As CXO at SignpostMe, I spend a lot of time thinking about where workplace health and wellbeing goes next. I’m Steph Connell, and I’ve seen huge progress: many employers now talk about sleep, movement, nutrition and mental wellbeing in a way they simply didn’t ten years ago. Step challenges, wellbeing apps and health education all have a role to play. But I think the next step is joining it all together.

A step challenge can get someone moving. Better sleep and nutrition can reduce health risks. Helping people understand their own health can encourage them to make changes before something goes wrong.

That’s prevention, and I believe strongly in it. But we can’t prevent everything. You can walk 10,000 steps a day and still find a lump. You can eat well and still become unwell. You can look after yourself and still need a scan, a specialist or treatment.

For me, that’s where workplace health needs to evolve. We need to stop thinking about wellbeing and healthcare as separate things. Prevention should sit alongside protection: helping people influence the things they can control, while having a system ready for the things they can’t.

So let’s keep the step challenge, sing the praises of sleep and help people understand their risks. But make sure the journey doesn’t end there. If something changes, can they speak to a GP? Can they get answers quickly? And if something is wrong, what happens next?

A wellbeing strategy shouldn’t stop working at the point somebody becomes unwell.

This is the thinking behind SignpostMe. Prevention and protection shouldn’t sit in separate boxes. We’re building them into one connected experience, because the future of workplace health isn’t about offering more benefits. It’s about making sure the right support is there at every stage of someone’s health journey.

Help people stay well. And be there when they’re not.