With 2025 already past its midpoint, many organisations can proudly tick the boxes marked wellbeing and engagement. The trouble is, ticking boxes doesn’t always mean people are truly thriving.
Flourishing at work is more than feeling comfortable or satisfied. It’s a richer, deeper mix – a sense of purpose in what we do, strong relationships with the people around us, financial stability, and the belief that our work actually matters.
That’s what the Global Flourishing Study makes clear. This is no small project – it’s a $43 million, five-year research effort surveying over 200,000 adults across 22 countries. And what it reveals is sobering. The UK ranked 20th out of 22 in flourishing. Countries like Indonesia, Mexico, and the Philippines ranked far higher, largely because stronger social connections and meaning play a bigger role in daily life there.
This raises a big question for leaders: What’s holding us back? And why isn’t flourishing taking root in our workplaces?
From conversations with leaders across sectors, plus a growing body of research, four themes continue to come up as major blockers.
1. Information overload
We live in a time of choice overload, especially when it comes to learning and development. Endless libraries of courses and tools can overwhelm people rather than help them. It’s the corporate equivalent of scrolling Netflix all evening without ever hitting play. This paralysis kills momentum and stalls real progress.
2. Stress and burnout
Some industries, especially healthcare and public services, feel this acutely. The pace never really slows, and the pressure never eases. In these environments, resilience training and supportive leadership are essential for survival.
3. Low autonomy and lack of psychological safety
When people feel they have little control over their work or fear speaking up, engagement shrinks, innovation dries up, and small problems grow unchecked. Psychological safety has become the foundation for teams that can learn, adapt, and perform under pressure.
4. Weak meaning and connection
Perks and freebies might make work more comfortable for some of us, but they don’t make it meaningful. What really matters is feeling a sense of belonging and purpose. Without these, engagement stays shallow, and performance suffers.
So where is flourishing happening?
Despite these hurdles, there are pockets of workplaces where flourishing is very much alive, and importantly, driving business outcomes too.
High-engagement organisations, for example, consistently maintain engagement scores north of 80–85%. They do this by giving people autonomy, recognising their achievements, and connecting everyday work to a bigger purpose.
Hybrid and flexible working models are also proving to be powerful. Surveys show that about 75% of people working this way report less pressure and greater productivity. When people have a choice over where and when they work, it can reduce stress and unlock their best output.
Another growing area of impact is what researchers call psychological flexibility – the ability to stay open and adaptable to changing circumstances and difficult emotions, while still pursuing what matters. Interventions like Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) have shown promising results in improving resilience and reducing burnout, especially in high-stress environments.
Who stands to gain the most?
You can spot a handful of sectors where the call for change is loudest and the willingness to act is there too.
The public sector and frontline health teams are under serious pressure, juggling limited resources while meeting high public expectations. It’s clear that focused leadership and meaningful culture shifts can make a real difference here.
In tech and software, the rapid pace, long hours, and heavy autonomy can seem like the dream setup, until the pressure piles up and the cracks start to show. Without a real sense of psychological safety, where people feel safe to take risks and speak up, and without a clear sense of purpose that connects their work to something bigger, burnout quietly creeps in, draining energy and creativity.
Then there are the fast-scaling SMEs – often full of ambition, but with lean infrastructures. For these businesses, embedding strong cultural habits early is critical. Putting off building culture until after growth is an expensive mistake to make.
What’s the leadership takeaway?
Flourishing isn’t about throwing in a token initiative or chasing the latest shiny HR trend. It’s about having the right, evidence-based support in place to create workplaces where people genuinely feel listened to, capable, and connected to something meaningful. When those conditions are met, people don’t just turn up – they bring their best, day after day.
Focusing on these fundamentals builds more than just a happy team. It strengthens resilience, sparks adaptability, and drives performance. The qualities that help organisations not just weather disruption, but come out stronger on the other side.
With change showing no signs of slowing and pressure becoming the norm, flourishing isn’t a luxury – it’s a business essential.