It’s been five years since the Covid-19 pandemic put a spotlight on personal and professional wellbeing as a business priority.

Much has changed in the workplace since then, not least the widespread and ongoing introduction of AI tools, organizations dropping DEI policies, and the power struggle between RTO mandates and employees that have grown accustomed to flexible working models.

Outside the workplace, global tensions have gathered pace throughout 2025  and this will no doubt also be having a significant impact on employees’ day-to-day lives and overall wellbeing.

HR leaders are therefore expected to place a greater emphasis on employee wellbeing as a strategic objective this year – finally moving the needle to better support and results across the five components of wellbeing: mental, physical, financial, social and environmental health.

But what’s the real state of play among HR leaders? Is this finally a new chapter for employees or has wellbeing once again fallen down the order of strategic priorities?

UNLEASH spoke to a trio of HR leaders at KPMG, Virgin Media O2, and Canva to find out what new strategies, tools and support they are bringing to the table this year to help employees and how this fits into their organization’s strategic objectives for 2025.

‘Our success relies on our people being able to thrive and perform at their best’

Nhlamu Dlomu, Global Head of People, KPMG International

For consultancy KPMG, employee wellbeing is a core tenant of its Global People Strategy, according to Nhlamu Dlomu, Global Head of People at KPMG International.

“KPMG is a people business. We know that our success relies on our people being able to thrive and perform at their best,” Dlomu tells UNLEASH.

“Not only is it the right thing to do, but we see supporting our people’s wellbeing as a business imperative that leads to improved productivity and better business outcomes.”

KPMG operates businesses in 143 nations with a 275,288-person workforce, meaning various regional and cultural differences will impact on employee wellbeing in different ways.

“This year, we plan to introduce a set of baseline approaches that we recommend all KPMG Firms to have in place, ensuring that our people, regardless of which country or office they are working out of, can feel confident that their well-being is a priority,” Dlomu explains.

While Dlomu states the KPMG network of firms have wellbeing plans in place, alongside “strong leadership support, regular communication and engagement activities, and working environments that support healthy habits,” plans are in place to supplement this foundation in 2025.

Firstly, it will create a global network for its HR professionals with responsibility for employee wellbeing to to share best practices, learn from one another and help KPMG identify where it needs to focus its efforts.

It will also be releasing a suite of wellbeing implementation guides, developed in partnership with not-for-profit membership organization MindForward Alliance.

“These guides cover topics such as how to support colleagues across different life stages, creating a mental health champion network, and using data to inform your wellbeing strategy, to name a few. They will provide easy-to-use practical guidance,” Dlomu says.

Dlomu adds that while a “stigma around mental health disorders continues to hinder progress”, KPMG will also be upping its efforts to recognize World Mental Health Day (October 10) by “co-creating a global campaign with our people to shine a light on this important topic”.

‘Our people can balance their jobs and be there for their loved ones’

Philipp Wohland, Chief People Officer, Virgin Media O2

Media and telecoms giant Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) are “commitment to creating an environment where all our people can thrive and achieve their potential,” says Chief People Officer, Philipp Wohland.

Employee wellbeing is at the heart of VMO2’s ‘People Plan’, which includes building a culture where “all our employees feel psychologically safe and can bring their whole selves to work,” he explains.

“This is underpinned by our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy, ‘All In’, and our ambitions to improve the representation of women and people from Global Majority Groups backgrounds across the organization,” Wohland tells UNLEASH.

As Nisha Marwaha, VMO2’s Director of People Relations and DE&I, shared with UNLEASH in an exclusive interview last year, the organization has spent considerable effort on a strategy involving targets around gender parity and better representation of ethnic minorities (particularly at leadership level), as well as best-in-class benefits.

Wohland details that all VMO2 employees have access to private healthcare, with accessible benefits such as 24/7 mental health support, removing the outpatient limit so they can access the treatment they and their family might need, assessments for a range of neurodiverse conditions, plus dedicated support for women experiencing menopause.

“Moreover, through our best-in-class leave policies, our people can balance their jobs and be there for their loved ones when it counts,” Wohland says.

“This includes 26-weeks’ paid maternity or adoption leave, 14-weeks’ paid paternity leave, as well as five days’ paid leave for employees who are unpaid carers.”

Meanwhile, VMO2 has also implemented a new comprehensive learning and development program to support its 16,000 employees to build core skills, expertise and resilience.

“This includes courses on topics such as AI, stakeholder management, and mental flexibility to help them adapt and grow in their roles,” Wohland states.

‘When our team feels supported and valued, they are their most engaged and innovative’

Faye Longhurst, Regional People Lead Europe, Canva

Global design platform Canva has experienced substantial growth over the past five years, even if its nature of facilitating global work without impacting on employee wellbeing hasn’t.

Speaking to UNLEASH, Canva’s Regional People Lead Europe, Faye Longhurst, explains that as the business expands internationally it is “embracing a global vision with a local mindset – building genuine connections and recognizing the unique nuances of every market”.

Canva’s approach to employee wellbeing is no different, Longhurst explains, adding that it sits at the heart of the business as “we firmly believe that when our team feels supported and valued, they are their most engaged and innovative.”

“By tailoring our wellbeing initiatives to reflect the unique cultures and needs of each region, we ensure that every employee – or, as we call them, Canvanauts – feels valued and supported, no matter where in the world they are,” Longhurst says.

This extends all the way down to the small, day-to-day moments, such as verbal praise, written recognition and feedback, and public ‘shoutouts’ of individual efforts and achievements.

Longhurst adds that celebrating both large and small victories is a core part of Canva’s culture, including a specific ‘Kudos’ Slack channel to “celebrate when our team go above and beyond, hit a goal, or make someone’s day”.

“On a more macro level, as many companies introduced return-to-office mandates over the last couple of years, we have doubled down on our hybrid approach, founded on our values of flexibility and connection,” Longhurst details.

Canva’s wellbeing benefits have also been adapted accordingly, such as the ‘Vibe and Thrive’ benefit which supports employees and teams with their home office set-up, professional development, and wellbeing.

“Equally, we’re ensuring both our hybrid teammates and our fully remote folks, or ‘remoties’, feel really connected to our teams with regular remote friendly online events, social clubs, and spotlighting our remote teammates in our monthly internal magazine,” she adds.