A Wellbeing Strategy that Works (with Alyssa Than-Stark, Group Wellbeing and Reward Manager at Singtel)

Welcome to the second episode of the Future Work podcast with your host, Daan van Rossum. Today's guest is Alyssa Than-Stark, Group Wellbeing and Reward Manager at Singtel. 

Alyssa is a passionate advocate for promoting a culture of "holistic well-being" in the workplace. Drawing on her extensive experience in behavioral health & neuropsychiatry, she discusses the importance of designing evidence-based strategies to meet the needs of Singtel's 20,000 employees at every level of the organization. Prior to joining Singtel, she spent the last 5 years working on the front line at various government hospitals in Singapore.

In this insightful conversation, Alyssa challenges the common understanding of workplace wellness practices and shares her firsthand experience in building comprehensive well-being initiatives. She also emphasizes the undeniable role of managers and on-the-ground champions in driving meaningful change.

Being skeptical of on-the-surface solutions like mental health webinar culture or quick fixes like free food and massages, Alyssa brought to the table another practical approach to creating a sustainable wellbeing program.

In this episode, Alyssa shares:

• She is a psychologist by training and became interested in employee wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• She designs programs and initiatives for employee health and wellbeing, as well as benefits and rewards.
• Alyssa believes in targeted approaches to employee wellbeing and identified five wellbeing pillars, including mental health, physical health, financial wellbeing, belonging and inclusion, and professional development.
• She doesn't believe in mental health webinars or free food and massages as solutions. Her strategy is pushed out through monthly wellbeing newsletters and activities.
• Middle management is an important focus for such a big company with over 20,000 staff.
• Alyssa suggests that a simple way to encourage communication and listening in the workplace is to ask colleagues how they are doing.
• She believes that there will be a focus on personalized and preventative healthcare in the future, with companies taking a more comprehensive approach to health exams and designing personalized treatments.
• She also mentions the use of digital health platforms and AI for data analysis.
• Alyssa emphasizes the importance of training and upskilling middle management and senior leaders on empathetic leadership skills, psychological safety, and resilience.
• Additionally, she talks about the trend of "quiet hiring," which focuses on upskilling and providing opportunities for existing employees to explore different areas of the business. Alyssa believes that all of these trends and areas will feed into every part of the company and its needs.

I hope you'll enjoy this episode and pick up valuable ways to improve your and your team's wellbeing at work. With so many hours spent working, this is so incredibly important. You can find it on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.

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