World Health Day: Supporting Health and Wellbeing Through Change

Health and Wellbeing in Change Management, April 2025.

This week as we mark World Health Day (April 7th), we’ve gathered insights from members around the world to share actionable tips on how to prioritise health and wellbeing during periods of workplace change.  

For Change Practitioners, World Health Day offers a valuable opportunity to reflect on our role in supporting people through transition. While we often focus on delivery and outcomes, the health and wellbeing of those involved in change is just as important - and too often, it’s overlooked. It can be easy to assume that others, like HR or line managers, are taking care of it. But by being more intentional about wellbeing, we can help create the conditions for change to succeed more sustainably.

There is a wealth of data demonstrating that in the long term, the most successful and competitive companies are those that have the best health and safety records, and the most physically and mentally healthy and satisfied workers. Burnout and absenteeism cost the EU and US economies over €1.8 trillion yearly in lost productivity, while poor employee health and absenteeism is costing Australian business $7.1 billion. Almost a quarter of adults in the EU reportedly suffer from mental health conditions, and half of employees under 40 feel burnt out. The latest data shows that almost 34 million working days were lost to work-related ill health in Great Britain in 2023/24. 

If we want to create sustainable, resilient organisations, we must embed health and wellbeing into the DNA of our change efforts. Aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 - ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all - here’s how Change Practitioners can lean into health and wellbeing.

Health and Work: A Two-Way Street

Work can shape our health - for better or worse. Long hours, stress, and poor organisational culture contribute to burnout, poor sleep, anxiety, and even physical illness. In contrast, organisations that invest in worker wellbeing report higher productivity, engagement, and retention.

Governments are also paying attention. Australia’s WHS laws require employers to manage psychosocial risks - including poor change management. In the UK and US, legislation calls for workplaces to be free of serious harm, explicitly referencing mental and physical health hazards. But it’s not just about managing risks.

WHO defines a healthy workplace as one that supports the complete physical, mental and social wellbeing of workers (not just the absence of disease), and promotes collaboration between managers and staff to continuously improve, “promote and protect health, safety and wellbeing, and the sustainability of the workplace”.  

It’s time for Change Practitioners to think of wellbeing as a core success metric - not an afterthought.  We asked CMI members and global experts to share their best strategies for embedding health and wellbeing into change. Here's what they told us.

Cultivate a Climate of Psychological Safety

"Psychological safety is the bedrock of wellbeing during change."

As Pauline Melnyk, a Canada-based change coach and practitioner highlights, it helps people navigate uncertainty, voice concerns, and stay engaged, and minimizes some of the negative impacts of change.

Clinical Psychologist Dr Dougal Sutherland describes it as a “buffer” against stress – “...when you have this climate in place, you find that people’s psychological adjustment to change is much smoother”.

Monica Calinescu, a UK-based Change Practitioner, echoes this sentiment telling us that when people can be themselves and belong, they can feel safe to speak up without fear of judgment.

So how can Change Practitioners build psychological safety?

According to Dr Sutherland, five core elements are key:

1.   Supportive leadership
2.  Values-driven behaviour
3.  Emotion regulation
4.  High-quality connections
5.  Trust

Many of these are already in our change toolkit - facilitating two-way dialogue, coaching leaders, aligning programs with purpose. But making these five elements intentional pillars of our change strategies will enhance resilience and wellbeing.

Practical Tips:

• Use pulse surveys to track psychological safety indicators.
• Integrate wellbeing check-ins into team meetings (“How’s everyone feeling today?”).
• Encourage leaders to share their own wellbeing practices to role model healthy behaviour.
• Include “psychological safety” as a success criterion in change impact assessments.

Promote Physical Health and Wellbeing

The physical toll of change is just as real. Disrupted sleep, poor diet, lack of movement - these often go hand-in-hand with fast-paced change environments.  Studies have shown that being under stress for prolonged periods can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke or hypertension, as well as triggering a myriad of other physical symptoms such as gastro-intestinal issues and even a weakening of the immune system.  A well-regarded study by Medibank found that employees with poor health behaviours contribute just 49 effective hours per month - compared to 143 hours for those with high health and wellbeing scores.

Lyam Crosdale, UK-based Change Practitioner, reflected:

“We are making changes that fundamentally impact colleagues… that is going to have an impact on their mental and also their physical health and wellbeing.”

Practical Tips:

• Encourage walking meetings or 20-minute daily movement breaks.
• Include stretch or mindfulness breaks in team workshops.
• Use team-building opportunities like yoga or walk-and-talk events.
• Partner with HR to promote existing Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), subsidised fitness memberships, or mental health support tools.
• Schedule “no change” or “meeting-free” days to prevent burnout.

Megan Rennie, a Senior Change Practitioner in Australia, practices what she preaches: “Getting just 20 minutes of fresh air in the middle of the day is really important for my productivity and to reset for the afternoon.”

Create Peer Support Systems

One of the strongest themes we heard from practitioners? The power of community.

Whether it’s a formal peer support network or a casual “change buddy” system, connection reduces isolation and promotes resilience.

Soraya Robertson, UK Country Co-Lead, shared how her organisation evolved its Critical Incident Support programme into a broader peer support system. Staff trained in mental health first aid now support colleagues proactively, and the system helps track employee sentiment during change.

Gilbert Kruidenier in Australia, who also volunteers in emergency services, encourages Change Practitioners - especially contractors or solo consultants - to build their own “change tribe.” He adds: “Lead by example and contribute to wellbeing practices - don’t wait for someone else to do it.”

Practical Tips:

• Use World Health Day or other international observances as a prompt to launch wellbeing-focused events.
• Recognise contributions with a gratitude wall, wellbeing awards, or shoutouts.
• Include social touchpoints in the change engagement plan like virtual coffee breaks, creative workshops, or fun runs.
• If you're a change team leader, embed peer support roles into your project structure.
• Join or volunteer with networks like the Change Management Institute to build your own community.

Making Health and Wellbeing a Core Success Metric

Here’s a challenge: What if your next change initiative measured success not just by adoption or timelines - but by how people felt throughout the journey?

"That means tracking health and wellbeing as primary indicators of change success."

You could monitor:

• Absence rates, leave balance usage, or complaints
• Staff turnover and overtime patterns
• Uptake of team engagement and wellbeing activities, or EAPs
• Recognition events or awards

It also means planning ahead. Bronwyn Hall McLoughlin, Institute Board member and Sustainability change professional, advocates: “Start as you mean to go on.” Build health and wellbeing into your change charter, ways of working, success measures and change principles - from day one. 

You don’t need to invent new tools. Partner with HR and Employee Experience teams to amplify what already exists. Coach leaders to stay alert to wellbeing impacts in their teams. Engage people in shaping what wellbeing success looks like.  And remember: a healthy workforce isn’t just a nice-to-have - it’s a change enabler.

Final Thoughts

World Health Day is a reminder that the health of our people, and ourselves, matters - especially during times of transition. Whether it’s supporting mental health, protecting physical wellbeing, or creating a culture of trust, Change Practitioners can play a critical role.  If we embed these practices now, we don’t just build better change programs - we build better, more resilient organisations.

Thank you to all of our contributors - Dr Dougal Sutherland, Gilbert Kruidenier, Lyam Crosdale, Megan Rennie, Monica Calinescu, Pauline Melnyk, and Soraya Robertson.

This article was prepared in partnership with Caitlin Kirwan, Irish-based copywriter, and Bronwyn Hall McLoughlin, Board Member and Lead for the Sustainability Special Interest Group. You can read the Institute’s Board sustainability statement here.

👉 Join the conversation Discussion Forum | Change for People and Planet (Sustainability SIG) – Whether you're just starting out or already embedding health and wellbeing in your change work, we’d love to learn from your experiences.