Vassia Manika | Corporate Wellbeing Innovator
People rarely stay with an organization for just one reason. They may be attracted by the salary, the job title, or an interesting opportunity. The decision to stay, however, is shaped every day: by the way they are managed, the workload they carry, the trust they experience, and whether they feel they can grow without becoming exhausted.
In my experience, retention is not a program that is activated when the first resignations appear. It is the result of hundreds of small experiences that have come before. Wellbeing is part of these experiences, not as just another benefit, but as a reflection of the quality of everyday working life.
What Attracts People Is Not Necessarily What Makes Them Stay
The Randstad Workmonitor 2026, based on more than 27,000 employees and 1,225 employers across 35 markets, highlights a notable difference. Salary remains the strongest factor in attracting employees, cited by 81% of respondents. When it comes to staying, however, work-life balance is cited by 46%, compared with 23% who mention salary.
Data from an international survey cannot describe every industry or organization in exactly the same way. However, it highlights something worth considering: an employment contract may begin on financial terms, but the relationship with work is sustained—or eroded—through everyday experience.
Employer Brand Is Experienced Before It Is Communicated
An organization may communicate that it cares about its people. That message is either confirmed or contradicted by the way workloads are distributed, priorities are set, mistakes are handled, and people are supported when they are going through a difficult period.
This is why employer brand is not created solely through marketing or a careers page. It is shaped through the relationship with the direct manager, the sense of fairness, the ability to express a different opinion, and the consistency between what the organization says and what it rewards in practice.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 states that 64% of employers consider supporting employee health and wellbeing an important strategy for increasing talent availability. This does not mean that a wellbeing program guarantees recruitment or retention. It does mean that the quality of the employee experience now holds a strategic place in discussions about human capital.
Five Experiences That Influence Retention
- A workload that is demanding but manageable, with priorities that do not change without explanation.
- A relationship with the manager that provides clarity, recognition, and safe communication.
- A degree of autonomy and flexibility appropriate to the nature of the work and the responsibilities of the role.
- Visible opportunities for learning, development, and making use of each person’s strengths.
- A sense that the work is meaningful and that individual contributions are recognized within the team.
VASSIA’S PERSPECTIVE
“Salary may open the door. The everyday experience determines whether someone will want to stay.”
– Vassia Manika
Wellbeing as a Retention Strategy
The Gallup Q12 Meta-Analysis identifies significant differences between high- and low-engagement teams across indicators such as profitability, productivity, absenteeism, and turnover. These are engagement data and do not prove that any wellbeing initiative will automatically produce these outcomes. They do, however, demonstrate how closely the employee experience is connected to business performance.
A mature retention strategy does not simply try to make leaving more difficult. It aims to make staying more meaningful. It listens to what wears people down, empowers managers, and creates conditions in which performance can be sustained over time.
Explore the benefits of Workplace Wellbeing for your organization or contact us to develop an approach tailored to your people and your culture.
Selected Sources
About the Author
Vassia Manika is a Corporate Wellbeing Innovator, Clinical Dietitian-Nutritionist, Adult Educator, and Executive & Health Coach. With more than 20 years of experience working with people, teams, and organizations, she designs evidence-informed interventions that connect wellbeing with leadership, culture, and sustainable performance.
© Vassia Manika / ErgoProlipsis, 2026. Republishing is permitted only with clear attribution to the author and the original source, and with an active link.
