When the Leaders of Canva, Mastercard, Unilever, Bank of China, and More Met Behind Closed Doors: Inside Appellon’s Workplace Wellbeing Roundtable with Angelica Kopec
May 19, 2025 by Angelica Kopec
Let’s be real: most conversations about “workplace wellbeing” are either painfully surface-level or completely outdated.
Free snacks. Mental health webinars. Another engagement survey with a smiley face scale.
But the truth is, the modern workforce has evolved — radically. And the way we talk about culture and performance needs to evolve with it.
So when I had the opportunity to help host a private executive roundtable for Appellon, with 22 senior leaders from 17 powerhouse companies — including Canva, Mastercard, Unilever, the Bank of China, Ramsay Health, and Apollo Care Alliance — I knew this wasn’t going to be a warm-and-fuzzy wellbeing chat.
It was going to be a wake-up call.
The Mind Behind the Movement: Sue Jauncey
At the centre of the discussion was Sue Jauncey, Founder and CEO of Appellon, and author the Whitepapers entitled: Next Generation Workforce & Helpless to Hopeful:Improved Organisational Culture, Staff Wellbeing and Quality of Care — but more than that, she’s one of the most respected voices in workforce psychology today. With decades of experience in high-stakes environments (including the Royal Australian Navy and UK NHS), Sue is known for calling time on performative wellbeing and replacing it with science-backed solutions that actually change behaviour.
So, what did we actually talk about?
We talked about the quiet crisis most organisations are facing. Leaders are waking up to the real costs of outdated culture management:
- Chronic absenteeism
- Quiet quitting
- Burnout
- Workers comp claims
- Plummeting productivity
- Shrinking retention rates
Led by Sue Jauncey, we explored a new mandate:
“Stop trying to make your people happy. Start helping them feel connected to achievement.”
Why This Roundtable Was Different
This wasn’t a lecture. It was a collaborative interrogation of the myths we’ve all been fed about culture.
Perks, surveys, nap pods — they’re not bad. But they’re not the answer. Not when the root issue is attitudes, not amenities.
Appellon, the psych-tech platform that hosted the session, has been working with the Royal Australian Navy, the UK NHS, and some of Australia’s most respected organisations. Their approach?
Forget old-school training.
Instead, shift attitudes with just 10 minutes of behavioural micro-learning per week.
Yes, really.
What This Means for Modern Workforces
Today’s high performers don’t want hand-holding.
They want meaning. Momentum. Mastery.
They want to know that what they’re contributing counts — not that there’s another pizza day next Friday.
That’s why the science-backed methodology Appellon shared hit hard in the room:
- Wellbeing isn’t a feeling. It’s a sense of contribution.
- Culture isn’t created in values documents. It’s created in daily behaviours.
- Retention doesn’t come from perks. It comes from connection to purpose and shared outcomes.
Real-world proof? Here’s what Appellon has achieved:
- 💰 $308 million saved for the Royal Australian Navy
- 💼 £450,000 retention improvement for the UK NHS
- 📈 Over 90% weekly engagement across entire workforces
- 🌱 A 75%+ wellbeing score increase in just 5 months
Those aren’t vanity metrics. They’re survival metrics for modern organisations.
My Role? Make the Room Worth It.
I was proud to support Appellon in shaping the experience — not just to make the day seamless (which it was), but to ensure the right people were in the room and the right questions were being asked.
This is what I do at She Knows Business:
- Strategic events that actually move the needle
- Executive conversations that aren’t stuck in clichés
- Powerful positioning for platforms and people changing the game
If you’re a leader and you’re still trying to fix burnout with “check-in” engagement survey, emails and bean bags — it’s time to evolve.
The future of workforce wellbeing is science-backed.
It’s attitude-first.
It’s measurable.
And it’s already happening — at the top.
Let me know if you want to be in the room for the next roundtable.
Explore Appellon here: www.appellon.com
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