Highlights from the 2026 Health and Wellbeing at Work Conference
With over 4000 visitors and 140 sessions to choose from, the Health and Wellbeing Conference is always filled with inspiration, and this year was no exception.
Focusing on the two-day Culture, Values and Engagement stream, visitors were treated to sessions on inclusion, parental support, the dark side of organisational values and many more – chaired by Engage for Success Advisory Board members, Jo Dodds and Jo Moffatt.
Here are just a few highlights chosen by our volunteers:
Birmingham City Council show others how it’s done
Anju Dhir, Engagement and Wellbeing Lead, presented a fantastic case study of what’s possible when you really embrace engagement.
Anju and the team at Birmingham City Council have worked with Engage for Success for several years now, so it was great to see her talking about what a difference they’ve made:
• Implementing programmes based on our four enablers (Leadership Strategic Narrative, Engaging Line Managers, Colleague Listening and Involvement, and Colleague Experience aligned to culture)
• Running their engagement survey based on the EfS engagement index and enabler questions
• Including trade unions as a specific voice to help review and address workforce issues and enable workplace transformation
And that’s before you get into leadership capability, retention and recruitment.
Since starting the engagement survey, their engagement index levels have increased year on year, but it’s clear they aren’t stopping. And it was lovely to see Anju going from “where do we start” four years ago, to “here’s where we’ve got to” on stage this year.
Engagement as a driver for wellbeing strategy
How do we focus on and improve engagement when everything in the world is so difficult?
Not an easy question to answer, but our very own Dr Sarah Pass, offered some great insights based on her research and data from the 2025 annual survey.
There’s a clear connection between low engagement and higher levels of unmanageable job stress and presenteeism. People with long term health conditions and neurodiversity both experience lower levels of engagement. (A theme that was discussed by several other speakers across the two days (Dr Balissa Greene, Organisational Psychologist and Executive Coach, Balissa Greene Coaching and Consulting; Angela Matthews, Director of Public Policy and Research, Business Disability Forum).)
The challenge organisations have is creating engagement through day-to-day activities. It’s those daily experiences which impact wellbeing the most, and are essential for driving engagement for office-based, hybrid and remote workers.
When did intolerance become an epidemic?
How did frontline workers go from heroes in 2021 to zeroes, regularly experiencing abuse, hostility and violence in 2025?
In a fascinating session, Cliff Lee, Director of Wellbeing Services at Retail Trust invited us all to consider the importance of support and training. Without it, the number of people who want to leave increases from 16% up to a massive 56%. So it begs the question – can you afford not to invest in your people?
As third-party harassment becomes a named concern in the new Employment Rights Act, now is the time for retail and service businesses to take action to train and protect their staff, and their reputation.
A leader’s obligation to be a Trust Broker
Lorna Leeson, MD at 7 Seas – The Culture Consultancy covered the topic of uncertainty and a leader’s role in helping their team navigate it.
From the global decline of trust – and why leaders have an obligation to be Trust Brokers – to why leaders need to be self-aware and able to manage their own wellbeing if they are to support their teams to manage uncertainty well.
Focused on the uncertainty that technology and AI have added to an already uncertain world, Lorna introduced an AI Agility indicator tool leaders can use to assess their own readiness and the 7 practices that all AI and Change agile leaders must have.
All this, peppered with real life, practical take aways from businesses who are navigating technology change, acquisition and social unrest and the frontlines.
Recognising good parental support in the workplace
When organisations genuinely listen to their parent and carer employees with an open heart, mind and curiosity, they gain a far deeper understanding of what support is actually needed.
That was the key message from the wonderful session delivered by Laura Greenwood, Founder, Clinical Lead and Accredited Psychotherapist of Laura Greenwood Therapy & Helen Saunders, People Director at Clarion Solicitors.
Employees don’t expect perfection from their employers, but they do expect compassion. They want to feel listened to and understood, and most of all ask employers to learn from their mistakes.
Genuine parental support isn’t about the policies you have or the processes you follow. It’s about creating a culture where parents and carers feel supported as they navigate untold pressures outside work.
Focusing on practical adjustments, improved communication and a willingness to evolve, organisations can make a long-term difference for their employees and the business alike.
The show must go on
A special shout out goes to Lauren Mistry, Deputy CEO at Youth Employment UK. Sharing her thoughts on Generation Alpha (born since 2010) and how to connect with them in the workplace, she kept the audience engaged despite a power cut.
Her message for the importance of strengthening early career support, developing manager skills, building learning into work and, crucially, listening to young people in your organisation still came shining through, even when the tech went completely old school!
There are so many highlights we could share with you, but we limited it to six. We’d love to know what your favourite sessions were. Drop us a quick reply with your top speaker and why you loved their session – we’ll add it to our social shout outs on LinkedIn over the next couple of weeks.
