Wellbeing has become one of those words that many organizations use generously and define only vaguely.
It often appears in job ads, on values slides, and in leadership statements. And usually, the intention behind it is good. But if I’m honest, I think the term also risks becoming decorative. It can sound caring without requiring much change. It can signal the right attitude without forcing an organization to make difficult decisions about workload, leadership, structure, or responsibility.
That is exactly why I believe wellbeing needs to become operational.
Not perfect. Not fully controllable. But operational.
At our organization, we take wellbeing seriously. Not because we think we have solved it. We definitely haven’t. We have had wellbeing challenges in the past, and we will have them again in the future. We are a dynamic, ambitious, highly autonomous organization. That creates a lot of energy and opportunity, but it can also create pressure, ambiguity, and overload.
So for me, the question was never: how do we create a workplace without stress? That would be unrealistic.
The more useful question is: how do we build an organization that addresses wellbeing structurally, not just rhetorically?
Wellbeing and performance are not opposites
One misconception I come across quite often is the idea that wellbeing and productivity somehow compete with each other. As if taking wellbeing seriously meant becoming slower or less ambitious.
I don’t believe that.
I also don’t believe the opposite simplistic claim, that wellbeing should matter mainly because it increases productivity. That would instrumentalize it too much.
But I do believe there is a deep connection between the two.
People do their best work when they are mentally and emotionally well enough to think clearly, stay present, collaborate constructively, recover properly, and sustain their energy over time. If people are chronically exhausted, detached, overwhelmed, or constantly running on stress, the quality of work suffers too. Not always immediately. But eventually, almost always.
So for me, wellbeing is not a luxury add-on to serious work. It is one of the conditions for doing serious (and hence impactful!) work well over time.
Wellbeing is shared responsibility
This is probably the most important principle in our overall approach: wellbeing is shared responsibility.
I care a lot about this framing because I think many wellbeing discussions become confusing when responsibility is treated as one-sided.
Some organizations implicitly place the burden almost entirely on the individual: manage your energy better, be more resilient, take care of yourself. That can quickly become unfair, especially when structural issues remain untouched.
Others swing too far in the other direction and frame wellbeing as something the organization should somehow fully provide. That is not realistic either.
Our view is more balanced than that.
The organization has a responsibility to create fair, healthy, supportive conditions and to build structures and a culture that actively support wellbeing. Leadership has a responsibility not only to pay attention, notice warning signs, and act when challenges arise, but also to help shape the conditions in which people can work sustainably and thrive. Peers have a role in contributing to a culture where people can speak honestly and feel supported. And each individual also has a responsibility for their own wellbeing: to reflect, to set boundaries, to ask for support, and, where needed, to seek professional help.
That shared-responsibility approach is important to me because it avoids two traps at once: blaming individuals for systemic issues, and overpromising what an organization can realistically carry on its own.
If wellbeing matters, it has to show up in the system
This is where things become concrete.
I don’t think wellbeing should live only in values statements or occasional conversations. If it matters, it has to show up in how an organization is designed, led and run.
For us, that means trying to build a broader support architecture around the topic.
One element is our Wellbeing Guide, which we developed to make support more tangible and easier to access. It is structured across three dimensions: self-care, peer support, and leadership support. I like this structure because it reflects our underlying belief that wellbeing is not located in one single role or department. Different people carry different parts of the responsibility, and they need different kinds of guidance.
Another element is our regular wellbeing survey, which we run every six months. It is intentionally short and based on an established logic that looks at two important dimensions: engagement and exhaustion. In simple terms, strong wellbeing is not just the absence of strain. It also has something to do with whether people feel connected to their work and whether they are able to do it without becoming chronically depleted.
I find that distinction helpful. It reminds us that wellbeing is not only about reducing pressure. It is also about purpose fit, energy, and the relationship people have to their work.
The survey results are evaluated only in aggregated and anonymized form. That matters, because if you want honest insight, people need psychological safety. The point is not to monitor individuals. The point is to better understand patterns and take the topic seriously beyond anecdotal impressions.
Leadership matters – and it needs support too
Another important building block for us has been leadership training on mental health and wellbeing.
As part of our broader effort to embed wellbeing more consciously into leadership, all Circle Leads (i.e. team members with leadership responsibility) have gone through dedicated training with an organizational psychologist. The goal was not to turn leaders into therapists. Quite the opposite. It was to help them better understand mental health in the workplace, recognize early signs of strain, and respond more thoughtfully and appropriately.
I think this matters a lot.
In many organizations, leaders are expected to carry responsibility for team wellbeing, but are given very little support in how to actually do that. That often leads to avoidance, uncertainty, or overreach. None of that is helpful.
We want our leaders to take wellbeing seriously, for themselves and their team members. But we also want to be clear about their role. Leadership should create supportive conditions, shape healthy team cultures, notice patterns, open conversations, and make adjustments where needed. But leadership is not a substitute for professional care.
That distinction is important across our whole approach: internal support can be meaningful, but it has limits.
Peer support also matters
One thing I have learned over time is that not every wellbeing conversation should happen through a formal or hierarchical channel.
That is one of the reasons why we introduced Wellbeing Facilitators. These are elected peers from within the team, not people in leadership roles, who can serve as a trusted first point of contact for colleagues facing chronic stress, mental health challenges, or early symptoms of burnout.
I see a lot of value in this role.
Sometimes people need to speak to someone who is neither their manager nor HR. Someone who can listen, help them reflect, think through next steps, and point them toward relevant support options. That kind of low-threshold, non-hierarchical support can make a real difference.
To prepare for this role, our Wellbeing Facilitators also receive dedicated Mental Health First Aid training. I find that important because peer support should not only be well-intentioned, but also grounded in practical skills, role clarity, and a better understanding of how to respond in sensitive situations. The role is not about “having the answers”, but about listening well, orienting people thoughtfully, and helping them take meaningful next steps. You can check out the training approach here: Mental Health First Aid / Erste Hilfe für die Seele.
At the same time, we are very explicit that this role does not replace professional mental health care. The same is true for leadership and HR. Internal support can help people orient themselves, feel less alone, and take first steps. But it cannot and should not pretend to be therapy.
I actually think saying this clearly makes the whole approach more credible, not less. Taking wellbeing seriously also means being honest about the boundaries of what an organization can offer. For that reason, we have also added a short annex below this article with professional support contacts for the Viennese/Austrian context. If someone reading this is currently struggling, I would much rather offer a concrete next step than leave the topic at the level of general reflection.
Prevention is better than symbolism
Another part of making wellbeing operational is building preventive mechanisms into everyday organizational life.
For us, one concrete example is our warning system for overtime and unused vacation days. We introduced it because we did not want overwork and lack of recovery to become invisible until the point of crisis.
The underlying idea is simple: if someone accumulates too much overtime or consistently does not take enough vacation, this should trigger attention and follow-up. Not to police people, but to create visibility early enough that corrective action is still possible.
I like this example because it shows the difference between symbolic and operational wellbeing quite clearly.
A company can say “please take care of yourselves” and still tolerate a system where overload accumulates silently. Or it can build in structures that make self-care and recovery easier to protect in practice.
Of course, no warning system solves deeper issues by itself. But it changes the signal. It tells people that efficiency matters, but so does recovery. It tells leaders that workload is not just an individual issue. And it tells the organization that wellbeing is something to design for, not only to talk about.
Not every culture fits everyone
This is another point I think is important to say openly.
We work in a highly autonomous environment. That comes with a high degree of freedom, ownership, and influence. For many people, that is energizing and deeply meaningful. It allows them to shape their work in ways that support both impact and personal growth.
But not everyone thrives in such an environment. And to be quite direct, as I’ve shared in my last blogpost, our organization is not the right fit for everyone.
Some people prefer more structure, more predictability, more top-down guidance, or clearer external direction. That is completely valid. It says nothing negative about their quality or potential. It simply means that different people flourish under different conditions.
I think part of taking wellbeing seriously is being honest about this too.
A wellbeing approach is not only about support after hiring. It is also about being transparent enough that people can judge whether a work environment is likely to suit them in the first place – including when they consider applying to work with us.
Wellbeing is also bigger than our own organization
One thing I also want to mention is that we have not developed this approach in isolation.
Many of the measures we introduced over the last years were only possible because of our joint wellbeing initiative with the Hi Foundation and their support. We are genuinely grateful for that. Some of the structures described here would likely not exist in the same depth and quality without this partnership.
And more broadly, we also do not see wellbeing only as an internal organizational issue. We see it as something that matters across our wider community and the broader impact ecosystem as well. That is why we also work on the topic beyond our own team – with entrepreneurs, intermediaries, funders, and other actors who are trying to build meaningful work under complex conditions. In that sense, this is not only an internal HR topic for us. It is also part of how we think about healthier impact ecosystems.
There are moments where our structures are not enough
If I wanted to make this post sound polished, I could probably end it by saying that all of these measures create a uniquely healthy culture and that our approach has made wellbeing part of our DNA.
But that would not be the full truth. The truth is messier, and, I think, more useful.
We care deeply about wellbeing. We try to address it strategically, intentionally, and across different levels. We have built structures, roles, surveys, guides, and learning formats around it. We continue to invest in it because we are convinced that it truly matters.
And still, we know that none of this makes us immune to stress, tension, overload, or hard phases. It does not eliminate human complexity. It does not guarantee that everyone will always feel well. And it does not mean our approach is finished.
What it does mean, I hope, is that we are trying not to treat wellbeing as decorative. We are trying to make it discussable. Visible. Shared. Concrete. Operational.
And in a work environment like ours, I believe that is the more honest ambition anyway.
About the Author: Jakob Detering is Managing Director of Impact Hub Vienna, leading the broader portfolio of Impact Hub, Climate Lab, Future Health Lab, and Education Lab. Over the past years, he has worked closely with his colleagues on building organizational structures and cultures that support meaningful, sustainable work. Before joining Impact Hub, he helped grow the Social Impact Award from a local initiative into a global community of early-stage social entrepreneurs.
Annex: Who to Contact for Mental Health Support
Because this article is not just meant to reflect on principles, but also to be practically useful, I wanted to add a short list of support resources below.
This annex is designed primarily for the Viennese/Austrian context. It is not exhaustive, but it includes a number of concrete starting points – from emergency contacts to affordable counseling and therapy options.
And one thing very clearly: seeking help is not a weakness. It is a serious and often courageous step.
Emergency contacts
Social Psychiatric Emergency Services
📞 +43-1-31330
For immediate assistance regarding mental health crises.
Crisis Intervention Center
📞 +43-1-4069595-0
Provides support in critical situations, offering professional help and guidance.
Emotional Support Helpline
📞 +43-1-116 123
A dedicated helpline for emotional support, available 24/7.
Women’s Helpline
📞 0800 222 555
Anonymous and free of charge, available 24/7.
Men’s Counseling & Hotlines
📞 0800 246 247
📞 0800 400 777
Both hotlines offer anonymous and free support for men, available 24/7.
Telephone Counseling Crisis Hotline
📞 142
A confidential resource for those experiencing a crisis, providing support and guidance.
Psychologists and psychotherapists in Vienna
If you are looking for professional psychological treatment or counseling, these are good starting points. I have focused in particular on contacts that offer comparatively affordable options, including treatment or therapy with income-dependent pricing.
Anonymous therapy session
The City of Vienna offers a hotline service if you would like to talk to a therapist anonymously. The hotline provides telephone assessment, relief, and quick counseling. More information can be found here: PSD Wien Sorgenhotline
Psychological treatment / therapy
- Psychological Clinic of Sigmund Freud University → visit here
- Psychotherapeutic Clinic of Sigmund Freud University → visit here
What’s the difference?
A Psychological Clinic primarily focuses on psychological assessments, testing, and diagnosis, while a Psychotherapeutic Clinic concentrates on providing therapeutic treatment through various forms of psychotherapy. The choice between them depends on whether you need assessment services or direct therapeutic intervention.
Affordable counseling
- For women (Health Center FEM) → visit here
- For men (Health Center MEN) → visit here
Search tools for psychologists and psychotherapists
If you want to search more broadly for a professional yourself, these platforms can help:
Additional resources
For a more extensive list of counseling and support services, these links may also be useful:
- University of Vienna Mental Health Support
- Austrian Government Emergency Numbers
- Financial Support and Assistance
One final thought: if you are struggling, please do not wait for things to become unbearable before reaching out. Immediate support, short-term counseling, and longer-term therapy all have their place. What matters most is taking the first step.
Titelbild: freepik