WorkWell Leaders | LinkedIn (original) (raw)

Are you a WorkWell Leader and Organisation? BeWell. LeadWell. Mentally Healthy Workplaces. A Leadership Priority.

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About us

We are Singapore's first (and possibly also the world's first) non-profit that is singularly focused on building a community of CEOs and leaders across public, private and people sectors to champion wellbeing as a strategic priority for their organisation. We believe that leaders must take ownership of mental health as a fundamental responsibilities for themselves and their work communities. Go to our website to find out how your organisation and CEO can contribute as members to our growing community of CEOs.

Industry

Civic and Social Organizations

Company size

2-10 employees

Headquarters

Singapore

Type

Nonprofit

Founded

2018

Specialties

wellbeing-centric leadership development, inclusive leadership for mentally-healthy workplaces, workplace culture change for mentally-healthy workplaces, and ESG and mental health at work

Locations

Employees at WorkWell Leaders

Updates

At the WorkWell Leaders 18th Learning Session today – very kindly hosted by Florence Foo and the BNP Paribas team – with over 25 senior HR and wellbeing heads, we discussed the challenging issue of tackling micro-cultures and leaders who do not always display positive behaviours when it comes to the wellbeing of their teams. To set the stage, Jean Balfour MCC, shared the principles of “Driving Relational Outcomes” and how Relational Leadership acts as a compelling model to navigate complex organisational systems and the series of interrelated relationships and social processes through which work is done and business is built. She shared a few practical pathways for HR to encourage leadership teams to go beyond the transactions of getting things done, to being champions of building trust, collaboration and mutual understanding that underpin driving business outcomes. Some staggering statistics on the prevalence of toxic behaviour in the workplace were eye-opening. Attendees echoed that some leaders in their organisations were too transaction focused and in small group discussions identified some of the traits of “bad apples”, including being passive aggressive, clique building, self-serving or too focused on managing up and being non-constructive or disparaging in providing feedback. They then explored their experiences on how to intervene in such situations starting with articulating with clarity what the non-positive behaviours were for any given issue, approaching these difficult conversations in a way that matches the leader’s own style and having clear consequences for not being open to change. They all agreed that baking behaviour assessment into KPIs and having very clearly articulated policies and standards, supported by coaching and training, were the foundations to building greater behavioural alignment amongst leaders, before interventions could be effectively practiced. Having regular 1-1 check-ins with active listening that are not all work focused with individuals in teams, was also discussed as a key enabler in changing leadership styles; and that those environments, where people are safe to speak freely, usually result in better business outcomes. During the session, the implications of the new Workplace Fairness Legislation – the first phase of which was introduced this week by the Ministry of Manpower – were examined. Unlike the current guidelines in place, the legislation includes legally enforceable rules to foster positive workplace norms and strengthen social cohesion by addressing unfair treatment at workplaces. It was heartening to see such a rich and complex discussion taking place as teams put the final touches on their plans for 2025. A massive thanks to the BNP team for hosting us today.Anthea Indira Ong, Stephane de Montlivault, Kok Weng SAM, Kelvin Ho, Peta Latimer Chartered FCIPD, Choon Hong Tay, Khai Yang Koh, Bob Grove, Annika Mock, Joey Chung
WorkWell Leaders was really pleased to have an important and in-depth discussion today with 14 senior lawyers – largely private practice but also some in-house counsel – on the mental wellbeing challenges facing the legal community. It is well known that the legal profession has one of the highest levels of stress compared to the average working population, yet according to the International Bar Association, more than 40% of lawyers do not feel comfortable talking to their employers about their wellbeing; and one in three believe that their work specifically has a negative or very negative impact on their wellbeing. Over 80% of legal employers state that employee wellbeing is very important to them although only 16% of their senior management has been trained in mental wellbeing to help identify potential issues in teams and intervene appropriately. From the attendees, it’s clear that there is keen interest to do more and a number of ideas and current practices were shared amongst the group. These included ways of monitoring risk with individuals to make sure they can tap into support mechanisms when needed; agreeing protocols with clients on deadlines, differentiating the urgent from the non-urgent and for clients to proactively respect the same; and for the senior partners themselves to integrate wellbeing into their discussions with teams on a regular basis as well as set an example by talking about their own wellbeing challenges to create a safe space for others to do so too. There was general recognition that in many cases, bad apples do exist and the group explored what to do about those situations as well as whether more discussion should be had on balancing profit with employee wellbeing. There are no silver bullets as ever, but fabulous to see such engagement in the topic and a willingness to continue the conversation on a regular basis. A big thanks to Jean Muller for hosting the lunch today and getting this discussion off the ground. Patrick Ang Wai King Ng Yi Wayn Sophie Mathur Dawn Tan Ly-Ru Long Jong Chang Charlie Wilson Akash Mohapatra Kelvin Ho Benedict Teo Astha Malik Shuhui Kwok
Terrific panel discussion today, moderated by Bob Grove at the #SFF on Shaping success: Unlocking the secrets to an exceptional workplace. Open and personal sharing with rich insights from Sabrina Ooi, Pamela Sng and Qian Yin Yap. Highlights included the need for leaders to be vulnerable in sharing about their own wellbeing to enable others to feel safe to do the same; a spirited discussion on unconscious bias training and whether this easy-to-implement DEI approach actually reinforces stigma and self-justification. The panel posited that a more thoughtful, behavioural-led shift is needed to diminish discrimination especially in the context of the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL). It was noted that many companies are not yet prepared for the WFL which is enforceable unlike the current guidelines in place and presents a risk to businesses. The audience was particularly keen on understanding more about building a healthy, positive and safe work culture where the panel shared that culture should and could not be imposed from the top-down and had to be a bottom-up process, empowering employees to have ownership of the definition and norms of culture. There was also a lot of interest in the role of middle managers as the heartbeat of culture and how they need to be supported more beyond their functional duties to develop an everyday employee experience that achieves results but also is rooted in empathy. It was a great way to kick off the afternoon’s focus on all things talent at the Singapore Fintech Festival.#bewellleadwell #mentalhealth Anthea Indira Ong Kelvin Ho Khai Yang Koh Peta Latimer Chartered FCIPD Stephane de Montlivault Kok Weng SAM Choon Hong Tay Bob Grove Joey Chung
This afternoon, 18 leaders from the WorkWell Leaders community gathered for an inspiring lunch and conversation with Prof Dame Carol Black. As an acclaimed expert on workplace wellbeing and valued member of WWL's Advisory Council, Prof Black opened the session with a few observations about the global workplace mental health landscape, including what truly constitutes best practices in employee wellbeing today (beyond the basics of EAP, flexible work arrangements, etc). A recent Gallup report found that Singapore has the lowest employee engagement in the region, and Prof Black shared her views on how employers can overcome this. The primary conversation topic over lunch was the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation and how employers can ready themselves to meaningfully adopt anti-discrimination practices beyond box-ticking. With many members making plans for their 2025 wellbeing strategy, this was at timely opportunity to exchange ideas and gain inspiration from peers. Many thanks are due to Prof Black for making the time and WWL board members Peta Latimer Chartered FCIPD and Kelvin Ho for hosting! #bewellleadwell #mentalhealth Anthea Indira Ong Kok Weng SAM Choon Hong Tay Stephane de Montlivault Khai Yang Koh Bob Grove Joey Chung
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There's just one more week left to join the national pledge and share your support for workplace wellbeing as part of World Mental Health Month! Join 120+ other pledge-makers and stand up as an employer of choice today! This pledge is open to leaders of any kind (i.e. CEO, manager, team lead, supervisor) and is co-organised by WorkWell Leaders and @Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF). As a bonus, SNEF will be offering free optional training sessions on workplace mental health to all organisations that participate in the pledge. It's super simple to make your pledge: 1. Go to the wall at https://lnkd.in/ghUCgFdi and click “Create Post”. 2. Upload a selfie and type out your pledge: "Together with my leadership team, I commit to supporting the wellbeing of our employees with action and programmes" or use wording of your choice. 3. Click next, provide your name and company name in brackets e.g. John Tan (Company XYZ) and your email address in the next field 4. Click “Post Now” If you prefer to participate on LinkedIn, you’re welcome to post the pledge directly on your personal page. Be sure to use the hashtag#LeadTogetherForMH and tag WorkWell Leaders if you do! Happy posting Kelvin Ho Khai Yang Koh Peta Latimer Chartered FCIPD Stephane de Montlivault Kok Weng SAM Choon Hong Tay Bob Grove Joey Chung
2,198 followers
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This afternoon, WorkWell Leaders had the honour of hosting an intimate fireside chat with Professor Tommy Koh, beloved changemaker, international negotiator and Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The session was held in collaboration with SGListCos and attended by over 40 C-Suite leaders from SGX companies and WWL's member network. The session’s theme, "Leaders Championing Change," felt especially timely given today's geopolitical challenges and economic uncertainties. Few people are better placed to speak on these issues than Prof. Koh, who has spent decades negotiating trade deals and global pacts, while also championing important local causes from conservation to social inclusion. Moderated by WWL chairperson Anthea Indira Ong, the conversation shifted seamlessly between rich personal anecdotes and thoughtful reflections on leadership, often drawing insightful parallels between foreign relations and workplace dynamics. A few key takeaways stood out: 1️⃣ In a working relationship, never take disagreements personally. Always show the other party respect. 2️⃣ Leaders must take care of their own wellbeing and embrace a "Be Well to Lead Well" mindset. Prof. Koh impressed everyone by sharing that he'd just had a morning swim at 5.45am (a remarkable habit at 86-years-old). 3️⃣ Creating a healthy work culture requires committed leadership. Senior leaders must set the tone while empowering middle managers to feel confident and take ownership of their work environment. Attendees left with a renewed sense of purpose and practical insights on leading through change. Many wished for more time and even requested a follow-up session to ask Prof. Koh their burning questions. Before closing, leaders joined the national pledge to support employee wellbeing with action and programmes to mark World Mental Health Month. You can also demonstrate your commitment to employee wellbeing by making the pledge here: https://lnkd.in/ghUCgFdiWe are deeply grateful to Prof. Koh for sharing his time and wisdom with us. Special thanks again to Chong Lek Foong, Felicia L., Peggy and the team at SGListCos for co-organising and hosting this event. #mentalhealth #bewellleadwell Kelvin Ho Khai Yang Koh Peta Latimer Chartered FCIPD Stephane de Montlivault Kok Weng SAM Choon Hong Tay Bob Grove Joey Chung
2,198 followers
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This morning, WorkWell Leaders held its historic 10th CEO Dialogue, fittingly on the day after World Mental Health Day. To commemorate this significant milestone, WWL sought to bring a new experience to members based on many requests to deepen mental health literacy at the executive level. In response, WWL teamed up with the good people at Intellect to present the first of-its-kind Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) designed for CEOs, specifically focused on leadership and strategy planning. Today’s session was generously hosted by Felix Loh CEO of Gardens by the Bay, meaning over 30 CEOs and leaders were treated to a beautiful venue in the heart of the Gardens. With greenery and luscious beauty on all sides, the Gardens provided a beautiful backdrop for participants to come together and learn from one another. Felix framed the context of the session with an analogy from his experience at Gardens by the Bay: If a flower is not thriving, to fix the issue, one must remedy the environment, not just the flower. Intellect’s Oliver S. took the floor to bring leaders through a high-level walkthrough of MHFA. Participants were coached on how to observe and recognise various mental health conditions. They were also taken through a construct that gives people confidence to engage in conversations about wellbeing that are safe, supportive and effective. In small groups, participants shared and learned from each other, discussing how these perspectives would be applied within their organisations using the WWL 4C values: Courage, Compassion, Clarity and Commitment. As heads of organisations, leaders are not only influential first-aiders, they are also tone-setters for organisational culture. Of the leaders attending, almost half shared that they have had personal experience with counselling/therapy, yet only 13% have felt comfortable revealing this to their teams. They agreed that talking about their own wellbeing more openly would make it safer for colleagues to speak about and seek help for their own mental health challenges. Other themes from the discussion included managing multi-generational workforce, building trust among employees beyond HR, and how to synthesise top-down initiatives with bottom-up programmes. Attendees also uncovered some salient sharings on how to render MHFA as a CEO: (1) simplify policies and values to avoid adding to cognitive load (2) identify and mitigate work stressors through job redesign, and (3) take on a culture of “being” instead of “doing” i.e. focusing on culture and ecosystem as opposed to a flurry of individual interventions. Many thanks again to Felix and the team at Gardens by the Bay as well as Oliver and Cassandra Loh for their excellent facilitation.#bewellleadwell #mentalhealth Anthea Indira Ong Kok Weng SAM Khai Yang Koh Kelvin Ho Choon Hong Tay Peta Latimer Chartered FCIPD Stephane de Montlivault Bob Grove Joey Chung
2,198 followers
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Happy World Mental Health Day! Today (10 Oct) represents an opportune moment for all of us to reflect on our own wellbeing journey as well as our influence on the journeys of those around us (colleagues, loved ones, strangers). WorkWell Leaders chairperson and founder Anthea Indira Ong penned an evocative commentary piece for Channel News Asia on her own brush with depression and the 20-year journey she's undergone since then. It is a story about self-compassion, community, and purpose. Anthea's moving reflection demonstrates tremendous vulnerability. It is crucial for leaders to Courageously own their mental health struggles, as it gives others the permission to do the same. When leaders take the first step to establish a culture of openness, they create ripple effects across their organisation that improve psychological safety and team morale. One way to begin is by making your digital leadership pledge in support of workplace wellbeing. If you're a people leader/manager, this is a perfect opportunity to show your teams that you care. Head over to the pledge wall at https://lnkd.in/ghUCgFdi and click “Create Post” to make your pledge. If you prefer to participate on LinkedIn, you’re welcome to do by posting the pledge directly on your personal page. Be sure to use the hashtag #LeadTogetherForMH and tag WorkWell Leaders! The suggested pledge message is: "Together with my leadership team, I commit to supporting the wellbeing of our employees with action and programmes", but you're welcome to use wording of your choice. We look forward to seeing your commitment on the wall! #bewellleadwell #mentalhealth Kok Weng SAM Stephane de Montlivault Khai Yang Koh Peta Latimer Chartered FCIPD Kelvin Ho Choon Hong Tay Bob Grove Joey Chung
Commentary: 'Depression made me rest and reset' - Former NMP Anthea Ong on her brush with depression channelnewsasia.com

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