Inspire’s Commitment to Employee Wellbeing

As we entered a new year at the start of 2021, our leaders noticed a glaring change within their teams. With nearly a year of working remotely under their belts, the stress of an ongoing pandemic, and the heavy emotions that came with social and political strife sweeping the nation, our employees weren't okay. And rather than shy away from the fact, we decided to face this collective overwhelm and burnout head-on and make a substantial investment in helping employees heal.

##Our employee wellbeing solution

In February 2021, our people team launched their "It's Okay Not to Be Okay" campaign — an ongoing initiative geared towards helping normalize feelings of overwhelm and burnout that our current world brings while educating employees on healthy ways to support overall employee wellbeing in and out of the workplace.

Following the "It's Okay Not to Be Okay" launch came the introduction of Wellness Days. On select days of the month, the entire company is empowered to take the day for themselves. During the Wellness Day rollout to the organization, VP of People Jen Deters emphasized that there was no "one size fits all" itinerary for these wellness days. She empowered employees to spend their time doing whatever helped them to recharge.

##The benefits of employee wellness programs

"Our leadership team views these Wellness Days as an essential part of remote work life," says Deters. "Some members of the people team take an outdoor exercise class together, while others sleep in, get ahead on cleaning, grab an afternoon drink with friends or clear out their inboxes so they can feel more relaxed going into the work week ahead," she continues. "The days are meant for every team member to do what makes them feel most at peace."

And our team has responded by sharing meaningful guided meditations with colleagues in our #meditation-station Slack channel and creating teamwide "wellness weeks" which focus on taking time out of their workdays to go for a walk. Overall, the people team has seen a notable uptick in the commitment to helping one another prioritize wellbeing within our community.

In addition to Wellness Days, the people team also offers complimentary programming for employees, providing them with tools to adequately cope with the emotions that the last two years have brought on for many.

Employees have had the opportunity to learn from experts through a self-care workshop, an emotional awareness coaching session, and unlimited access to a bundle of notable mobile applications that support and aid them in their ability to cope with stress, uncertainty and challenges that today's current environment brings.

Some of those mobile apps include Headspace, Ginger, Aaptiv and more.

##More strides to improve employee wellbeing

And back on June 17th, our Employee Resource Group hosted "Ask a Counselor," (part of our virtual Coach It Corner series) with Chris Smith, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Certified Group Psychotherapist (CGP) who specializes in supporting people of color, teens, young adults and bosses.

Our goal with this was to encourage employees who may have been considering therapy for some time to simply ask questions about talk therapy, and perhaps even book an appointment.

No matter what unique wellbeing programming the people team creates, each one provides a new tool to support our employees in a meaningful way. And months into the "It's Okay Not to Be Okay" campaign, the collective shift in our community is notable.

Our team members are invaluable assets of our company, and ensuring they have a chance to take care of themselves will, in turn, allow them to feel more confident and happy in our workspace. If these past few years have taught us anything, it's that mental health matters, and we need to be addressing it more.

Looking for a new gig with a company that’s unique, exciting and doing meaningful work? Join our team! We're a Certified Great Place To Work, and are always looking for talented individuals who are ready to make an impact.