How “Carewashing” Alienates Employees

The perils of superficial wellness benefits.

by

and

Debra Sabatini Hennelly

by

and

Debra Sabatini Hennelly

June 10, 2024

maskalin/Getty Images

Summary.

Too many organizations with unsustainable “work hard, play hard” cultures believe that checking the well-being box by offering mindfulness training or yoga classes qualifies them as having a positive and safe culture when, in fact, they’re merely “carewashing.” Like the more familiar term greenwashing, carewashing is derived from whitewashing: covering up or putting a misleading spin on a failure to meet some commitment, stated claim, or standard. At a time when employee well-being has been unequivocally tied to organizational performance and yet workers are historically unhappy, leaders should do everything in their power to provide healthy, motivating workplaces. The authors present four strategies to safeguard against carewashing.

Post-pandemic, employees have experienced record-high stress and burnout and are increasingly attracted to organizations with cultures that support well-being at work. A 2024 Gallup survey indicates that the percentage of employees who strongly agree that their organization cares about their overall well-being has plunged from 49% in 2020 to 21% in 2024, while a previous survey found that improving well-being and culture rated much higher than increasing compensation among the things “quiet quitters” would like to change about their work.

Maren Gube is an international speaker whose scientific research on creativity and award-winning insights into why women leave STEM fields have made her a dedicated advocate for workplace cultures that invite all team members to belong, learn, and innovate. She is coauthor of the Harvard Business Review articles “4 Ways to Spark Creativity When You’re Feeling Stressed” and “Resilient Organizations Make Psychological Safety a Strategic Priority.” As the executive director of Resiliti, Maren is committed to cultivating organizational resilience and emotionally healthy workplaces, combining evidence-based insights with actionable strategies. You can read more about her here.
CM

Cynthia Mathieu is an industrial-organizational psychologist and professor of organizational behavior at the University of Québec in Trois-Rivières (Canada). She studies and has published research on psychopathy and other dark personalities in the workplace; leadership; toxic workplace culture; and employee well-being. She consults with organizations and teaches on corporate psychopathy, employee selection, mental health in the workplace, organizational fraud, leadership, and work culture. She has been invited to speak for organizations such as the Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian federal government, the Retail Council of Canada, and Facebook. She is the author of the book Dark Personalities in the Workplace, and she regularly posts on LinkedIn, where she has received mentions: Top Community Voice on Leadership, Team Management, and Recruitment.
Debra Sabatini Hennelly is the founder and president of Resiliti. She advises leaders and boards on enhancing organizational resilience by creating cultures that value inclusion, candor, integrity, and innovation. She facilitates experiential learning and workshops to help teams and leaders identify and address obstacles to psychological safety and ethical decision making, increasing collaboration, engagement, well-being, and productivity. Debbie also coaches compliance professionals in effective leadership and personal resilience. Her pragmatic approach is informed by her engineering and legal background and decades of corporate leadership, C-suite, and advisory roles in compliance and ethics, legal, environment and safety, and strategic management. Debbie is an adjunct professor in Fordham University Law School’s Program on Corporate Ethics & Compliance, an author, and a frequent speaker at professional conferences.

How “Carewashing” Alienates Employees

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