One of the biggest shifts in working life has come from the world of workplace wellbeing programs and EAP. According to the Black Dog Institute, mentally unhealthy workplaces are costing the Australian economy $39 billion a year, yet a decade ago this was rarely a focus for organisations. Since 2016, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the introduction of explicit psychosocial hazard regulations from 2022, and Victoria’s psychological health regulations in December 2025 have reshaped how organisations support their people.
Focusing on workplace wellness has many benefits, from reducing turnover and burnout to increasing focus, productivity, and engagement – all of which contribute to greater long-term business prosperity. In this guide, we will explore the changes in workplace wellbeing, how EAP has supported this shift, and how we see mentally healthy workplaces evolving in the years to come.
The evolution of workplace wellbeing
Reviewed by Marylise Talbot, Executive Director of Digital & EAPAA President
What workplace wellbeing means and why it matters
How workplace wellbeing and EAP have evolved
The growing focus on workplace mental health
The shift towards proactive workplace wellbeing
The role of psychosocial safety in modern workplaces
How workplace culture affects employee wellbeing
How EAP supports mentally healthy and resilient workplaces
The future of workplace wellbeing programs and EAP
How Workplace Wellbeing & EAP Have Changed Over the Decade
Between 2016 and 2026, workplace wellbeing and EAP have shifted from primarily reactive support towards proactive, holistic approaches that focus on prevention, early intervention and long-term employee wellbeing. Modern workplace wellbeing programs now combine professional human support with digital wellbeing tools, psychosocial risk management and broader organisational strategies designed to build healthier, more resilient workplaces.
| Wellbeing area | 2016 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| EAP model | Mainly reactive, short-term counselling once an employee was already struggling | Proactive and preventative, with early intervention, coaching and wellbeing education alongside counselling |
| Access to support | Largely phone-based booking during business hours, with face-to-face sessions as the default | Digital, 24/7 access through apps, online booking and portals, with telehealth, phone and face-to-face options |
| Scope of support | Focused on personal and work-related counselling | Holistic support including career and financial coaching, nutrition, legal support, neurodiversity support and manager assistance |
| Regulation | A general WHS duty to manage risks to health, including psychological health, with little specific guidance on psychosocial risk | Explicit psychosocial hazard regulations in every Australian jurisdiction, following the 2022 model WHS Regulations amendments and Victoria’s regulations from 1 December 2025 |
| Data and reporting | Basic utilisation counts, such as the number of sessions used | Anonymised wellbeing insights and trend reporting that inform organisational wellbeing and psychosocial risk strategies |
| Organisational view | Wellbeing treated as an employee benefit or HR add-on | Wellbeing treated as a core safety, culture and business performance priority |
| Overall approach | Reactive support, focused on helping employees in crisis | Proactive, holistic support built into organisational strategy |
What Is Wellbeing in the Workplace?
Workplace wellbeing can be defined as the social, mental, physical, and emotional health of employees and how organisations work towards building healthy workplaces. Working environments are where employees spend much of their lives, with studies from Gettysburg College reporting that one third of our lives is spent at the worksite. That’s a reported 90,000 hours of our lives spent at work. As a result, employees are shifting their preference towards workplaces where wellbeing is a priority.
A healthy workplace, particularly a mentally healthy workplace, goes beyond purely preventing illness and injury. Instead, it creates a supportive culture built around psychological safety, employee value and engagement. All these measures are designed, at their core, to help employees perform at their best inside and outside of work.
Here are the key components of building a healthy workplace:
Psychological wellbeing: Supporting employee mental health, psychological safety, stress management and resilience.
Physical wellbeing: Supporting physical health through safe working conditions, healthy behaviours and sustainable ways of working.
Social wellbeing: Building positive workplace relationships, inclusion, connection and a sense of belonging.
Organisational factors: Creating healthy workplace cultures, policies and practices that support employee wellbeing, engagement and psychosocial safety.
Why workplace wellbeing matters
Workplace wellbeing programs matter because they benefit both the organisation and the employee in driving greater productivity, performance, engagement, and wellness inside and outside of work.
When their organisation reduces psychosocial risks and supports wellbeing, employees can:
- Experience greater job satisfaction
- Feel less stressed
- Be more motivated
On the other hand, organisations that prioritise wellbeing can experience benefits including:
- Reduced absenteeism
- Increased productivity and engagement
- Higher staff retention
From Traditional Wellness to Modern Workplace Wellbeing: The History of Workplace Wellbeing
Workplace wellbeing programs have a rich and interesting history with adoption taking many years. Here is a breakdown of the history of workplace wellbeing and Employee Assistance Programs, based on research conducted by Dr. Michael Rucker and Chandler Macleod:
1700: The birth of workplace wellbeing
Workplace wellbeing began to take hold around 1700 when Italian physician Bernardino Ramazzini wrote about the negative effects of work and how these effects could be prevented.
1950s: EAP programs emerge
Fast forward to the 1950s, organisations began to take notice of workplace wellbeing with the inception of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). Before the 1950s workplace wellbeing was an afterthought, and while EAP programs began to gain popularity for their preventative support and crisis management, mental health and wellbeing were still lower down the priority list.
1970s: Workplace Wellbeing begins to be prioritised
Rucker notes that workplace wellbeing programs didn’t become mainstream until the 1970s. Rather than viewing employee wellbeing purely as a cost, organisations began to recognise it as a way to contain costs, with healthier employees helping to reduce expenses linked to illness, absenteeism and lost productivity. At the same time, Occupational Health and Safety requirements pushed for better health awareness and promotion.
Rucker points to research by Greiner, stating these are the reasons workplace wellbeing became more widely prioritised:
- Cultural shift towards physical safety
- Research highlighting the cost of poor employee wellbeing
- New workplace wellbeing groups promoting workplace safety
1980s: The benefits of workplace wellbeing initiatives
Prior to the 1980s, workplace wellbeing was primarily focused on physical health. However, new research showed that organisations that prioritised mental health were able to reduce absenteeism and other mental health-related costs.
2000s: Australia begins to prioritise employee mental health
With the establishment of Safe Work Australia, and other national and state-based agencies, government bodies were tasked with achieving better working standards and safety for employees. During the same time, mental health came further into the spotlight. Organisations recognised that psychological wellbeing was just as important as physical safety. Since then, technology has improved dramatically, allowing greater impact for training, EAP, and risk assessments to manage employee wellbeing better.
2020s: Psychosocial safety becomes law
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 accelerated hybrid work and the shift to digital and telehealth-based EAP support. From 2022, the model WHS Regulations were amended to explicitly cover psychosocial hazards, and states and territories adopted similar requirements. Victoria followed with its own psychological health regulations from 1 December 2025, meaning employers across Australia now have explicit obligations to manage psychosocial risks.
The future of workplace wellbeing programs and EAP
With government bodies and agencies, as well as legislation, turning towards preventing psychosocial hazards, Australia’s commitment to employee wellbeing is continuously growing. With the continued shift towards supporting employees, EAP programs remain at the forefront, enabling organisations to effectively manage employee wellbeing and keep their teams mentally fit and healthy inside and outside of work.
The future of workplace wellbeing is likely to become increasingly proactive, digitally enabled and integrated into broader organisational strategy. Modern EAP programs are also evolving beyond reactive counselling, combining expert human support with digital wellbeing tools, early intervention, coaching and organisational insights to support employees throughout their wellbeing journey.
The Growing Focus on Workplace Mental Health: The Evolution of Workplace Wellness and Employee Wellbeing
Employee mental health and wellbeing are continuing to evolve away from the basic physical safety requirements towards holistic wellbeing strategies, backed by technology. The priority now is to support physical, social, emotional, and mental health by driving new, supportive workplace cultures, flexibility, and quick and accessible support avenues.
With the emergence of new technology, as well as the expertise of mental health professionals, organisations are in a newfound position to support their employees more effectively. Here is how technology has evolved workplace wellbeing programs:
- Mental Health Support: Easy access to support through digitally enabled, 24/7 booking channels and proactive wellbeing resources. Equally, technology has enabled private, safe, and comfortable ways to access support.
- Reducing Workload Stress: Through task automation, digital planning tools, and real-time feedback, employees are able to efficiently utilise technology to effectively manage their workload, organise their priorities, and receive instant recognition of their efforts.
- Flexible Working: In the digital world, employees are able to work from almost anywhere. Through cloud-based systems, insights into time management, and wellness perks, employees have greater flexibility now to prioritise their wellbeing and work-life balance.
The Shift Towards Proactive Workplace Wellbeing
One of the many benefits of workplace wellbeing is proactive learning and awareness to help prevent mental health crises, driven by resources, tools, modules and training programs. Many EAP programs offer proactive tools that are designed to help employees prevent any mental health-related challenge from escalating. Equally, EAP providers have shifted away from purely offering crisis-level care to holistic wellbeing solutions where counselling can be provided as a preventative tool, in addition to coaching.
Other mental health initiatives also include the more hidden aspects of life that impact an employee’s ability to perform at work. Via coaching programs such as career coaching, financial coaching, neurodiversity support, and nutritional care, employees can receive a holistic wellbeing framework to effectively tackle any challenge they face.
Here are the benefits of proactive workplace wellbeing management:
- Being proactive can help increase mental health and wellbeing awareness. As such, when an employee is facing a minor issue, they know how to manage their wellbeing before it escalates.
- Proactivity can help reduce absenteeism, increase productivity, and improve retention – benefiting both the organisation and employee alike.
- Proactive support increases awareness which ultimately helps reduce help-seeking stigma. Therefore, when employees are facing a challenge, they have the confidence to reach out for support early.
- When employees are proactive, they can also reduce their stress levels, risk of burnout, and manage daily pressures more proficiently. Similarly, supportive environments can increase staff morale by helping employees feel valued and heard.
The impact on an organisation is astronomical, since many of these claims cost organisations when they could have been prevented through workplace wellbeing initiatives. Even if a claim is not processed, time spent away from work due to absenteeism and stress-related conditions can cost organisations approximately $6.3 billion annually. Therefore, managing psychosocial risk is imperative.
How Workplace Culture Has Changed Employee Wellbeing
Workplace culture can be seen as tangible; it’s something that all employees feel and recognise in their working experience. When a culture doesn’t prioritise wellbeing, it can lead to higher levels of stress, low recognition, higher turnover, and increased time spent away from work. Conversely, when a culture is supportive, employees feel valued and recognised, and job satisfaction can increase. According to VPSC, a tangible, supportive workplace culture can be characterised as:
- Respect and trust between employees and leaders
- Zero tolerance for improper conduct
- Staff are engaged, motivated, focused and productive
- High employee retention
- Positive feedback from employees who say they’re happy, proud, valued and enthusiastic in feedback surveys
- Positive perception of leadership
The Role of EAP in Workplace Wellbeing: Building a Mentally Healthy and Resilient Workplace
For HR and business leaders, an EAP is not just a wellbeing benefit but a cost-saving measure, helping to reduce absenteeism, turnover and the costly, long-running mental health claims that come from issues left unaddressed.
EAP programs provide employees with free and confidential counselling and coaching, delivered by experienced, certified and qualified mental health practitioners. The focus of EAP providers is early intervention to help prevent mental health challenges from escalating, in addition to supporting managers with team wellbeing. Furthermore, EAP programs are equipped with crisis management expertise, meaning that when your workplace is facing a planned or unplanned crisis, or an employee is experiencing a severe mental health challenge, an EAP is best placed to support.
Here is how EAP providers build healthier workplaces:
01
EAP programs help reduce stigma by training leaders to promote help-seeking behaviours, as well as reducing the barriers to support for employees – such as regular communications, tools and resources, and digital booking channels.
02
Holistic care that goes beyond counselling means employees can receive care for a range of wellbeing challenges, including financial stress, diet and nutrition, their career direction, and more.
03
EAP providers offer valuable data and reporting, highlighting the different trends impacting your staff and their wellbeing. This can be used to inform wellbeing strategies and initiatives.
In the case of Converge, we deliver all of the above, in addition to a range of technology systems, fun and engaging tools, and expert human support through our clinical network of 2,000+ clinicians and coaches. Our anonymised, aggregated employee survey data shows that when EAP support is actively promoted and utilised, organisations can see:
- 67% of employees improve their wellbeing after just one session
- 100% see significant wellbeing improvements after two sessions
- 97% of high-risk individuals see an immediate impact after one session
Through embedding ourselves as your wellbeing partner, unleashing our wellbeing technology, including the Converge App, Service Hub, and Employee Wellbeing Portal, and access to our 2,000+ clinical and coaching experts, we can help your workforce build mental resilience, and help you build a culture centred on support and care. Reach out today to learn more about our wellbeing solutions.
Frequently Asked Questions about Changes in Workplace Wellbeing Programs & EAP
What has changed in workplace wellbeing over the past decade?
Workplace wellbeing has shifted from primarily reactive support towards a more proactive, holistic approach to employee health and wellbeing. Modern workplace wellbeing programs increasingly address mental, physical, social and emotional wellbeing alongside psychosocial safety, workplace culture and early intervention. Technology has also made wellbeing resources, EAP counselling and coaching more accessible to employees.
Is employee wellbeing improving in Australia?
Employee wellbeing has become a much greater priority for Australian organisations, but workplace mental health remains a significant challenge. Safe Work Australia’s Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2025 report shows mental health conditions accounted for 12% of all serious workers’ compensation claims in 2023-24, up 161% on a decade earlier, with median time off work almost five times longer than for other injuries and diseases. This has sharpened the focus on prevention, psychosocial risk management and proactive employee wellbeing.
Safe Work’s release confirms the 12% share, the 14.7% increase on 2022-23, the 161% increase compared with 10 years ago, and the median time lost being almost 5 times longer than for other injuries and diseases. The “161% over a decade” figure suits this article particularly well, since it’s Safe Work’s own decade comparison.
What does a modern workplace wellbeing program look like?
A modern workplace wellbeing program combines proactive wellbeing initiatives with accessible professional support. This can include EAP counselling, coaching, manager support, digital wellbeing resources, workplace mental health training, psychosocial risk management and organisational reporting. The aim is to support employees before, during and after wellbeing challenges rather than relying solely on crisis intervention.
Why are employers focusing more on workplace mental health?
Employers are focusing more on workplace mental health because employee wellbeing can affect engagement, absenteeism, retention, productivity and organisational performance. Australian organisations also have duties to identify and manage psychosocial hazards that may cause psychological harm. As a result, creating a mentally healthy workplace is increasingly both a wellbeing priority and a workplace health and safety responsibility.
How can organisations take a more proactive approach to employee wellbeing?
Organisations can take a proactive approach to employee wellbeing by identifying psychosocial risks early, building supportive workplace cultures and giving employees access to wellbeing resources before challenges escalate. Workplace wellbeing programs can also combine mental health education, manager training, EAP counselling, coaching and digital tools to encourage earlier help-seeking and strengthen employee resilience.
How does workplace culture affect employee wellbeing?
Workplace culture can significantly influence employee wellbeing by shaping how supported, respected and psychologically safe people feel at work. Supportive cultures that promote trust, recognition, respectful behaviour and help-seeking can contribute to greater job satisfaction and engagement. Poor workplace cultures can contribute to stress, disengagement, turnover and psychosocial risk.
What is the role of an EAP in workplace wellbeing?
An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) supports workplace wellbeing by providing employees with confidential access to professional counselling, coaching and other wellbeing services. Modern EAP programs can also support early intervention, managers, crisis response and proactive wellbeing, while providing organisations with aggregated insights that can help inform broader workplace wellbeing strategies.
How does psychosocial safety support employee wellbeing?
Psychosocial safety supports employee wellbeing by identifying and managing workplace hazards that can cause psychological harm. These can include high job demands, bullying, harassment, poor support, lack of role clarity and remote or isolated work. Managing psychosocial risks helps organisations create safer working environments while supporting employee mental health and wellbeing.
What are the emerging trends in workplace wellbeing?
Emerging workplace wellbeing trends include greater focus on proactive mental health support, psychosocial risk management, digital wellbeing technology, flexible access to care and more holistic EAP services. Workplace wellbeing programs are increasingly combining human expertise with digital tools, data and preventative resources to support employees throughout their wellbeing journey rather than only when a crisis occurs.
