Workplace wellbeing canvases

Tools to understand how your people are feeling in the workplace

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Poor mental wellbeing costs the global economy more than US$1T each year due to lost productivity, absenteeism, workplace claims, staff turnover, and a range of other contributors. In Australia alone, this figure is over $5.9B.

With the advent of COVID-19 organisations are particularly conscious of mental health challenges and are looking for ways to support their people's mental health. This isn't just good from a human perspective, but it's also good for business. Research shows that organisations can expect up to a $15 return for every $1 invested into improving the mental wellbeing of their staff (PwC and Beyondblue, 2014).

In our experience, many organisations are easily overwhelmed by the enormity and complexity of mental wellbeing. So, we developed some simple tools as a way for organisations to unpack domains of wellbeing and better understand the needs of staff.

You may also want to check out spur:'s venture Toucan—a digital platform that allows organisations to understand the wellbeing of their people in real-time.

Mental wellbeing canvas

 This is a brainstorming exercise that can be used by an individual, team, or organisation, to quickly gain insights across six, key domains that dovetail with general mental wellbeing. Before starting the canvas, it might be helpful to first complete the Mental wellbeing questionnaire below as inspiration.

Click here to download an A3-sized PDF of the canvas and questionnaire.  

Mental wellbeing canvas
Mental Wellbeing canvas

Mental wellbeing questionnaire

This survey is to help understand factors in life that nourish or delete mental wellbeing. Intentionally subjective, this tool aims for you to understand your own personal level of satisfaction with each wellbeing domain. Rate each statement on a scale of 1–5, by placing an X in each row. This questionnaire can be used in isolation, or as a precursor to the "Mental wellbeing canvas" above.


Click here to download an A3-sized PDF of the canvas and questionnaire.

Mental Wellbeing Questionnaire
Mental wellbeing canvas