Well-being washing

Well-being washing or WW (a compound word modeled on "whitewashing") is a form of advertising or marketing spin that deceptively uses public relations and platitudes to persuade the public that an entity cares about employee health and well-being.[1][2] In place of genuine support, superficial gestures like one-off yoga classes, talks, or perks are offered that don't address underlying issues like excess hours, lack of autonomy, and work-life balance.[3][4] Well-being washing may attempt to remediate the symtpoms of an organization without addressing the underlying root cause.[5]

Well-being washing coincides with the rise of green-washing and the emergence of the wellbeing economy.[3][6][7]

References

  1. ^ Morel, David. "How To Avoid Wellbeing Washing: Ensuring Genuine Employee Support". Forbes. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  2. ^ Pritchard, Kate (6 December 2023). "What is 'wellbeing washing,' and is your org guilty of it?". HR Executive. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b Ryan, Éadaoin; Imbusch, Niamh; Kinahan, Mary; Guilfoyle, Róisín (December 2025). "Current understanding and theories of wellbeing washing in the context of workplace health and wellbeing: A scoping review protocol". MethodsX. 15 103452. doi:10.1016/j.mex.2025.103452. PMC 12246924. PMID 40657207.
  4. ^ Rössler, Wulf (20 February 2024). "Wellbeing washing". Insights in Public Mental Health: 2022. Frontiers Media SA. p. 28. ISBN 978-2-8325-4490-7.
  5. ^ Hodges, Julie (3 August 2025). "Ensuring positive mental health and wellbeing". Managing and Leading People through Organizational Change: The Theory and Practice of Sustaining Change through People. Kogan Page Publishers. pp. 255–256. ISBN 978-1-3986-2150-3.
  6. ^ Hayden, Anders (January 2025). "Buzzword or breakthrough beyond growth? The mainstreaming of the Wellbeing Economy". Ecological Economics. 227 108375. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108375.
  7. ^ Jackson, Steven J.; Sam, Michael P.; Dawson, Marcelle C. (11 July 2024). "The Contested Terrain of Sport and Well-Being: Health and Wellness or Wellbeing Washing?". Social Sciences. 13 (7): 366. doi:10.3390/socsci13070366.
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