Building a Wellness Culture That Actually Reaches People with Olivia Carter-Hollis
Employees do not stop being human when they walk into the office.
They bring their mental health, family stress, grief, finances, relationships, anxiety, and caregiving responsibilities with them.
In this episode of _At Work, Under Pressure_, Jessi Beyer sits down with Olivia Carter-Hollis of Heitman to talk about workplace wellness, mental health resources, claims data, HR burnout, leadership care, manager discretion, and what it means to build a culture where people feel noticed before crisis escalates.
Olivia shares how Heitman has expanded wellness beyond chair massages and desk yoga into a more holistic strategy that includes mental health support, financial wellness, physical wellness, professional growth, employee relationships, personal stress, senior leader vulnerability, mental health resources, and a dedicated wellness space. She also opens up about her own experience with anxiety as an HR professional and why HR leaders need support too.
In this episode, Jessi and Olivia discuss:
• Why wellness has to be more than a once-a-year initiative
• How claims data can help HR leaders identify where employees need support
• Why mental health resources need to be easy, personalized, and accessible
• How senior leaders sharing their own struggles can give employees permission to be human
• Why managers should use discretion when employees need flexibility
• How HR professionals can burn out while carrying everyone else’s problems
• Why workplace suicide prevention starts with noticing, asking, and making sure people do not carry crisis alone
This episode is for HR leaders, people managers, wellness professionals, benefits leaders, executives, and anyone trying to build a workplace where care is practical, visible, and woven into the culture.
Because sometimes the most important message an employee can hear is simple: "I notice, and I care."