Manulife has hosted its first Impact Week, a global volunteer initiative designed to strengthen employee well-being, build social connection and unite teams through purpose-driven community action.
From April 27 to May 1 in North America, and April 27 to May 8 across Asia, colleagues supported community partners focused on health and well-being, financial resilience, food security, education and other causes linked to longevity.
Manulife offers its 37,000 colleagues an annual paid Volunteer Day benefit, and Impact Week was positioned as a globally aligned opportunity for employees to use that benefit and volunteer together.
“We have a long history of community stewardship at Manulife, and Impact Week reflects our continued commitment to our communities around the world,” said Phil Witherington, president and CEO, Manulife. “Strengthening our winning team and culture and empowering health, wealth, and longevity are two of our strategic priorities, and volunteering is a powerful way to advance both, by deepening connection, building belonging, and turning our values into action. I’m proud of Team Manulife this week for getting outside with one another and capturing the scale of our global footprint to make a real difference.”
During the inaugural Impact Week, Manulife employees logged 21,724 volunteer hours globally, with projects expected to have impact beyond the formal campaign period. The company reports that 234 volunteer activities were completed across 22 communities worldwide, ranging from in-person events to locally organized initiatives with nonprofit partners.
Those participation levels are notable given the scale and geographic spread of Manulife’s operations across North America and Asia. Large, coordinated volunteering efforts are increasingly being used by carriers as a visible indicator of employee engagement and culture, which in turn can influence retention in a tight talent market and feed into environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.
The company points to studies showing that volunteering is associated with longer, healthier lives, including lower blood pressure, improved physical health and reduced mortality, better mental health through greater purpose and reduced stress, anxiety and depression, and stronger cognitive health, including slower cognitive decline and improved social connection.
“Longevity isn’t only influenced by physical and financial well-being - it’s shaped by how we live and connect,” said Karen Leggett, global chief marketing officer, Manulife. “Volunteering builds purpose, social connection, and resilience - factors linked to longer, healthier lives. Impact Week gives our colleagues the opportunity to serve our communities while also investing in their own longevity.”
Across the life and health market, carriers are shifting from a narrow protection role toward broader health, wealth and retirement ecosystems. Positioning volunteering and social connection as part of a longevity strategy sits alongside investments in wellness apps, health coaching and preventive care partnerships that are intended to improve customer outcomes and, over time, loss experience.
Flexibility was a key feature of Impact Week, with the program designed to strengthen connections across teams by bringing colleagues together around shared purpose while reinforcing a culture of inclusion. Alongside curated volunteer opportunities, teams were able to design their own initiatives through Team Grants, which allowed groups of 10 or more employees to support nonprofit partners with both funding and hands-on effort.
“Impact Week created space for colleagues to have dedicated time to come together and make a difference in their communities,” said Pragashini Fox, chief people officer, Manulife. “By offering a global Volunteer Day and empowering teams to lead local initiatives, we’re strengthening connection, belonging, and a shared sense of purpose across Manulife. When colleagues come together in service, it builds the connections that underpin strong, inclusive teams.”
These kinds of initiatives are increasingly considered alongside financial metrics as part of manager selection and stewardship assessments. A clearer link between employee engagement, inclusion, community impact and a stated health and longevity agenda can support positioning with pension funds and other asset owners that factor ESG and “social” indicators into mandates.
Impact Week builds on a long tradition of community involvement at Manulife. The company traces its community stewardship back to 1888, when it donated its first ambulance to help improve local health outcomes. Since then, Manulife has continued to evolve how it contributes to communities, emphasizing that well-being includes not only physical health, but also the purpose and connection that come from showing up for others.
The initiative also aligns with the work of the Manulife Longevity Institute, a global research, thought leadership, innovation, advocacy and community investment platform focused on helping people thrive at every age. Insights from the Institute can inform product development in life, health and retirement, while programs such as Impact Week apply those insights internally to employees and communities.
The launch of Impact Week is another example of how large life and health groups are knitting together people strategy, brand, ESG and longevity research.
As competition for talent and capital intensifies, firms that can demonstrate tangible, measurable community impact and a credible longevity narrative may have an edge with both employees and institutional investors.
