In each edition, we delve into the minds of those who are redefining the boundaries of health. Our goal is to share the insights and stories of those leading the way to achieve the highest attainable standard of health and wellbeing for everyone.
In this edition of Health Innovation Insider, we speak with James Parkes, Founder of myday.health, about his mission to create healthier work environments, the role of technology in employee wellbeing, and the future of workplace health innovation.
Why did you create myday, what problem are you trying to solve?
Organisations have both a financial and pastoral responsibility to their employees. We spend 40 hours a week at work, so workplaces should play a role in long-term health. If we get this right, businesses can alleviate some of the strain on healthcare systems by fostering healthier environments and encouraging proactive wellbeing initiatives. Additionally, a strong workplace wellbeing strategy can improve retention, engagement, and performance—helping businesses thrive while supporting their people.
My goal with myday is to provide a platform that improves the health and wellbeing of employees while also supporting businesses in building a culture of care and productivity.
Your platform aims to unify workplace wellbeing initiatives. What makes this approach different from traditional solutions?
Many organisations use multiple, disconnected solutions—whether it’s employee assistance programmes (EAPs), wellness apps like Headspace or Calm, or various HR tools. The reality is that point solutions don’t work at scale. Employees don’t want 12 different apps; they want one, an intuitive platform that meets their health and wellbeing needs.
We’re building an aggregator that consolidates wellbeing services, making them accessible and easy to use. Our goal is to provide an engaging, gamified employee experience that integrates directly into a company’s culture and business objectives, ensuring wellbeing is a priority, not an afterthought. The challenge is not just offering services but ensuring they are used. Engagement is key, and that’s why we focus on creating seamless, contextually relevant experiences that fit into employees’ daily lives.
You emphasise the role of business values in workplace wellbeing. How does this tie into corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business performance?
Businesses shape our world—they create cities, drive economies, and employ billions of people. They should also set the standard for how we work and live. A strong focus on employee health and wellbeing isn’t just good ethics; it’s good business. Companies that genuinely embed wellbeing into their culture will attract and retain talent, reduce absenteeism, and improve productivity.
Additionally, CSR and wellbeing are increasingly linked to procurement and business opportunities. Bidding processes and RFPs (Requests for Proposals) are now evaluating companies on their social impact, and we believe myday can help businesses meet these expectations while driving meaningful improvements in employee health and engagement. We are also seeing wellbeing and social responsibility becoming a differentiator in competitive markets—companies that take this seriously are gaining a reputational and commercial advantage.
How do you see workplace wellbeing evolving over the next decade, particularly with the rise of AI and new technologies?
AI and automation are transforming work, but at the core of every organisation are people. The challenge is ensuring technology enhances human connection rather than replacing it. myday is focused on using AI to personalise support, predict employee needs, and remove friction from accessing wellbeing resources.
We’re also building moderated communities around key wellbeing areas—parenting, mental health, chronic conditions—so employees can connect with others facing similar challenges. The future of workplace wellbeing isn’t just about offering support; it’s about making support visible, accessible, and truly integrated into daily work life, ensuring people feel supported in all aspects of their health. The more we can anticipate employees’ needs and remove barriers to support, the greater the impact we can have on long-term wellbeing.
Leading a startup and developing new products comes with many challenges. What have been some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned along the way, and how is that shaping myday’s growth strategy?
At the start, I got a lot of things wrong. But through that process, I learned that creating impact at scale requires a solution that integrates seamlessly into people’s lives, so we can’t develop anything without integration. Leading a startup means constantly refining your approach based on what works and what doesn’t. There’s growing recognition of the need for workplace wellbeing solutions, but investors also want to see clear engagement and ROI. Early on, it was tough—convincing people that wellbeing is a fundamental business priority, not a ‘nice to have,’ required persistence.
We’ve been fortunate to attract investors and advisors who believe in our vision, and now we’re focused on scaling. As myday continues to grow, we’re looking at expanding our partnerships, particularly in industries where employee wellbeing directly impacts performance, such as healthcare, professional services, and technology. The next step is ensuring that our platform can adapt to different organisational needs while remaining simple and impactful for employees.
We know you are a lover of rugby from your professional rugby career, but please will you share an interesting fact about yourself that we don’t know?
I’ve always been fascinated by the intersection of business, technology, and human behaviour, but beyond work, I have a passion for cars—not extravagant supercars, but classic, well-engineered vehicles. While it’s not something I fully indulge in yet, it’s a future aspiration that keeps me grounded and reminds me of the joy in craftsmanship and design.
Thank you James. It’s been a pleasure learning about your journey and your vision for the future of workplace wellbeing.