In the last Wellbeing Action Group of 2025, we will be joined by David Eakins, founder of The Happy Sapien. 

After nearly two decades working as an Art Director for some of the world’s leading advertising agencies, David faced a life-changing moment. Whilst going through a mental health challenge, the lack of proper safeguarding in the workplace only compounded his situation, ultimately leading to a moment of crisis. 

That experience shaped his future in ways he never expected. Following a seven-year healing journey, he now dedicates the next chapter of my life to transforming how workplaces support their people. He transitioned into the well-being space – returning to college to study Psychotherapy and launching Talk Club Brighton & Hove, a mental health charity for men.

Today, he’s the founder of The Happy Sapien, a workplace mental well-being consultancy helping organisations create cultures of care, resilience, and connection. Their work spans engaging Power Hour sessions that inspire leaders and employees alike to embed mental health at the heart of company culture, practical workshops that equip teams with tools and strategies to implement this vision, and ongoing one-to-one support that gives individuals a safe space to talk.

As a mental health activist, David’s passion lies in fostering a work culture of compassion and collective well-being, where people are better equipped to navigate life and work challenges and continue to perform at their very best.

What to expect from: From Crisis to Compassion: Rethinking How We Support People at Work in a Messy World (Wednesday 15th October 9:30 to 10:30)

We humans find ourselves living in two overlapping worlds – life inside work and life outside of it. However hard we try to separate them, stress from one will inevitably spill into the other, affecting our relationships, performance, and overall well-being. This is why it’s time to view workplace well-being through a truly holistic lens.

While we each carry responsibility for our own mental health, David believes organisations (especially those in high-pressure industries like media and advertising) have a duty to equip their people with the knowledge and tools to manage stress effectively.

David’s mission is to inspire companies to become centres of knowledge: places where employees can learn how stress affects them physically and psychologically, and how to build practical resilience in their daily lives. Using a Human-Centred approach, he explores what people truly need to thrive in this beautiful, messy world we find ourselves in.

Through historical and contemporary examples of leadership, combined with my own lived experience of burnout, breakdown and recovery, this session invites leaders to look deeper into the intersection between personal and professional stress. Together, we’ll explore how to create safer, more compassionate workplaces that protect both people and performance – and ultimately, reimagine what well-being can really mean in our industry.