When thousands of global employees are simultaneously affected by a crisis, how does an employer help to mitigate the resulting stress and keep its workforce emotionally afloat?
Software company Zendesk, which has over 5,000 employees in more than 20 countries, decided to expand their
What began with an initiative to aid those feeling isolated by the transition to digital work became a movement to help employees build up their mental resilience in the face of day-to-day adversity, says Jen Bergman, senior program manager, global benefits and well-being at Zendesk.
"Stress comes from many places," Bergman says. "If you're able to plug into Calm, the meditation pieces, the wisdom, the dailies — all of the tools it gives you are strengthening you and helping you prepare for events when they happen."
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In addition to its multi-language services, a major appeal of Calm Business was a list of offerings for the entire family — something that Bergman has used in her own household. A favorite of her family are the platform's Sleep Stories, which offer a variety of bedtime narrations meant to lead to quicker, better rest. Sharing these resources with her own family felt empowering, and are behind the high engagement across the rest of the company, Bergman says.
The platform has 33% engagement, 83% of which is consistent, with enrollment numbers steadily increasing. Along with its universal appeal, Bergman credits the organization's ongoing
"We try to share our resources regarding mental health, mental fitness and other well-being resources through our different departments, and it's applicable to their initiatives," she says. "It's not just coming from total rewards or benefits, it's coming from our employee communities, our partners; it's something in everybody's vocabulary and on everyone's mind, and we're able to publicize it and make it part of the conversation."
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To ensure communication remains consistent and reaches all employees, Zendesk has also made
"Enabling our managers and leaders to know the resources and be able to guide their employees to them has been critical," Bergman says. "They are being trained on how to refer people, but also how to be aware of people's mental health in a digital environment. They have so much contact with their teams and they're the ones who can really hone in on if people are having a problem."
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Zendesk has also added new initiatives to their culture and wellness plans: its Recharge Fridays program offers employees one paid Friday off per month, and the creation of "empathy circles," give employees a group setting to openly discuss world events and support one another.
"Mental health is not something we're afraid to talk about," says Bergman. "Sleep is important, work-life harmony is important, and we're recognizing that these things are a part of everything we're doing. That has been extremely helpful to the growth of engagement and comfort that people feel in pursuing support."
