After close to a year of writing nearly every working day about Workplace Wellbeing, Psychological Safety, Stress, Burnout, and the risk of unmanaged Mental Health in the workplace; I think I might have finally cracked the code…
Say ‘Wellbeing’ and the algorithm shrugs. Mention ‘cheese’ in a throwaway, tongue-in-cheek, silly post, and it throws you a ticker-tape parade.
So, in the spirit of giving the people what they clearly want, here’s how your business can implement a Cheese Strategy for lasting success.
Step 1: Conduct a Cheese Risk Assessment
Before you start wheeling out the fondue sets, take a step back. Where are your greatest Cheese Hazards? Which departments are showing early signs of Boursin? Have you got any leaders quietly spreading Edam under pressure?
Use evidence. Ask questions. Don’t just assume people are coping because they’ve not exploded into a ball of molten Brie yet.
Step 2: Set Up Your Strategic Cheesing Plan
You’ll need senior buy-in. Without it, your Cheesing efforts will quickly be seen as optional fluff; the lactose equivalent of a Bring Your Own Stilton Day.
This isn’t about perks or novelty crackers. Strategic Cheesing means aligning cheese with your core business goals:
- Reducing sickness due to cheese-related fatigue
- Retaining your top Goudas
- Improving Mozzarella outcomes through better support and de-stigmatisation
Yes, I just said de-stigmatising Mozzarella. You knew what I meant.
Step 3: Clarify Responsibilities
Is cheese seen as everyone’s responsibility, or does it fall to HR like an unwanted wheel of supermarket Camembert at a dinner party?
Make it clear who owns what. Line managers need confidence in the Employee Asiago Programme. Directors need to model good Cheesing behaviours (e.g. not yelling ‘gruyere and bear it’ at overworked staff).
Step 4: Implement Real Cheese Support
This bit is key. Your people need access to real support, not just leaflets about the history of Roquefort.
That might include:
- The Emergency Asiago Plan (for when someone’s at risk of melting down)
- Trained Cheesemongers (aka Champions, First-Aiders, Responders)
- Regular check-ins and psychological safety nets to stop issues from turning into full-on Boursin
No, a mindfulness app isn’t enough. Stop pretending it is.
Step 5: Train Your Leaders in Cheese Competency
Leadership is contagious. If they’re stinking of unmanaged cheddar, it will ripple through the whole fridge.
Teach them:
- How to spot the signs of Mozzarella strain
- How to have open conversations without panicking or backing out
- That ‘cut the cheese’ is not an appropriate joke in formal settings
Step 6: Measure the Impact
If you’re not tracking your Cheesing outcomes, what’s the point?
Use surveys. Track retention. Monitor Cheese Sickness Days. Build your business case. Prove that investing in cheese isn’t just a nice idea, it delivers hard results (like saving £1.1m by reducing long-term cheese-related absence. True story, just with different words).
You might even consider working towards ISO Cheeseboards; the global standard for structured cheese leadership and emotional dairy resilience.
Final Thoughts
Cheese might get the clicks, but it’s the Wensleydale (the real work of culture change, strategic alignment, and evidence-based support) that creates lasting impact.
Oh, and if dressing it up in dairy gets it through the door… you bring the cheese, I’ll bring the crackers.
Feel Good Works: Face it. Fix it. Futureproof it.
#Leadership #Wellbeing #Stress #Burnout #MentalHealth #PsychologicalSafety #Cheese #Joking
