Managing Growing Pains: Maintaining a Culture of Wellbeing in Times of Growth

Culture runs through every part of your business – it shapes how people work, communicate, and make decisions. Your culture is the thread that links your entire business – from leadership to frontline – shaping every team, every process, and every outcome. When you understand your culture, you can navigate tough times more effectively and grow stronger when opportunities arise.

During our four-webinar series this Autumn, we examine some of the essential elements that make up an organisation’s culture, helping you to foster a more robust operation to drive success and growth. Please find below a snippet from one of our speakers, Niamh Moynihan, on the culture of wellbeing in times of growth.

Times of growth are the most exciting, yet challenging, periods in an organisation’s life. But this momentum often comes with increased workloads, shifting roles, and new sources of stress. It’s in these moments that prioritising employee wellbeing shifts from a desirable perk to an essential strategy for sustained performance and a positive workplace culture.

I’ve seen this phenomenon firsthand—from managing a family petrol station business years ago to working in corporate tech for over a decade and now working with companies across all sectors. The fundamental growing pains are universal, regardless of the company’s scale or industry. It is precisely in these moments of expansion that we must proactively address these pains, so that organisational growth doesn’t leave behind a “permanent injury” in the form of employee burnout or disengagement.

Here are some ways to embed wellbeing into the very DNA of a growing business.

Identify the Wellbeing Expectation Gap
Wellbeing is deeply personal. Just like employees seek different levels of connection or engagement at work, the support they need varies greatly depending on their individual circumstances and job roles.

As leaders and managers, our first step must be to understand the wellbeing expectation gap within our teams. This gap is the difference between the support employees believe they need through work and what they are currently receiving. Some individuals may not require a lot of formal support, while others are actively seeking more structure to help them get their movement in, take proper breaks, or switch off at a reasonable time. We can then take steps to improve the work environment to better meet these diverse needs.

Focus on Workload Management
Successful wellbeing strategies begin at the desk; they are built on a strong foundation of role clarity and practical workload management. One of the top causes of work-related stress is, quite simply, workload. In times of growth, this requires constant monitoring:

• Fair Allocation: We must continuously review workload allocation at the team or division level to ensure it is as fair as possible.
• Managing Expectations: It is crucial to challenge and manage expectations, both internally and externally, to prevent unnecessary overtime, skipped lunch breaks, or rushing for no good reason. This practical approach to workload is a highly functional way to protect both mental and physical wellbeing.

Alongside managing volume, growth offers a unique opportunity for development. Ensuring that the individual’s personal growth aligns with the company’s growth supports their sense of value and motivation—a key component of long-term well-being.

Invest in Line Manager Resilience
Nearly every element of effective workplace wellbeing—from workload allocation to transparent communication—involves the line manager. They are the frontline, simultaneously juggling demands from leadership, allocating tasks, and fielding questions from staff. This is why investing in line managers’ wellbeing is absolutely crucial. If they burn out or role-model unsustainable practices (such as working late or skipping breaks), it creates a negative spiral for the entire team. We must ensure they have what they need to remain resilient.

Build Belonging & Community
Achieving long-term impact means integrating wellbeing into everyday practices. One way to do this is to take a look at the subcultures within your company and identify positive examples. For example, if one team is excellent at taking regular breaks, can they share their practice with another team prone to “break skipping?"

Ultimately, getting through the challenging, painful, but ultimately joyful journey of growth requires getting through it together. This sense of belonging is developed by:

• Breaking Silos: I always advocate for putting “windows in the walls” of silos so departments can see what’s going on, and “doors and corridors” in the organisation so people can seek help and have conversations outside of the day-to-day pressure.
• The Four C’s Framework: Team success, especially when navigating change, is strengthened by using the Four C’s:

1. Be Curious about each other.
2. Find ways to Compliment and help each other out.
3. Build on what you have in Common.
4. Be willing to Compromise.

By creating space for conversations and support, we can minimise the organisational friction and enable both our employees and our business to thrive.

Reflect and Act
As your organisation continues its journey through these growing pains, take a moment to reflect: How effectively is our current culture supporting wellbeing at a daily level? Making space for this question is the first step toward sustained success.

To learn about the culture of wellbeing in times of growth, register here for our session with Better Workday and Dalata on 6 November.

Niamh Moynihan
Founder
Better Workday