about the standard
We built this because senior leaders asked for it
where it started
It started with a research study, not a business plan
We spent fifteen years working alongside organisations trying to make wellbeing stick — and kept running into the same frustrations. So rather than assume we knew the answer, we asked. The Senior Leader Research Study brought together twelve in-depth interviews with senior leaders and more than a hundred survey responses, with academic oversight throughout.
We asked what the wellbeing sector was missing. Five themes came back consistently:
A clear link between wellbeing and performance.
Flourishing for the majority — not only those already in crisis.
Honesty about embedding: fundamentals first, and realistic expectations about the time consistency takes.
Shared responsibility between employer and employees.
- Good work supports wellbeing and flourishing. Appropriate challenge is an important part of work, helping people learn, develop and grow.
That last point became the brief. Leaders didn’t want another audit of what’s going wrong. They wanted a way to recognise what’s going right — and to be shown what good actually looks like.
The whole system
The Framework: Three Pillars × Four Levels
Sixteen components. One whole-system approach across the framework and four enablers.
Prevent harm. Enable people to thrive. Support people when they struggle.
the overarching context and consistency of experience that holds the whole system together
Your Award Level
Your assessment determines your level across all sixteen components — valid for three years, with a clear pathway mapped to the next.
ASSESSED AGAINST
16 components
Bronze
Building the foundations: Core systems and practices are in place, with clear priorities for further development..
Silver
Embedded and effective: A whole-system approach is well established, with evidence that it is consistently applied and making a difference.
Gold
Leading and flourishing: Wellbeing is integral to how the organisation operates, with strong evidence of sustained practice, employee experience and a culture that enables people to thrive.
BIGGER THAN US
A standard shouldn’t belong to the people who wrote it.
The Standard is shaped by an expert Advisory Board: academic researchers ensuring robustness, industry leaders overseeing practicality. It was not designed in a workshop — it was assembled from what already works, then tested with the people who have to run it.
WHO STANDS BEHIND IT
An Advisory Board with serious credentials
The framework is being developed and validated by a specialist Advisory Board whose collective expertise gives the accreditation its credibility.
Angela Steel MSc
CEO, SuperWellness
Founded SuperWellness fifteen years ago and has since worked with over 1,500 organisations. MSc Organisational Psychology (Birkbeck), presented at the EAOHP Conference in 2024. Led the Senior Leader Research Programme on which the Standard is built.
Prof. Gail Kinman
Founding Academic Advisor
An occupational health psychologist with over twenty-five years in research and practice, focused on the working conditions and wellbeing of people in emotionally demanding roles across health and social care, education and security. Provided academic oversight of the Senior Leader Research Programme.
Prof. Jim Morgan
Founding Academic Advisor
Professor in Human Factors and Occupational Health Psychology at Leeds Beckett University, and founder of OB Insights. Eight externally funded research projects totalling more than £1.3 million, across twenty years applying psychology to workplace safety and wellbeing.
Elliot Foster MSc
Head of Wellbeing Strategy, SuperWellness
MSc Organisational Psychology (Loughborough) and Director of Studies on the Level 5 Diploma in Leading Strategic Workplace Wellbeing. Led the quantitative strand of the Senior Leader Research Programme, and leads audit methodology and delivery.
Joe Guilfoyle CFIOSH
Industry Board Advisor
Over twenty years in health and safety leadership, following a career in construction and civil engineering management with Tier 1 contractors across Ireland, the UK, Australia and the United States. Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
Katherine Billingham-Mohamed FCIPD
Industry Board Advisor
Twenty-five years in senior HR and operational leadership across Aviva, Ipsos, Ofcom, Greggs and Headspace. Fellow of the CIPD and a TEDx speaker. Works at the intersection of behavioural science and systems thinking, on embedding wellbeing into business strategy rather than alongside it.
Not designed in a workshop
We reviewed the standards, legislation and guidelines for mentally healthy workplaces already in use across the UK, Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific — taking what has evidence behind it and leaving what doesn’t. That review was then tested against what senior leaders told us they actually need, and reviewed by an Advisory Board of academic researchers and senior industry practitioners.
The full framework, the assessment criteria and the research behind them will be published at our Research Briefing on 25 November 2026.
How does your organisation score?
Before you apply, find out where you stand. Our free assessment takes a few minutes and gives you an indication of your readiness to apply for accreditation against the Flourishing Standard. No commitment. No cost. Just a clear, honest starting point.