It’s the eternal corporate question: Are employee performance and employee well-being inherently at odds? The chief of HR at the legendary life-insurance giant John Hancock has a definitive answer: “To be high-performing, you need your employees to be well-minded.”

Julie Law, who also serves as global head of talent management for John Hancock parent's company, Manulife, joined Nicole Smith, editorial audience director of Harvard Business Review, to discuss how to cultivate a company-wide culture of well-being and inclusion. The conversation was part of From Day One’s September virtual conference on “Stress, Anxiety and the Modern Company’s Role in Promoting Well-being.”

Law characterized the current moment in the evolution of workplace culture–marked by a return to in-office work, the debate about of “quiet quitting,” and continued conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)–as “the great reset.” She asked, “How are we going to drive a culture where people feel belonging and a sense of connection to the company’s mission and purpose, so they’re not quiet quitting, they’re getting more engaged whether they’re at home, in the office, or a blend of the two?”

She shared insight on the responsibility of a company when it comes to employee well-being. “There’s accountability on the organization, the manager, the team and the individual,” she said. “It’s a joint responsibility.” John Hancock’s resources include leader toolkits focused on well-being, an on-site counselor at the office, and inclusive benefits offerings. “We’ve introduced Hurdle Health, which is culturally-sensitive counseling,” she added. There are also specific services for LGBTQ+ cohorts and employees with medical needs like cancer care.

Law stressed that a well-being approach should be multi-pronged, with buy-in at every level of the organization. “There need to be checkpoints and connections that are established with a frequent cadence, especially as people are working remotely.”

Companies can take different approaches to checkpoints and wellness metrics. John Hancock shares an employee survey a few times a year: “It’s a great barometer to understand intent-to-stay. We ask specific well-being questions, and there’s some indicators around if employees are connecting to the organization and the manager.” Other metrics, Law added, are tracking absentee rates, the volume of mental health benefits being used, and simply observing and asking how employees are doing. “It’s about having intentional conversations, like how you’re feeling about being back in the office,” she said.

When employees do need help, the organization should have resources ready for them, From assistance in navigating benefits to mental health tools. “People in HR can help support that. There should be candid conversations about how to really support people,” Law said.

The big takeaway, Law stressed, is that companies should build well-being into their culture “as early as possible.” She added, “You don’t want to wait for an acute event for it to happen. It needs to be embedded into the culture.”

Emily Nonko is a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to writing for From Day One, her work has been published in Next City, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and other publications.