How to Make Workplace Wellbeing a Business Strategy That Drives Real Results with Julie Rust-Bodenmann

Most organizations aren't blind to the rising stress, burnout, and quiet quitting at work. They're just implementing workplace well-being programs that don't work. Leaders are left wondering why their people are disengaged despite offering meditation apps and mental health webinars. The real issue is that wellbeing isn't built into the business strategy.

In this episode of the Happiness Squad Podcast, Ashish Kothari and Julie Rust-Bodenmann, former Global Head of Wellbeing at Credit Suisse, reveal what it takes to embed wellbeing into the DNA of a business, even during a crisis. 

Drawing from her time at McKinsey, Credit Suisse, and UBS, Julie walks us through how she designed and rolled out a global wellbeing strategy, secured C-suite buy-in, and mobilized a 500-person wellbeing champion network across the organization.

Learn how you can make wellbeing a strategic lever, not just a benefit.

Things you will learn in this episode:

• Why most wellness programs fail to move the needle

• How to shift from treating wellbeing as a benefit to a business strategy

• The critical role of role modeling and middle managers

• How storytelling and regulatory pressure can win executive support

• Why starting small and scaling what works beats big, flashy initiatives

• Julie’s own wellbeing practices, and why leaders must start with themselves

Tune in now and walk away with a practical blueprint and the conviction that flourishing workplaces aren’t just possible, they’re profitable.

✅Resources:

• Julie Rust-Bodenmann’s website: https://www.rust-bodenmann.com/ 

• Oxford University Research: https://hubstaff.com/blog/employee-satisfaction-and-productivity/ 

• Me-Search by Tal Ben Shahar: https://podcast.wellevatr.com/me-search-the-journey-to-happier-living-with-tal-ben-shahar 

• Michael Landsberg’s Sick Not Weak movement: https://www.sicknotweak.com/about/# 

• “This Is Me” Campaign (London): https://www.thelordmayorsappeal.org/news-and-events/events-calendar/1198/this-is-me-2023-event/ 

• World Economic Forum Study: https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Thriving_Workplaces_How_Employers_can_Improve_Productivity_and_Change_Lives_2025.pdf 

• Addressing Employee Burnout: https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/addressing-employee-burnout-are-you-solving-the-right-problem 

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✅Books:

Hardwired for Happiness: https://a.co/d/eoPlwdE