The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

538: Industrial/Organizational Psychologist on Leading for Wellness

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Apr 1, 2025

In a compelling discussion, Patricia Grabarek, Industrial/Organizational Psychologist and co-founder of Workr Beeing, delves into the importance of workplace wellness. She highlights a holistic approach that encompasses physical, mental, and emotional health for employees. Patricia shares tactics for leaders to promote wellness while achieving organizational goals and navigates the challenges of remote work. Additionally, she discusses the delicate balance of vulnerability in leadership and offers strategies for effectively saying no to maintain productivity and wellbeing.

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INSIGHT

Holistic Wellness

Workplace wellness is a holistic concept encompassing physical, mental, and emotional health, and work-life balance.
Employees prioritize a culture of support and reasonable workloads over specific wellness programs.

ADVICE

Integrate Wellness

Leaders should avoid thinking of wellness as separate from results, or as mere add-on programs.
Focus on the daily work environment and employee experience to drive true well-being.

ADVICE

Authentic Leadership

Fire your "work self" and be authentic and vulnerable with your team.
Build trust by sharing your struggles and getting to know your employees' needs.

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Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 538, an interview with the coauthor of Leading for Wellness: How to Create a Team Culture Where Everyone Thrives, Patricia Grabarek.

In this episode, Patricia talks about why workplace wellness matters and why it’s important to have a holistic approach that includes physical, mental, and emotional health. She explains the gap in research on leadership practices that help create a healthy work environment and how leaders can balance getting results with supporting their employees. Patricia shares simple ways to make wellness a priority, like setting aside time for self-care and building a supportive team culture. She also talks about the challenges of bringing wellness initiatives into remote and hybrid work settings.

Patricia Grabarek is a co-founder of Workr Beeing and an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist with a passion and expertise in workplace wellness, workplace culture, employee engagement, and leadership development. Patricia has spent her career as a practitioner, mostly working in consulting but, recently taking on more internal roles, leading people analytics and talent vitality teams. Throughout her career, Patricia has worked with over sixty different client organizations from various industries, implementing solutions to improve wellness, diversity, retention, performance, and engagement within their organizations. In addition, she taught organizational psychology in the Masters of Applied Psychology Program at the University of Southern California.

Patricia was featured on Culture Amp’s list of Top 25 Emerging Culture Creators for 2024 and has been featured in media outlets, including The L.A. Times, CBS News, and CBC Radio. Patricia received her PhD and MS in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and her BA in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Get Patricia’s book here: https://workrbeeing.com/book/

Leading for Wellness: How to Create a Team Culture Where Everyone Thrives

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