4 ways this CEO puts employee mental wellness front and center
Worker mental health is no longer the soul realm of HR, says this executive. The C-suite must actively lead
Source | www.fastcompany.com | JILL NYKOLIATION
No one was knowingly built for what came in 2020. The pandemic has been a collective trauma, requiring us to build a collective resilience. The ones thriving during this moment did so by embracing a mindset, “the only way out is through.” For any organization to thrive, this mindset must be across an entire culture because none of us can be well until all of us are. The pandemic has ushered in greater consciousness that mental health for everyone must be a priority. A C-suite priority.
So our company, the advertising agency Juniper Park\TBWA, made it one–heart emojis and all. We approach our people’s mental wellness as our most important ‘client’ and embrace strategies to help them soar through this moment.
SHARE THE PULSE OF YOUR TEAM–RAW AND UNFILTERED
We’ve been holding a weekly meeting called “Pulse” to gauge how our team is feeling about things happening at the agency: their workload, team dynamics, leadership, or so on.
Every Friday, a survey is sent out via text with the simple question “Did you have a good week at Juniper Park\TBWA?” It’s a yes/no question; no shades of grey, and responses are anonymous. We give the option to add a comment, and the insights that come from that are incredible. Our team uses the weekly practice as a way to praise one another, and an outlet for their feelings, frustration and wishes. Every Monday morning, we share their verbatims–fully transparent, nothing edited.
