In our line of work we frequently delight in the joys of work and creativity. New pitch wins, award celebrations, a fantastic meeting, cracking a great idea and the elation after it etc. Equally, there are tough days and moments in our business. Days when we’re low on motivation. Days when there’s way too many things in our mind that we’re simply unable to focus. Days when our personal life and professional life don’t mix well. Days when we’re lacking for inspiration. Days when we’re almost feeling talentless even?
Our hope for our everyone working in this company is that we try to bring ourselves authentically to work. And that means not shying away from discussing the hard stuff, such as anxiety, burnout, stress etc. So the way we see it, mental support is not just a ‘nice-to-have‘ but a necessary business imperative. It’s when we are able to bring our authentic self to work is it likely that we are also able to do our best work.
It’s clear that no one experiences mental health challenges in isolation, especially when it's work related. Your work environment plays a role too. And we want to play a role that positively impacts how you feel about yourself and the work you do every day.
All of which means, we're actively trying to build a place that challenges dominant culture and creates equity for everyone through our D&I policies, flexible working hours, policies related to leave and compensation, and more importantly, through actual tangible support.
As part of our medical coverage for all employees (including contract employees), we’re partnering with **Kaha Mind** and ****Plum Health as our well-being partners.
Both platforms enable Talented employees to schedule unlimited free monthly sessions with a therapist or a counsellor. Email [email protected] from your official Talented e-mail ID to schedule a session with a specialist from Kaha Mind or use your Plum dashboard to do the same on Plum.
As a continuous improvement program, we want to extend the best mental wellness practices for our teams. Our partner Kaha Mind enables this through quarterly surveys + pulse checks by scheduling counselling sessions with each employee across the agency to understand how they are feeling at work. This will help establish a baseline to begin each of our mental well-being journeys. Additional benefits will include team workshops, critical incident support, a wellness channel, interactive sessions and online resources on mental wellness.
We’re also opting for Kaha Mind’s Leader Program (SOAR) which will focus on leadership development. Again, with the option of unlimited sessions, leadership teams will be evaluated based on their emotional and interpersonal profiles as a roadmap to help make them better leaders (and people).
Our L&D budget also covers discounted sessions with our coaching partners. You’re also free to use your annual allowance on subscriptions and courses that you believe will help you best channel your energy. Tools like Headspace are built to guide you towards a healthier life, with hundreds of hours of meditation and soundscapes. You can invest this allowance the way you like it - as long as you feel it’s reasonable to expense it to Talented within your available budget.
There are occasions where teams or individuals need to work off-hours on client calls, pitches or on quick turn-arounds. This time is often taken for granted at workplaces but know that this time should not be ‘extra’ time you’re putting in addition to your normal working hours. Team leads and the Talent Experience & HR teams will follow up with you to take compensatory time-off to make up for the additional hours you put in during the week. It is important for work that you are able to switch off from work frequently.
Sick leave also applies to mental health leave. Maybe you’re feeling low on energy or just need some time off to clear your head. Don’t feel guilty for feeling out of it. As long as your manager is aware and you’ve managed to drop a voice note/ text /mail of immediate things-to-do (only if possible), we are all good.
In addition to annual leaves and holidays, every three years individuals working at Talented will be encouraged to take a 30-day paid sabbatical. We believe this will help you evaluate your skills and learnings. More importantly, it will give you the headspace to determine if you are going in the right direction.
Help us build an organisation that helps you thrive. Recommendations to help us become our best version are welcome. Have an idea or know a great partner that helps create equity for all? Share your thoughts with the Talent Experience team.