Nike ends wellness week as company shifts toward performance focus

Nike has officially discontinued its annual “Wellness Week,” the paid corporate shutdown introduced in 2021 to support employee mental health during the COVID-19 crisis. For the past four years, this week-long August break allowed thousands of office-based employees, primarily at Nike’s Beaverton, Oregon headquarters, to completely disconnect from work, recharge, and focus on their wellbeing.

However, as Nike undergoes a significant internal reset, leadership says the company is now operating in a very different environment, one that demands new ways of working, collaborating, and delivering results.

A Pandemic-Era Benefit Comes to an End

According to Chief People Officer Treasure Heinle, Wellness Week was created at a time when employees faced extraordinary emotional and psychological strain. Remote work, lockdowns, extended isolation, and uncertainty had dramatically increased stress levels across the global workforce. And like many companies, including Spotify, LinkedIn, Bumble, and Hootsuite, Nike responded with a dedicated week of rest meant to combat burnout and restore balance.

Yet, as Heinle explained in her internal message, “Today is very different than a few years ago.” She emphasized that Nike is entering what she called a “pivotal moment,” one that requires “sharp focus” and continuous adaptation rather than a singular annual pause.

“And that’s why we’re making this change,” she added, noting that the company must rethink how teams operate day to day if it wants to regain momentum.

In other words, Nike is shifting from a pandemic-style approach to a more traditional cadence, one centered on performance, discipline, and sustained execution.

Why Nike Says It Needs a Different Approach Now

Nike’s removal of Wellness Week doesn’t exist in isolation. Instead, it reflects a deeper strategic reset happening across the company. Since returning from retirement and being appointed CEO in September 2024, Elliott Hill has implemented substantial organizational changes, including restructuring teams and conducting multiple rounds of layoffs.

These moves are part of a broader turnaround plan aimed at:

• Refocusing the company on core performance categories like running and basketball

• Strengthening product pipelines

• Reducing internal complexity

• Increasing operational speed and accountability

• Controlling costs after a period of slowed growth

Because of this, the company wants employees to function at a higher level of efficiency and alignment. In Nike’s view, that shift requires ongoing behavioral and cultural changes, changes that a one-week break can’t fully address.

Therefore, wellness efforts, Nike argues, must be woven into the everyday rhythm of work, not concentrated into a single block of time.

Financial Pressures Are Adding to the Urgency

While Nike remains one of the world’s most recognizable sportswear brands, it’s also confronting a challenging financial landscape. The company told investors it expects sales to decline in the low single digits for the current fiscal quarter. Year-to-date, Nike’s stock has dropped by double digits, reflecting:

• Slower consumer demand

• Higher competition from brands like Adidas, New Balance, and On

• Inventory pressures

• Mixed international performance, particularly in China

Given these realities, Nike’s leadership is under pressure to show markets that the company is prioritizing execution, margins, and discipline. Ending a paid week off, while symbolically significant, fits into a pattern of cost control and cultural tightening.

Thus, while the removal of Wellness Week does not drastically reduce expenses by itself, it signals a shift toward a leaner and more performance-oriented culture, one that responds to the current competitive and economic climate.

Employee Reactions and Unanswered Questions

Inside Nike, the decision has generated a range of reactions. Some employees understand the business rationale and believe the company needs sharper focus to regain leadership in key categories. Others, however, view Wellness Week as one of Nike’s strongest symbols of employer care, especially during periods of restructuring and increased workload.

Many employees now want clarification on what new support systems will replace the week-long break. Nike has not yet announced any large-scale wellbeing initiatives designed to substitute for Wellness Week, which leaves workers wondering how the company will address burnout, capacity challenges, and culture during a period of intense transition.

A Broader Workplace Trend: From Big Gestures to Daily Wellbeing

Nike’s choice mirrors a wider post-pandemic trend. As economic pressures intensified, many companies began rolling back the wellness-focused perks introduced between 2020 and 2022. Instead, HR leaders argue that organizations must shift toward everyday wellbeing, driven by initiatives such as:

• Better manager training

• Sustainable workload expectations

• Clearer boundaries and time-off policies

• Flexible work structures

• Mental health resources integrated year-round

Although Nike has hinted at wanting to embed wellbeing more continuously into work culture, it has not yet outlined what this redesigned approach will look like in practice.

Nike’s decision to end Wellness Week marks the end of a pandemic-era experiment and the beginning of a new corporate chapter, one defined by sharper focus, operational discipline, and a fast-moving turnaround strategy. While the company argues that lasting cultural change requires more than a single week off, the move also raises important questions about how Nike will support its workforce during a period of transformation.

In the months ahead, employees and industry observers alike will be watching closely to see whether Nike introduces new, meaningful forms of everyday wellbeing, or whether the loss of Wellness Week becomes a symbol of shifting priorities in a more demanding, post-pandemic corporate landscape.