Lucy Newcombe
Chief People Officer
Reflections from the Wellbeing at Work Summit Asia, Hong Kong
The first thing we saw on stage wasn't a slide. It was a video.
Our moderator, Chris Cummings, had asked a simple question of people: why do you work? Almost every answer included the same response. Money.
It was a striking way to open a conversation about wellbeing, and it set the tone for everything that followed. If money is what brings people to work, then financial security has to sit at the centre of how we think about supporting them once they're there.
I joined Mary Andaya (Accor) and Susie Bates (Weber Shandwick) on the panel, “Wellbeing as the Power Behind Performance, Culture and ROI.” Here are the five takeaways I'm carrying out of the conversation.
1. Wellbeing isn't a perk, and we should stop framing it like one.
The strongest idea on stage was that wellbeing and performance are not two separate things. When people are supported (mentally, physically, socially and financially) they think more clearly, collaborate more openly, and do better work.
Treated this way, wellbeing becomes a strategic capability rather than a benefits line item. The organisations getting it right are the ones building it into how the business runs, not the ones running it as a programme on the side.
2. Financial confidence is the foundation for performance.
This was the point that drew lots of nods in the room, and the one I keep coming back to.
When employees are under financial stress, their focus, decision-making and capacity to solve problems all take a hit. The reverse is also true: financial confidence frees up cognitive bandwidth and lets people show up at their best.
The opening video made this plain in a way that no slide could. People work, first, for money. The other reasons matter too. Purpose, growth, belonging. But financial wellbeing is the foundation everything else sits on, and if we don't address it, the rest doesn't quite hold.
3. Integration matters more than initiative.
During the panel, we agreed on the same central truth: wellbeing works best when it is woven into the employee experience, not bolted on.
In practice, that means making it part of onboarding, career conversations, recognition moments and life-stage transitions. It means equipping leaders to talk about it. And it means showing up in everyday culture, not just in the benefits booklet.
Take employee share plans as one example. They become far more powerful when integrated across the employee lifecycle: introduced thoughtfully at onboarding, revisited at career milestones, woven into recognition, and adapted for different life stages. Treated this way, equity becomes part of someone's financial story at work, rather than a one-off enrolment moment they then forget about.
4. Asia is moving, but there is a clear gap to close.
The picture in Asia is mixed. The encouraging news: 84% of Hong Kong–listed companies now offer some form of share plan, an increase of around 60% over the past decade, and share awards have grown 250% in the same period.
The gap is who benefits. Over a quarter of executive pay at HK-listed companies is share-based, but equity is rarely extended further down the organisation. The global evidence is consistent: broader-based ownership lifts engagement, retention and accountability. The opportunity in Asia is to push past executive equity and let more of the workforce share in the upside, treating it less as a reward mechanic and more as a serious contribution to financial resilience.
5. People want stability, clarity and a sense of progress.
What employees actually want came up often. The answer, from panellists and the audience alike, was less about new perks and more about durable basics: stability in uncertain times, safe spaces to speak up , and a sense that they are progressing.
Good leadership, honest communication, real development opportunities, support for financial resilience. None of these are new ideas. But in the current climate, I think they are the ones that count.
A final thought
Thank you to the Wellbeing at Work team for hosting a thoughtful event, and to Chris, Mary and Susie for such a generous, grounded conversation.
What I'm taking away is the gap between the honest answer in that opening video and the way most wellbeing strategies are still designed. Money is why most people show up to work, but more needs to be done by employers about financial wellbeing. Closing that gap is the work in front of us. The companies that get there first will not just have healthier people. They will have a meaningful advantage in performance, culture and ROI.