Opening
A workday does not erase the appointment, parent, partner, elder, or animal waiting outside it. When people have to hide those responsibilities, energy drains away before the real work has even begun. Wellbeing becomes credible when the whole human context can be discussed.
The idea
Jaqueline Oliveira Cella is the founder of wellBe Consulting and an advocate for health equity in organisations. She brought a clear observation to our conversation. Eighty percent of full time workers have caring responsibilities outside work. That means caregiving is not a niche concern.
It is part of the lived reality of most teams. Jaqueline’s approach is to use data as a self advocacy tool. Rather than asking an individual to explain why they need support in isolation, leaders can understand patterns across their workforce and build a stronger business case for action.
She described work that took 18 months to create a paid leave opportunity across 63 countries. The outcome was not only support for those taking leave. People who remained also felt pride and trust in an organisation that cared for them. Jaqueline connects health, wealth, and wellbeing.
A parent searching for the right doctor or fighting a medical claim is not merely losing work hours. They are losing energy. The organisation can reduce that friction by understanding the problem before selecting a solution. Psychological safety also depends on everyday leadership.
Empathy, transparency, and a pause before responding can make it easier for someone to say what is affecting their capacity. Mental wellbeing should not be a series of checkboxes. Jaqueline said:
“Mental health is to be worked as the same way that you think about going to a gym.”
Digital tools may help people sustain that practice between conversations with professionals, but they should solve a human need rather than become a new strategy for its own sake. The central question is simple.
What would make it easier for people to bring their full capacity to work without pretending that care does not exist?
What I took from it
I know the apologetic feeling of leaving work for a child’s need. I have raised children far from extended family, so there was rarely a spare relative who could absorb the unexpected.
After moving from the UK to Canada in 2021, I became even more aware that room to adapt is not indulgence. It is infrastructure. When we protect care, we protect the relationships and energy that allow people to contribute well.
Three things to try this week
- Ask one colleague what responsibility outside work deserves more understanding. Listen without turning the answer into a performance review.
- Map one recurring friction in your personal or professional life and identify the smallest support that would remove it.
- Replace a wellbeing checkbox with a weekly question about energy, care, and what would help. Make the question safe to answer.
Listen and go deeper
Listen to the episode on Buzzsprout and explore the guest’s work at Jaqueline Oliveira Cella.
Close
When care is designed into work, people do not have to choose between belonging and responsibility. Our research with 1,218 leaders examines how social health becomes measurable and actionable. Explore the research, then ask what your workplace is making easier or harder to sustain.
Explore the research, then ask yourself what you will practise next.