Is a happy and healthy workforce so much to ask for?

In 2020 a series of crises converged, and together they spurred a major acceleration in a longer-term underlying business trend—the rise of workplace wellness as a critical factor in fostering a more fulfilled and productive workforce.

Suddenly, employers had to grapple with workplace health and safety in the COVID-19 pandemic, plus economic turmoil, furloughs and layoffs, a jarring overnight transition to a remote workforce, and social-justice protests.

Little wonder that employee well-being became a front-burner priority. “A healthy workforce is generally a happy workforce,” says Ragan Communications CEO Diane Schwartz, who was interviewed recently for the popular Remote Work Life podcast.