The health of a workforce has become one of the clearest predictors of organisational resilience. Companies that place wellbeing at the centre of their culture are better equipped to thrive. Those who don’t, risk falling behind. At Fullerton Health, we see this not as a passing HR trend, but as a structural shift in how organisations build resilience and long-term competitiveness.
In Singapore, the stakes are rising. Healthcare spending is projected to almost triple to S$59 billion by 2030, and chronic conditions are no longer restricted to older generations, with conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol increasingly affecting working adults. Add to this a manpower market where every employee counts, and preventive care is no longer a “nice to have.” It is a strategic necessity.
“We are seeing this every day in our clinics, employees in their 30s and 40s already managing conditions that used to be considered old-age diseases. This shift underscores why prevention has to start earlier, and why employers play such a critical role,” says Dr Marcus Lee, a Family Physician and Designated Workplace Doctor at Fullerton Health.
The pressures of daily work only amplify these risks. Long hours, sedentary roles, poor diets, and stress all chip away at productivity and morale. A 2023 study of young working adults in Singapore found that long working hours are deeply normalised, yet they are a major barrier to healthy diets and physical activity, fuelling higher risks of obesity and chronic disease. With one of the longest average work weeks in the world, Singapore’s workforce faces real health trade-offs between career demands and wellbeing.
The Evolution of Workplace Wellness Programmes
In the past, initiatives were largely ad-hoc: subsidised gym memberships, lunchtime yoga, one-off health talks. They helped raise awareness but rarely moved the needle.
Today, wellness programmes are more deeply integrated. Companies are introducing regular health screenings, nutritional support, and mental health resources. Yet gaps remain. According to a WTW survey, 51% of local employers say they are focused on mental wellbeing and 49% on physical wellbeing, but 53% of employees cite financial stress as their top concern, followed by 42% who highlight mental health.
Almost half of employees report struggling in multiple areas of wellbeing, and stress and anxiety remain widespread and often untreated. At Fullerton Health, we believe this is why workplace wellness must go beyond isolated programmes — it requires leadership buy-in and system-level change to make a real impact. Without that, even well-designed initiatives risk missing the mark.
The future of workplace wellness should be about more than programmes. It should be integrated into how organisations define success, not treated as an afterthought. Preventive care, safety, and wellbeing should be woven into business strategy and assessed with the same rigour as any other investment. With Singapore’s healthcare spending projected to rise to 9 percent of GDP by 2029, companies that want to stay resilient should regard wellness as vital infrastructure — essential to continuity, productivity, and long-term growth.
Embedding Preventive Care into HR Policy
“What makes wellness effective is when it’s not left to chance, but built into the way organisations operate,” says Derrick Chan, Managing Director at Fullerton Health.
Good intentions are not enough. Preventive care only works when it is built into company policy. Structural support is what turns wellbeing into a sustainable part of organisational life.
This can take many forms:
- Annual screenings for the “3 Highs”: Blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, made mandatory and linked to incentives like lower insurance premiums.
- Corporate flu vaccinations, delivered onsite or subsidised, to reduce seasonal absenteeism and minimise workplace outbreaks.
- Flexi-time or protected time-off policies, so employees can attend screenings, counselling, or wellness activities without stigma or penalty.
- Wellness budgets for managers, giving them the tools to address the unique needs of their teams, whether that means ergonomic upgrades or resilience workshops.
- Mental wellbeing measures, from mandatory manager training on stress recognition to confidential Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP).
Managers play a crucial role; they are the ones who normalise wellbeing by promoting participation, adjusting workloads, and utilising allocated budgets effectively. We’ve seen this first-hand through our Total Workplace Safety and Health (TWSH) collaborations, from supporting BBR Holdings (S) Limited with onsite screenings and customised health interventions, to helping Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel and WTW strengthen wellbeing across their teams. Policy-backed wellness consistently drives higher participation and stronger outcomes than voluntary efforts.
“This is why we work closely with HR and leadership teams when designing wellness frameworks,” says Derrick Chan, “Sustained impact comes when policies are embedded into culture and leaders set the tone from the top.”
When wellness is policy-backed and manager-led, participation rises, stigma falls, and preventive care shifts from an optional extra to an organisational norm.
The Cost of Inaction vs the ROI of Prevention
The cost of inaction is steep.
Absenteeism and presenteeism — when employees are physically present but mentally unwell or unproductive — erode performance. In Singapore, anxiety and depression alone are estimated to cost the economy nearly S$16 billion a year, equivalent to almost 3% of GDP, through lost productivity and healthcare costs.
The financial burden is growing. Employer-provided healthcare costs in Singapore rose by 9.9% in 2023, one of the sharpest increases in Asia. With national healthcare expenditure steadily increasing, companies that do not invest in prevention will see costs spiral.
The return on prevention is strong. A 2022 OECD report estimates that every US$1 invested in wellness generates up to US$4 in returns through improved productivity, lower absenteeism, and reduced claims. In Singapore, corporate health screenings often uncover potential health risks early, from elevated blood pressure to stress markers, giving employees the chance to address them before they escalate.
“From our experience running thousands of screenings each year, we’ve seen how early detection reduces the need for costly medical interventions later, cuts down on hospitalisation leave, and gives employees peace of mind,” says Dr Michelle Lee, Medical Director at Fullerton Health. Prevention not only lowers claims but also builds confidence in the workplace, showing employees that their health is a corporate priority.
The bottom line is simple: preventive care is not a soft initiative. It is one of the most reliable levers for protecting business continuity, reducing costs, and sustaining productivity.
Tailored Wellness = Higher Engagement, Higher Productivity
One-size-fits-all programmes rarely work. Employees are most engaged when wellness programmes are tailored to their roles, life stages, and stress triggers.
This tailored approach also strengthens employer brand. At BBR Holdings (S) Limited, for instance, Fullerton Health’s wellness initiatives have been highlighted by employees as a sign that the company genuinely values their wellbeing, a factor that boosts retention and engagement.
Prevention is not only about cost savings. It creates a talent advantage. Healthier employees are more engaged, more loyal, and less likely to leave. Companies that prioritise wellbeing send a clear signal to the market: this is a place where people can thrive. That signal matters, especially in Singapore’s tight labour market, where Millennials and Gen Z are increasingly choosing employers based on their commitment to wellness.
Measuring Success – From Wellness to Business Impact
To elevate wellness from an initiative to infrastructure, organisations must measure outcomes with the same rigour as any other investment.
The key is to track across three dimensions:
- Health uptake: how many employees participate in screenings, flu vaccinations, or follow-up consultations.
- Business metrics: absenteeism and presenteeism rates, insurance claim ratios, cost per claim.
- Engagement metrics: repeat participation, employee survey scores, manager feedback.
Mental health needs careful attention. Because stigma can stop employees from speaking up, companies may need to look at indirect signs, such as higher turnover in stressful teams or sudden drops in engagement scores.
It is also important to measure results over time. When issues are detected early, they should lead to fewer claims, better productivity, and stronger retention. Connecting wellness data directly to business outcomes makes the case for ongoing investment and shows that wellness is a key driver of organisational resilience.
Building a Health-First Culture with the Right Partner
Wellness must be reframed as organisational infrastructure, not an optional perk. For HR leaders and executives, the choice is no longer whether to invest, but how fast they can act.
Fullerton Health Singapore is leading this transformation. As the market leader in preventive care, we partner with companies to go beyond ad-hoc programmes and benefits, helping them embed health at the core of their culture. Our corporate wellness services, from the Workplace Outreach Wellness (WOW) programme and the TWSH framework, to Onsite Health Screenings (OHS) and Event Planning & Operations (EPO), are designed to make prevention practical, measurable, and impactful.
“Since embarking on the programme, we’ve seen encouraging participation and growing awareness of health and safety across our sites. It’s also helped foster a more open culture around wellbeing, something we see as essential in our line of work,” says Kelvin Ho, Senior General Manager at BBR Holdings (S) Limited.
These services are more than individual offerings. Together, they support the creation of workplaces where health is the foundation of resilience, productivity, and long-term success. With our scale, expertise, and integrated approach, Fullerton Health Singapore enables organisations to turn preventive wellness into a true strategic advantage.
The question for leaders is not if they should act, but when. Those who move first will build healthier, stronger, and more competitive organisations for the future.
Want to build a healthier, more resilient workplace? Contact our Corporate Wellness team today.