Employee wellbeing is no longer peripheral. It is one of the clearest indicators of whether an organisation’s values are real. As employers navigate shifting expectations, capacity pressures and talent constraints, wellbeing shapes whether people feel respected, supported and are able to perform over time.
That explains why retention remains high on the agenda. But wellbeing should not be treated as another lever to pull when attrition rises. More often, retention is the by-product of something deeper: when employees experience genuine care in how work is designed, support is delivered and leaders respond to daily realities, trust strengthens. Without that, even well-intentioned efforts lose credibility.
The Cigna Healthcare International Health Study 2025 makes that gap hard to ignore. In Singapore, only 33% of employees, around one in three, feel their employer gives them adequate opportunities to look after their health. Just 32%, also roughly one in three, believe their organisation shows a clear commitment to wellbeing through its actions and communication. The issue is not awareness, but execution.
When wellbeing messages are not matched by daily experience, support quickly loses credibility. The disconnect shows up in unmanageable workloads, flexibility that exists more in policy than in practice, leaders who speak about care but do not create room for it, and managers expected to support others without the tools to do so.
Wellbeing has to show up in the everyday
Wellness weeks, talks and visible campaigns can open conversations and reduce stigma, but on their own they are not enough. If the day-to-day reality of work remains draining, these efforts will feel cosmetic rather than credible. One-off initiatives do little to address the root causes of poor wellbeing: weak work design, unsustainable expectations, inconsistent flexibility and uneven manager support.
The Cigna Healthcare International Health Study 2025 also reinforces why a whole-person perspective matters. Health is shaped not only by physical and mental wellbeing, but also by financial strain, social connection, purpose, rest and access to support. The study shows that cost-of-living pressure and uncertainty about the future remain major stress drivers in Singapore. Different groups may need different forms of support, from preventive care and chronic health management to accessible mental health resources and flexibility that reflects life stage and personal circumstances. If organisations are serious about health, they must be equally serious about the conditions shaping it.
Employees need to understand the importance of self-care, preventive care and seeking help early rather than waiting until stress or health concerns become unmanageable. At the same time, organisations need to provide safe, appropriate channels for support, including access to professional help where needed. Destigmatising therapy is part of that shift. Mental health challenges can often be addressed through early, timely, professional intervention, but employees are more likely to take that step when the environment feels safe, confidential and supportive.
What it takes to make people stay
Wellbeing is not built through isolated programmes, but through how work is designed and experienced every day. It shows up in realistic goals, manageable workloads, capable managers and support that is accessible before challenges escalate. Without movement in these fundamentals, additional initiatives will have limited impact.
Managers play a critical role. They are closest to the early signs of strain yet are not always equipped to respond effectively. Strengthening their capability is essential if wellbeing is to become real in day-to-day work.
Employee experience reinforces the need for change. Only 23% of employees in Singapore feel sufficiently recognised, while 58% report constant job demands and 40% face frequent time pressure. Stress remains high, driven in part by cost-of-living concerns and uncertainty about the future. Together, these signals point to a deeper imbalance between effort, pressure and support.
A more meaningful approach recognises that wellbeing is multi-dimensional — shaped not only by physical and mental health, but also by financial stability, connection and purpose. That means moving beyond fixed solutions towards support that reflects what employees need.
Embedding wellbeing into the operating environment means building it into work design, manager expectations, recognition practices and everyday flexibility. It also requires access to preventive care, Employee Assistance Programmes, and active listening so support remains relevant.
Regular feedback loops help organisations understand which benefits are meaningful and which are underutilised. That allows for more targeted investment and reduces the risk of initiatives becoming symbolic rather than impactful.
In practice, this often means working closely with employees to design health and wellbeing solutions that reflect everyday work, not just traditional insurance coverage. Alongside core health plans, services such as Employee Assistance Programmes, access to care and digital tools can make it easier for employees to engage with their health regularly. Needs may also differ across workforce segments. For older employees, this could mean stronger support for chronic care, preventive screenings or ongoing condition management. For younger employees, it may involve easier access to mental health support, including affordable pathways to therapy or professional help when needed. The focus should be on creating conditions where rest, flexibility, early intervention and development are not afterthoughts.
At its core, wellbeing is shared. Organisations create the conditions, employees are supported to take ownership, and healthcare partners enable timely, practical care.
When this comes together, the impact is tangible. Employees with high vitality are far more engaged, while poor wellbeing shows up in missed work, reduced productivity and strain on teams. Creating space for early support—where seeking help is safe and normal—is how organisations move from intention to care in practice.
Why this matters even more now
The human case should be reason enough. But the current environment makes the issue harder to dismiss. In tighter labour markets, where critical skills are harder to replace and employees are more discerning about what they expect from work, the cost of getting wellbeing wrong is higher.
The Cigna Healthcare International Health Study 2025 also shows what is at stake when wellbeing is nurtured or neglected. High-vitality employees are far more enthusiastic about their jobs than low-vitality employees, 90% compared with 19%. Around 30% of employees in Singapore, about three in 10, have missed work due to physical or mental health challenges.
A leadership imperative, not a slogan
For HR and business leaders alike, the implication is clear: wellbeing becomes credible only when it is visible in everyday decisions. Employees do not stay because organisations say the right things. They stay when work is sustainable, support is accessible, recognition is meaningful and care is experienced as part of the culture rather than as an occasional initiative.
Wellbeing, in this sense, is not a standalone initiative but a reflection of how an organisation actually operates. The intention now should be to help organisations build systems where wellbeing is consistently reinforced, employees feel safe to seek help early, and support is shared across employers, employees and healthcare providers.
About the author
Carol Tan is the head of human resources, Singapore & Australia, Cigna Healthcare, where she leads the workplace and talent agenda in support of business growth and organisational transformation.
She has two decades of HR leadership in banking, reinsurance, and professional services. Carol is recognised for aligning people strategies with enterprise priorities to cultivate high‑performing, purpose‑driven workplaces where employees thrive.
