Breaking barriers to workplace wellness
A leading bank in Thailand sought to establish health and wellbeing as a core tenet of its workplace culture. However, the organisation faced key obstacles, such as:
- Limited access to mental health services for its workforce
- High stigma around seeking support in the workplace
- Low employee participation in workplace wellness activities
These challenges significantly impacted employee morale, leaving many disengaged and hindering the bank’s goal to create a healthier, more supportive work environment. Mental health assessments further highlighted the severity of the issue, revealing that 50% of employees were at risk with no way to seek structured support.
A multi-pronged approach to drive cultural change
To address these barriers, the bank partnered with Naluri to develop a comprehensive, multi-pronged strategy that laid the foundation for cultural transformation within the organisation. This initiative was rolled out in two phases:
Phase 1: Expanding access
The bank’s previous wellness programme was limited to onsite consultations with restricted credits, which reduced employee access to mental health support. Through Naluri, the bank introduced a more inclusive, digitally-enabled programme via the Naluri App, empowering employees to seek support anytime, in the way that suited them best.
- Self-service resources: Employees gained access to a comprehensive library of self-help tools and health content, including a 24/7 textline and careline for immediate assistance.
- Digital coaching: Recognising that not all employees readily seek help, on-demand coaching was offered to support employees' overall wellbeing, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and financial health.
- Onsite mental health clinic: Naluri offered regular onsite consultations three weeks a month with a pre-booking system available, tackling stigma and logistical barriers to help employees seek support when needed.
Phase 2: Tailoring support
Building on insights from Naluri’s digital platform and collaborative feedback from the bank, the second phase focused on targeted initiatives to deliver lasting cultural impact:
- Heatmap analysis: High-risk departments were identified through heatmap analysis, prompting leadership coaching initiatives to drive cultural change and enhance employee wellbeing.
- Peer support network: People managers were trained as mental health advocates, gaining skills to foster empathy and provide support, which helps embed advocacy into their leadership.
- Holistic wellness activities: Interactive activities like wellness challenges, health talks, and exercise workshops were introduced to encourage healthy living and ongoing participation in wellbeing initiatives.
Embedding wellbeing into everyday work life
Through its partnership with Naluri, the bank successfully reshaped employee mindsets and encouraged proactive self-care, fostering a culture of wellness and driving meaningful cultural and operational change. Key outcomes include:
- Improved accessibility: Within days of opening prebookings, onsite mental health clinics were fully booked three months ahead, indicating a significant rise in employees proactively seeking support.
- Empowered managers: 90% of people managers completed Naluri’s mental health advocacy training, reporting increased confidence in supporting their teams.
- Higher employee engagement: The bank achieved a nearly 30% adoption rate for its wellbeing initiatives, which is 15 times higher than the typical 2% utilisation rate of EAPs.
- Measurable progress: 60% of employees saw improvement in their mental health assessment scores.
Integrating health and wellbeing into daily operations has improved employee engagement, belonging, and commitment. The leadership team is also driving broader initiatives, such as reducing sugar in office beverages, to support employee wellbeing further.
Sustaining momentum for long-term wellbeing
The bank remains committed to expanding its wellness initiatives with several key strategies in place:
- Analysing medical claim data with Naluri to identify strategies for reducing long-term healthcare costs through targeted wellness interventions
- Rolling out Naluri's mental health advocacy training to managers at all levels
- Launching company-wide health challenges to reduce chronic disease (CD) risks among employees
These forward-looking initiatives reflect the bank's dedication to fostering a healthier, more engaged workforce while continuously enhancing their wellbeing programmes.
Looking to achieve similar outcomes for your organisation? Explore Naluri’s Employee Assistance Programme, or talk to our sales team.