Wellbeing – fashion or necessity? The importance of programs supporting employee well-being in human capital management

Objectives The aim of the article is to analyze the phenomenon of increasing popularity of well-being programs in organizations observed in recent years. This increase is so large that the question arises whether it is not a manifestation of the so-called fashion in management discussed in the introduction to the presented article. Material and methods The authors, starting from an attempt to briefly characterize the concept of well-being - first in the general dimension, and then in the dimension of professional life, state that it would be difficult to develop a consensus among management theorists regarding both the definition of the mentioned concept and its components. This does not change the fact that building wellbeing programs currently occupies an important place in the everyday activities of managers and HR specialists. Results However, the research conducted by the authors showed that these programs are often ad hoc and chaotic. It becomes necessary to treat building employee well-being as an element of the company's long-term strategy - examples of good practices in this area are discussed in the presented text. Conclusions The conclusion of the article is that the term "fashion" does not have to be disparaging. Even if there is something out of fashion in wellbeing programs, this fashion is extremely sensible and useful. It focuses on what is most important in human capital management - creating an environment conducive to the development of the potential of each person employed in the organization