The signals we miss: what managers overlook when burnout looks like performance

When employee wellbeing shows up in product conversations, it’s often labeled a soft layer—a cultural boost, a feel-good feature, a differentiator for clients who care. But in today’s HR landscape, that framing is becoming outdated. Clients aren’t treating wellbeing as a fringe benefit anymore. They’re treating it like what it is: a business-critical variable tied to productivity, retention, and cost. That shift creates a timely opportunity for HR tech providers and partnership leaders: