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By reframing wellness as a strategic advantage, the Public Service Division has built a culture of resilience, engagement, and adaptability – all with a goal to prove that employee wellness is not a ‘good-to-have’, but a cornerstone of organisational excellence.
Corporate wellness often starts with the question: "What programme should we launch next?" But the team at the Public Service Division (PSD) chose to ask something far more transformative: "How can we redesign the way we work so that people naturally thrive?"
This reframing has shaped PSD’s entire approach to wellness: strategic, resourceful, deeply relational, and grounded in listening, Laetitia Yim, Director (People & Culture Group), Public Service Division (Prime Minister’s Office) tells us. Rather than treating wellness as a standalone initiative, the team sees it as an organisational capability – one that aligns people outcomes with business priorities, encourages experimentation, and creates the conditions for officers to grow with purpose and clarity.
As we learn in this interview with Yim, it's an approach built on evergreen principles: see the big picture, find solutions within constraints, involve leaders early, and build trust across all levels – efforts that earned the team a gold win for 'Excellence in Corporate Wellness' at the HR Excellence Awards 2025, Singapore.
Q Tell us about your inspiring HR initiative – what sparked the idea, and how did you know it was the right path to take?
At the Public Service Division, we have always believed that people are at the centre of our work. But the environment we operate in today is increasingly fragmented and demanding. We realised that the traditional, one-dimensional approach to wellness – where wellness sits as just one programme among many was no longer sufficient.
We began to reframe wellness as a strategic advantage, not a standalone initiative and one where organisational outcomes and individual wellbeing reinforce one another. When our officers feel secure, connected and able to grow meaningfully, they bring clarity of mind, creativity and resilience to their work. This is not only good for our people, but it also makes the organisation stronger and more adaptable to the work environment we operate in.
For instance, we embarked on career wellness for our officers, building up pathways, opportunities, and building the career resilience amongst our officers. We also made access to personal wellness convenient, providing multi-channel support to officers whenever they need and with whatever they need.
Q Every journey has its ups and downs – can you share a challenge your team faced and how you worked through it together?
One of our wellness initiatives, 3D — 'Defer, Drop, Do Differently', aimed to shift how we think about sustainable workload. The challenge was about changing mindsets. Many wore work as a badge of honour, so questioning workload suggested a lack of commitment. Practicing 3D required stepping back, reflecting and reviewing processes – effort that felt difficult in busy moments.
We worked intentionally to shift this. We celebrated wins where teams applied 3D to achieve clarity and better outcome, and we shared these stories widely to normalise the practice. Leaders and supervisors became 3D champions, modelling conversations about priorities and trade-offs. We encouraged experimentation instead of perfection.
Once officers experienced that 3D was not about doing less work but doing work better and doing better work, the culture began to shift.
Q What impact has this initiative had on your organisation so far, and what do you hope it inspires in the wider HR community?
The impact has been a stronger sense of engagement, support, and connection across the organisation. Officers feel more able to speak openly about workload, purpose and growth. Teams are more respectful of pacing and sustainability. We have also seen improvements in retention and attraction, not from a single initiative but from the experience of feeling valued.
Our hope for the wider HR community is to reinforce that wellness is not a good-to-have, it is a must-have and it is strategic. When organisations invest in building such environments, people are more adaptive, committed and resilient.
Q Looking back, is there a moment or person, or value that kept you and your team motivated throughout the journey?
What kept us going were the moments when the purpose felt clear and real. Throughout the journey there were times where someone would share how they shifted the way they saw their work, priorities and career direction. Comments like, "This changed how I think about my career," or "I finally feel like I can have honest conversations about workload," would affirm why we started this in the first place.
It reminded us that our work is not just implementing policies but making a meaningful difference in people’s daily lives. The team also drew strength from each other – from peer encouragements to shared reflections and the belief that work should not be something that people endure, but a space where they can grow, contribute, and feel whole.
Q If you could offer one golden nugget of wisdom to HR professionals aiming for excellence, what would it be?
Three evergreen points:
- Be strategic to see the big picture and align organisational goals with people outcomes.
- Be resourceful to find creative, workable solutions within constraints. Listen deeply to what your people actually need and don't be afraid to experiment and adjust.
- Be relational to build trust and strong partnerships across all levels. Get your leadership involved from the start.
Be prepared to reframe and start asking different questions entirely. Instead of 'What programme should we launch next?', try asking 'How can we redesign the way we work so that people naturally thrive?'.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
Photos / Provided
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