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From wellness perks to emotional culture: The evolution of mental health at work

Flexible work hours? Wellness budget? Free snacks? Unlimited time off?

Work perks often fall short of fully delivering employee satisfaction. Although these perks are eye-catching in your job hunt, they will not be what ultimately keeps you at a company. The emotional culture you work in is what will impact your “5-9 after your 9-5,” your mental health.

In the Canadian workplace landscape, cultural values, inclusivity, and relational norms all shape our expectations of the emotional culture at work. Leadership layered with empathy is ultimately what sets these expectations. The initial appeal of shiny bonuses, discounted gym memberships and free snacks might set a job apart in the short-term, but in practice, these benefits are often overshadowed by the everyday emotional culture in your workplace. As a leader, it’s essential to reflect on how you plan to cultivate and sustain that culture.

The rise and fall of wellness perks

Shifting workforce demographics and their evolving expectations are reshaping the emphasis on having a positive emotional culture. Millennials and Gen Z now dominate the workforce, prioritizing meaningful work, authentic connection, and maintaining their mental health more than previous generations ever have. They value feeling psychologically safe and supported more than the traditional paycheque. The Canadian Safety Training Centre reports that 68 per cent of employees feel psychologically safe at work, but about one-third feel otherwise. Employees today are more informed and open about their mental health challenges, and expect a certain level of recognition and support from their employers. What was once a nice-to-have has become a core expectation of workplace culture.

Michelle McQuaid’s concept of “quick cracking” depicts how an employee’s emotional well-being starts to erode subtly long before it surfaces as disengagement or burnout. The small and overlooked stressors have the risk of weakening resilience and interconnection when paired with unmet emotional needs. Fostering your emotional culture helps leaders address these signs before they begin to escalate and worsen quietly. Remote and hybrid work has added a challenge to maintaining and building the support systems that typically develop naturally in a physical office space. Informal social cues, fostering connection, and building trust are all critical components to bridging the gap from this new work type.

When building emotional culture, managers need to recognize the younger generations’ desire for authentic leadership. There has been a shift to valuing transparent, empathetic leaders over the previous trend of hiding vulnerability. Expressing vulnerability and investing in genuine human connection go a long way. If leadership is not entirely committed to this idea, any “attempt” at building this culture comes across as superficial. Patience and persistence are critical to sustaining focus, ongoing communication, and continuous learning.

Workshops and perks support culture; however, the real power lies in everyday interactions, listening, responding, and connecting.

Understanding emotional culture

Emotional culture is defined by the underlying emotional atmosphere that shapes our day-to-day interactions. The workplace has the power to completely alter how we work, our motivation, and our dedication to delivering results. Emotional culture is often overlooked because it is not as easily measured as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI).

Michelle McQuaid framed psychological safety as a multilevel experience. Psychological safety needs to be evaluated at the individual, team, and organizational levels. When looking inward, try to show a level of authenticity and vulnerability. Admitting you don’t always have the answers helps others feel safe being honest about their own experiences. As a team, value everyone’s individual strengths. Mistakes are a part of growth, and using balanced feedback allows people to feel safe learning in the environment. At the organizational level, if a workplace is characterized by genuine care and emotional safety, engagement, resilience, and performance will be boosted.

Emotional culture is the “feeling climate” that employees share. Psychological safety and security influence how people perceive their expectations for expressing and responding to emotions. An example of what puts a secure emotional culture at risk is poor change management. When leaders communicate often and predictably, people’s need for psychological safety is met. Even being upfront about not having all the answers can build trust and turn change into a shared journey.

Moving from perks to culture

As organizations shift from surface-level perks toward building a sustainable emotional culture, approaches to leadership must do the same. These are a few critical strategies leaders should consider:

• Move from evaluation to coaching: Prioritize growth and adaptability over categorizing employee faults. This change in mindset encourages leaders to focus on building skills for change navigation, which is only becoming more of a driver in engagement and resilience in today’s workplaces.
• Embrace empathy in supervision: You are not expected to be a therapist to your staff as a leader. However, there is a difference between that and demonstrating genuine understanding that everyone faces challenges, while also building trust. When vulnerability is modelled in the workplace, it creates space for more open and supportive conversations instead of defensiveness.
• Make support accessible: When leaders clearly communicate the resources available and actively encourage their use, employees are more likely to feel safe accessing support. Providing easy, confidential access to employee assistance programs (EAPs), therapy services, and wellness initiatives helps remove barriers and is a key part of cultivating an emotional culture where employees feel genuinely supported.

Measuring emotional culture’s impact

Emotional culture cannot be measured in a standard way, as its outcomes are not always numeric; instead, its impact manifests in various ways. Do these phrases sound common in your workplace?

“I feel okay sharing what’s really on my mind here.”

“It’s nice when people notice the effort I put in, not just the end results.”

“Taking your lunch and breaks during the day is encouraged; it helps me concentrate.”

One way emotional culture can be measured is through employee engagement and psychological safety surveys. Validated tools like the Edmonson Psychological Safety Scale and Gallup Q12 include survey questions surrounding the elements of emotional support. Tracking changes in these surveys over time will help pinpoint shifts in emotional culture and how employees feel about sharing ideas and seeking help.

Retention and absenteeism are a massive way changes in emotional culture can be identified numerically. Emotional culture influences employee loyalty and well-being. A positive emotional culture will see reduced turnover and absenteeism, while a declining one will do the opposite.

Productivity and innovation can also be tracked with metrics like the number of new projects, ideas, or team productivity shifts. When emotional safety is high, employees feel more comfortable contributing more innovative ideas and feel more inclined to collaborate for increased results. Employees’ sense of security in their roles shapes how confident they feel sharing ideas and innovating.

Final thoughts for leaders

As a leader, you set the tone for the emotional culture in your organization. You can make a real difference by prioritizing emotional intelligence and resilience, not just in your team, but in your own approach as well. Encourage skill-building, model open and honest communication, and create an environment where employees feel safe sharing their thoughts and challenges. Emotional well-being should be an integral part of professional growth, not an afterthought. Lean on mental health experts when needed, ask questions, and stay curious about how to strengthen your team’s support network.

While perks and incentives can feel like a quick win, they often fall short. They can come across as transactional and don’t build lasting connections. The real impact comes from showing employees that they are seen, heard, and valued. By demonstrating empathy, fostering trust, and making support truly accessible, you help your team build resilience, motivation, and loyalty — outcomes that no perk alone can deliver.

Darrah Wolfe is a performance and leadership coach at One-Life Counselling & Coaching.

Darrah’s unique journey from engineering to positive psychology coaching and consulting sets her apart, as she now helps clients thrive in both life and business. Her realization dawned during the operations of an $80 million capital project when she recognized a critical oversight in her engineering approach: the human element.

Inspired by a quest to unravel the strengths and experiences fostering optimal performance, Darrah enrolled in Newfield’s accredited coach training program. This journey led her to earn a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Drawing on her extensive coaching experience with multinational Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, Darrah empowers her clients to discover clarity, meaningful purpose, and a deep well of inner vitality, enabling them to live according to their own definition of a life well lived.