Beyond wellness programmes: Why free fruit isn't fixing burnout

You're drowning in pointless meetings. Your inbox breeds like rabbits. You're managing in all directions while leadership promises the impossible.

Then comes the well-intentioned announcement: 'We're launching our new wellness initiative! A meditation app, healthy snacks, and other mindfulness resources for everyone!

A friend recently captured the gap between intention and impact so perfectly: 'My company launched a meditation app, standing desks, fruit bowls, even a Chief Happiness Officer. So why do I feel more exhausted than ever?’

Because there's a fundamental disconnect between what wellness programmes offer and what people actually need in order to thrive.

The pattern I keep seeing? Programmes that focus on fixing individual symptoms rather than addressing what creates genuine wellbeing. They assume you can patch up your "work self" separately from your whole self. But we’re not machines needing maintenance. We’re not human doings, we’re human beings needing integration.

Your work needs the whole you. 

You have a choice. You can keep compartmentalising yourself to fit systems designed for ‘half-humans’: work cultures that only want your productivity and logic while asking you to check your emotions, creativity, and personal needs at the door.

OR, you can take responsibility for showing up whole. 

This is about personal courage and recognising (Step 1 of the ROAR process) that you showing up in your authentic presence, creates permission for others to do the same.

But let's be honest: Individual responsibility only goes so far. Leaders must model wholeness, not just preach it. Cultures must reward authentic expression, not punish it.

“The most powerful transformation happens when brave individuals meet brave leadership in cultures that celebrate the whole human.”

Marilise

This is exactly why I'm conducting research for my new book MOAR! Making Work Magic Inside & Out - to understand what actually works versus what we think should work. 

TELL US WHAT WORKS v.s. DON'T WORK - here

What one woman's journey reveals about wholeness

When I recently interviewed Kath Roberts on my ROAR! podcast – Look out for the episode this week – her insights beautifully reinforced what I've been discovering about wholeness at work.

Kath embodied corporate success until grief revealed something revolutionary: "Work is life and life is work. We've been trying to balance two things that were never meant to be separate."

Her journey from boardrooms to colour therapy taught her that true wellbeing encompasses five dimensions: mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and social. Most programmes obsess over one while starving the others.

Kath further explains: "We need to bridge science and spirituality; logic and soul."

This mirrors my own transformation. When I finally gave myself permission to let my whole self ROAR! – not just my "professional self" – everything shifted. 

You need your wisdom and your heart. Your courage and your intuition. 

The energy revolution we’re ready for

Energy is the new currency. And we've been operating energetically bankrupt because we're only using half our power.

But what does it mean to operate at full energetic capacity? It means understanding that we have two fundamental energy systems that must work in harmony.

Kath revealed the secret: "We need to balance our masculine and feminine energies."

Your masculine energy asks: "How far are you willing to go to fulfill your destiny?"

Your feminine energy asks: "How good are you willing to have it?"

Most people think they must choose: be ambitious or content. But thriving means raising energy on both sides.

What’s more, when you operate from integrated energy, you create psychological safety for others to do the same. When one person operates at full energetic capacity, "small actions create ripple effects" that transform entire cultures.

This requires transformation across my Wellbeing Trio: Leaders who model wholeness, Individuals who claim it, and Cultures that reward it.

Where does that leave you? 

Right at the centre of change. Your choice to show up authentically - even in small ways - signals to others that it's possible.

When you let your whole self ROAR! at work, you become living proof of what's possible. And that's where ROAR! naturally leads to MOAR! - the momentum and mastery of pursuing your biggest dreams while knowing you're already whole. 

You are meant for more, and already more than enough. 

I believe that you're capable of bringing your whole self to work. 

The question is: Do you? 

Where are you still hiding parts of yourself?

Your invitation to complete the MOAR! Work Wellbeing Survey

Whether you've mastered bringing your whole self to work, or you're still discovering what that means – your experience matters.

SHARE YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE

15 minutes. Anonymous. Help us understand what wholeness at work actually looks like.

Plus receive MOAR! free when it launches.

The revolution starts with one person courageous enough to show up complete.

Could that person be you?