Many organizations start a wellness programme with a gym tie-up or a fruit basket and then wonder why nothing changes. People look after themselves better when work itself is less draining and when help is easy to reach. A good employee wellbeing programme has a few parts that work together, and you can build it in steps.
This page sets out those parts, in the order most workplaces find practical. It is general guidance, not a promise of any result.
Start by asking what your people actually need
Before you plan anything, ask. A short anonymous survey, a few conversations with team leads, or a look at patterns such as leave, resignations and missed deadlines will show where the strain is. A sales team under constant targets needs something different from a team that works long hours alone at home.
Keep the first plan small. Pick one or two concerns, act on them, and tell people what you did. A programme that listens earns trust, and trust is what makes people use it.
Talks and workshops
Group sessions are often the first step because they reach many people at once and carry little stigma. Topics that workplaces ask about include stress, sleep, burnout and general wellbeing. A counsellor can run these online or in person and answer questions in the room.
A single talk will not change a culture, but it does give people words for what they feel and show that the organization takes it seriously. Repeat sessions through the year work better than one big event.
Leshya lists workshops and wellness talks among the things organizations can ask for. They are run by counsellors who have told us they take on this work, and billed per workshop run.
Manager sensitisation training
People often tell their manager first, so managers shape the programme more than any poster does. Manager training helps them notice when someone is struggling, hold a kind conversation, avoid promising secrecy they cannot keep, and point the person to proper help. A manager is not meant to become the counsellor.
It also covers how a manager's own habits, such as late messages and unclear priorities, affect a team. Leshya can arrange manager sensitisation training, with scope and fee agreed before it starts.
A typical session for people managers covers the signs that someone may be struggling, how to open a conversation and listen without rushing to solve it, what not to say, how to respond if someone mentions self harm, when and how to point a person to counselling or Tele MANAS on 14416, what to keep confidential, and how managers look after themselves. It can run online or in person, for a small group of managers at a time, and can be repeated as new managers join.
Counsellors on Leshya who tell us they run manager sensitisation training take these sessions. Ask for an outline before you book. Billing is per workshop run, not per head.
Counselling access
Talks and training raise awareness. People who are struggling also need somewhere to go. Confidential one to one counselling gives them that, and it works best when it sits outside the reporting line.
How counselling is arranged, what it costs by session and how privacy works are covered in our article on employee assistance programmes, so we will not repeat it here. In short, individual counselling stays between the person and their counsellor, and Leshya does not tell the organization who attended or what was discussed.
Counselling can also be arranged for a team after a distressing event, such as a death or an accident. Ask about critical incident support when you inquire.
Policies that people can trust
Some topics need a clear policy rather than a talk. Awareness of sexual harassment at work is one; our article on POSH awareness training explains what a session covers and how to arrange one. Check with your legal adviser what applies to your organization.
Smaller things count too: reasonable working hours, leave that people feel able to take, and a manager who says thank you. No programme makes up for a workplace where these are missing.
Starting small, then building
A practical first year might look like this. Listen to your people. Run one or two workshops on the concern that came up most. Train the managers. Then make counselling available. You do not need all four on day one, and you pay only for what you use: Leshya bills per session taken or workshop run, not per head.
To plan with us, open the For organizations page and choose "Tell us what you need". A person reads it, a short call follows, and scope and fees are agreed before anything starts. If someone is in crisis, Tele MANAS, the national helpline, is on 14416.
If you're thinking about harming yourself, please talk to someone right now. Tele MANAS is free, confidential and always open: call 14416. You matter.
The counselors here can help with ongoing support, but right now a call is faster.
Common questions
Commonly: a way to listen to employees, talks and workshops, training for managers, and access to confidential counselling. You can start with one and add the rest.
