Financial services organisation Paysafe introduced a new mental health strategy to support the wellbeing of its 3,000 employees through the Covid-19 pandemic (Coronavirus) and the winter months.
To prepare its workforce for the winter months, in August 2020, the organisation launched the Headspace app to employees for free, encouraging them to engage with the mindfulness and meditation features. Since its launch, 40% of employees have used this service.
In September 2020, Paysafe also launched webinar training to both employees and managers on how to better support their mental health while in isolation. Nick Walker, chief HR officer at Paysafe, says: “These sessions have not only given employees the opportunity to improve their wellbeing but has also increased awareness around the topic, which is incredibly important to address during the winter months.
“There have been a number of initiatives happening, including internal podcasts that have encouraged employees to come forward and share their stories around mental health, which were a very powerful statement and an insightful discussion.”
Also in August, the organisation launched a service called Paysafe Connect, which sees employees have regular meetings with peers across the organisation. Every Monday, the top 150 managers at Paysafe receive the names of two employees, and they will organise a conversation with them that lasts for 20 minutes. Walker says: “The feedback has been phenomenal, as it tries to duplicate the casual office conversations that the whole workforce is missing out on, creating collaboration, increasing productivity, and improving wellbeing overall.”
These initiatives were introduced following an internal survey in July 2020, to understand how its employees were feeling. With employees spread across the globe, it was important to best understand how the organisation could introduce the most relevant wellbeing initiatives to offer support during turbulent times.
In addition, since the Spring, Paysafe has organised a couple of all-company team days and given all employees a couple of half-days off to focus on their wellbeing. It has also introduced ‘no internal meeting days’ to help them manage workload and improve their work-life balance. These initiatives have proved to be very popular and are likely to be continued during the current climate.
Walker says: “We have built a wellbeing strategy to ensure that our employees are fully prepared for the difficult months that lie ahead.
“With everyone working remotely, it is difficult to understand how employees are feeling, which is why it has been so important to experiment with new tools to best capture these issues before it becomes too late.”