A structural approach to psychosocial wellbeing
At Semetis, we take wellbeing seriously. Not just because it's required by law, but because we believe it’s fundamental to creating a healthy, human and future-proof workplace. Ensuring wellbeing in the workplace isn’t just about yoga sessions or fruit baskets. It requires a structural approach, guided by legal frameworks and tailored to the needs of the people who make up our company.
Belgian legislation outlines seven wellbeing domains that employers are expected to work on. One of these domains is psychosocial aspects, which refers to the mental and social dynamics in the workplace. This includes things like stress, interpersonal conflict, communication breakdowns, lack of recognition or unclear expectations. Addressing this domain requires a long-term plan, not one-off fixes.
To do this well, we’re using the PDCA-cycle: Plan – Do – Check – Act. This model helps organisations continuously monitor and improve their approach to psychosocial wellbeing. Each phase has specific steps:
PLAN
In the planning phase, we first focused on creating broad support for this initiative across Semetis. This wasn’t just something we wanted to do from HR, it needed to involve voices from across the organisation. We then established a diverse taskforce, made up of colleagues from different age groups, teams, genders and seniority levels.
With this taskforce, we entered the third step: conducting a risk inventory. Here, we chose to use the Core Quadrant model of Daniel Ofman as our methodology. This model allows us to reflect deeply, not only on our individual strengths and struggles, but also on the behavioural patterns that shape our culture as a team and as a company.
Every quadrant leads to a report: a structured analysis of one of our key qualities, the potential pitfalls and what’s needed to grow. These reports are shared transparently with the whole team, and for each of them we also define clear action points. We then invite feedback from employees to make sure we’re not working in a bubble.
DO
In the next phase, we’ll prepare further interviews with teams and managers. This is where the broader team input becomes essential. As a team, we use the feedback to go deeper into specific challenges. The action points are shared with the whole company, so everyone is aligned.
CHECK + ACT
This last phase is about taking action, and evaluating what works. We’ll implement our action plan step by step, check in with the team regularly, and adapt where needed. The goal is not to be perfect, but to be in motion, making wellbeing an ongoing priority, not a one-off initiative.
By following this structure, we aim to move from abstract “soft” conversations to concrete cultural insights, and from there to real, manageable change.
Because wellbeing isn’t just about how people feel. It’s about how people function, and what they need to keep growing in a healthy, sustainable way.
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Yaël Vanhoe
