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Wellbeing matters

Date

April 2026

Author

Dr Sepideh Yekani

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Wellbeing has shifted from a workplace buzzword to a measurable driver of performance, shaped by how effectively environments support employees to do their best work.

Over the past few years, it has become central to workplace strategy, forcing organisations to rethink not only where people work, but also how work fits into their lives.

Today, several years into the hybrid era, a new question is emerging: have workplaces truly become healthier places to work or have we simply become more flexible?

Looking at Leesman Wellbeing Module data collected post-pandemic*, the picture is encouraging. Organisations are succeeding at giving employees more control over how they work. But when it comes to supporting their energy, recovery, and physical health throughout the workday, the workplace still has a long way to go.

One of the clearest successes of the last few years is autonomy. Flexibility, once a progressive workplace aspiration, has now become a defining feature of today’s work. According to the data, 80% of employees report having freedom over how they do their work, while 72% say they have freedom over where they work.

This is more than a policy. It signals a cultural transformation. Employees now expect work to adapt to them, not the other way around. And organisations that have embraced this flexibility are seeing it reflected in improved workplace experiences.

In fact, the overall Leesman Index workplace experience score (Lmi) tells an interesting story. The average Lmi rose from 64.3 in 2018 to 2019 to 69.5 between 2022 and 2025. This is a clear indication that the average workplace experience has improved compared to just before the pandemic.

Flexibility alone does not equal wellbeing

While many workplaces appear to address employee wellbeing, around 65% of employees feel their workplace supports their wellbeing and say they can adjust the physical conditions to work effectively. This provides a positive baseline, but it also signals something important: wellbeing is present, but not yet fully embedded in workplace design.

The real insight emerges when we look at how workplaces support the rhythms of human energy.

Only 52% of employees say their workplace helps them maintain the energy levels needed to do their job well. Just 53% report having places to mentally refresh when they feel exhausted, and the same proportion say their workplace encourages physical activity.

These numbers point to an important reality about what still needs to be done to improve employee wellbeing in workplaces, as part of this is still failing to deliver for around half of respondents.

For years, workplace design focused primarily on supporting work tasks, spaces for meetings, focus, collaboration, and communication. More recently, organisations have successfully adapted those environments to support hybrid work and flexibility.

But the next phase of workplace evolution may be about something different entirely: supporting the human body and mind throughout the working day.

Energy, recovery, and movement are becoming critical components of workplace performance. Quiet spaces that allow employees to mentally reset, environments that encourage movement rather than prolonged sitting, and amenities that support healthier habits all contribute to a more sustainable work experience. In other words, the workplace of the future may be where employees restore, recharge, and sustain their performance over time.

The good news is that many organisations already have a strong foundation. The data shows that flexibility is working, and the core workplace experience is improving. The opportunity now is to build on that progress by designing workplaces that actively support wellbeing at physical, mental, and social levels, not as an added feature, but as a fundamental part of how work environments operate.

Because the next generation of workplaces will not only enable work.

They will help people work well.

The age divide

The workplace is often discussed as if it delivers a shared experience for everyone. But it is interesting when we look at wellbeing data across age groups. The office can feel fundamentally different depending on age, with older employees consistently reporting lower levels of agreement across several wellbeing measures.

The gap is particularly visible when it comes to energy and wellbeing. While around 59% of employees who are under 35 years old say their workplace helps them maintain the energy levels needed to do their job well, that figure drops to 38% among employees aged 55 and over. Similar patterns appear across other indicators: perceptions that workplace design supports wellbeing decline steadily with age, and the sense that the office environment signals employer appreciation falls from 67% among the youngest respondents to just 52% among the oldest cohort.

These differences raise an important question for workplace strategy. In the push to create vibrant, collaborative environments that attract younger talent, organisations may unintentionally overlook what more experienced employees value: comfort, functionality, and environments that support long-term physical wellbeing. As the workforce continues to age, designing workplaces that work across different age groups may become a key challenge for the next era of workplace design.

This is why we looked at Lmi scores across age groups to see whether overall workplace experience follows a similar pattern. And it does. Employees aged 34 or younger report the highest Lmi score at 71.5, compared with 69.7 for the middle age group and 68.3 for those aged 45–54 and 55 and over.

What the data shows in a nutshell:

Workplace wellbeing should move from a “nice to have” to a core driver of sustainable performance. The data shows that organisations have made meaningful progress, particularly in areas that support autonomy and the practical needs of hybrid work. Employees increasingly value the freedom and flexibility that today’s workplaces provide. However, the findings also reveal that while workplaces are becoming better at supporting work, they are not always equally successful at supporting energy, recovery, and long-term wellbeing throughout the workday.

What works well:
  • Flexibility and autonomy are strong, with most employees reporting freedom over how and where they work.
  • Workplace design generally supports day-to-day tasks and productivity.
  • Overall workplace experience has improved compared with pre-pandemic years.

    • Where opportunities remain:
  • Workplaces are less effective at supporting energy, physical activity, and mental recovery during the day.
  • Workplace experience and wellbeing support is lower for older employees, suggesting environments may favour younger employees’ needs.

    • Taken together, the insights point to the next frontier of workplace design: environments that not only enable work, but actively sustain the health, energy, and wellbeing of a diverse workforce. Organisations that succeed will be those that design workplaces that work for everyone, not just the average employee.

    *Leesman Wellbeing Module, N=196,694 (2022-2025)