Inclusion Fuels Workplace Wellness — Are You Making Coworkers Sick?
Companies that really care about their people prioritize employee wellbeing.
Perhaps you have a leader who encourages you not to work after hours, assures you that it’s perfectly okay to leave early for family obligations or reminds you to take paid-time-off.
But as colleagues, many of us fail to realize that workplace wellbeing goes beyond HR policies — it requires consistent, intentional effort from everyone. Each interaction is an opportunity to strengthen or weaken our collective wellbeing via acts of inclusion or exclusion.
Each day, we either create the conditions that enable and empower our coworkers to unleash their full potential or we’re not.
What the data says:
🎯 A strong sense of belonging drives 56 % higher job performance, 50% lower turnover risk, and 75% fewer sick days. (BetterUp 2023)
🎯 Teams in the top quartile for engagement (which rises when employees feel included) record 81% less absenteeism than those in the bottom quartile. (Gallup 2023)
🎯 Social exclusion activates the brain’s pain centers — the same region triggered by physical injury — underscoring why ostracism “hurts.” (2023 PubMed Study)
🎯 Employees who feel included experience 4.6 times greater workplace engagement while those who feel excluded report 25% higher rates of psychological distress, increased symptoms of anxiety and depression, and reduced cognitive performance — even when controlling for other workplace factors. (McKinsey 2022)
Translation: Inclusion isn’t optional for workplace wellbeing; it can help keep stress hormones in check and performance on track.
Improving inclusion habits. Three quick self checks:
1️⃣ Voice Audit: When did you last invite a quieter colleague to share and then amplify their idea?
2️⃣ Feedback Filter: Do you praise publicly and critique privately — regardless of hierarchy?
3️⃣ Boundary Scan: Have you asked teammates how they prefer to communicate and adjusted your style?
Struggling with your own wellbeing? These micro practices may help.
1️⃣ Set personal boundaries while advocating for change. Document exclusionary patterns, connect your concerns to organizational values or goals, and approach conversations with specific, actionable suggestions rather than general complaints.
2️⃣ Ally Huddles: Pair with someone outside your team for a 15 minute bi weekly “wellbeing check in” to swap wins and challenges. Peer support dulls cortisol spikes.
3️⃣ Reflect Reframe Routine: End each week by noting moments you felt unseen and whether you can validate or invalidate the emotion. Discern assumptions from facts where possible and look for patterns that ground beliefs over jumping to conclusions.
Inclusion, like healthy habits are lifestyle choices. Choose carefully.