournaments, etc;)
  • Making access to gyms and other sports facilities more accessible, through discounts or protocols;
  • Providing educational resources and holding sessions with experts in the fields of physical activity, sleep and nutrition.

2 – Mental well-being

According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that 15% of working-age adults had a mental disorder in 2019.

Employers must take responsibility for ensuring the mental and emotional well-being of their employees. This commitment involves two areas of action:

  • On the one hand, to mitigate any stigmas and prejudices regarding mental illness and reduce barriers to supporting these employees;
  • On the other hand, preventing the risks of mental illness associated with work.

Mental well-being in the workplace depends directly on a healthy working environment, organizational culture and leadership.

Organizations need to make efforts to build a safe and inclusive organizational culture in which people can express their concerns and difficulties.

In addition, they must provide tools that enable employees to deal with anxiety and must be an active agent in preventing burnout.

3 – Financial well-being

The 2024 study Financial Well-Being in Portugal: A Behavioral Perspective revealed that half of the Portuguese feel anxiety when thinking about their personal finances.

In fact, financial well-being tends to be seen as a delicate and even taboo subject, but the truth is that financial concerns have a direct influence on people’s overall well-being.

In this context, it is clear that employers play a decisive role in the financial well-being of their employees. This role not only involves remuneration, but also other benefits that can maximize financial health, such as:

  • Employee benefits in essential areas that represent a large slice of the family budget (food, health, childhood, education and training, among others);
  • Health and other insurance;
  • Transport (for example, by supporting the payment of the social pass);
  • Partnerships and discounts on access to products and services (e.g. gyms, telecommunications, energy, mobility, among others);
  • Other benefits.

In addition, companies should provide financial literacy resources that help employees understand their relationship with money and provide a relevant knowledge base on topics such as saving and investing.

4 – Social well-being

Social well-being refers to the ability to build and maintain positive, healthy and meaningful relationships within a given community.

In the workplace, this is also a very important and challenging topic, particularly in companies with hybrid or remote working arrangements. With people physically more distant, the difficulty of fostering social well-being can be increased. However, promoting social well-being is crucial to keeping employees engaged, satisfied and motivated with their work.

Organizations must rethink and reinvent their workplaces – whether face-to-face or virtual – in order to foster the creation of positive relationships between people and teams, thus helping to consolidate their sense of belonging.

This should include:

  • Create opportunities and moments for people to connect in a more informal, relaxed and fun way;
  • Organizing events and social activities, both for the teams themselves and between different teams;
  • Train leaders and managers so that the work environment and organizational culture ensure a balance between personal and professional life.


In short, these four pillars of employee well-being are interconnected and play a crucial role in organizational success.

Organizations must take them into account holistically in order to design a solid, relevant and sustainable well-being strategy that genuinely puts people’s well-being first.

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