Companies have long touted benefits that support well-being — from outsourced meditation classes to employee assistance programs. But to address the current spate of burnout and disengagement, some businesses are taking well-being into their own hands with new company-wide initiatives. These programs not only encourage as many employees to “log off” together as possible, but often times mandate it.
Early in the pandemic, LinkedIn asked employees a simple question: “How are you?” Employees expressed concerns about burnout, isolation, and discontent as well as family responsibilities and missing social interactions. To address these concerns, the company launched LiftUp!, a series of initiatives to support employees and managers.
Nina McQueen, LinkedIn’s VP of benefits and employee experience and the main architect of LiftUp!, says the program debuted with resounding results. LiftUp! focuses on self-care, support for parents, and fostering social connections, with a few surprises and delights along the way.
“We have a great company culture,” she says. “We care about each other, and we can’t lose sight of that.”
Here’s a look at how LiftUp! and initiatives at other companies are elevating employee well-being.
Consider giving your workforce time back
Four months into the pandemic, Nina realized employees weren’t taking as many vacation days. That’s why a key component of LiftUp! was the gift of time. Employees treasured RestUp! Week, a company-wide shutdown last April, along with Well-Being Days off and half-day Fridays throughout July and August of 2021.
“Even if you’re just at home,” Nina says, “even if you pick up a project, or you do something other than work, it’s very beneficial to you. As much as we encourage people to take some time off, people are just reluctant, especially in America. We’re just bad about taking time off.”
She’s right. According to the U.S. Travel Association, employees left 768 million days of paid time off on the table in 2020. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development noted that among its 38 member nations, the United States is the only one that doesn’t have a national statute requiring a minimum number of days off.
The pandemic, however, has spurred more companies, particularly in North America, to take action to combat burnout and to view time as the hot new perk.
Hootsuite, Bumble, and Nike were among the cluster of large companies that announced they were taking a break for an entire week last year. Mozilla dubbed its shutdown “Wellness Week,” following the popularity of its “Wellness Day” that took place on a Friday every month of 2021.
Other small tactics can dissuade people from overscheduling themselves. At LinkedIn, the first Friday of each month is dubbed a no-meeting day, giving employees time, Nina says, to catch up on email, dream big, or simply catch their breath. And Thomson Reuters even changed the default time periods for scheduling meetings from increments of 30 or 60 minutes to 25 or 45 minutes.
Create events (even virtual ones) that delight employees
Nina’s team kept many LiftUp! programs under wraps to preserve the element of surprise. The goal: to entertain and foster community.
“The surprises and delights,” Nina says, “were really meant to simply put the spark back in everyone, lift our heads up higher, and create some fun along the way."
Hollywood stars like actor Matthew McConaughey sat down for virtual chats, and Trevor Noah and Mindy Kaling each hosted end-of-the-year “Silver Linings” programs in 2020 and 2021. And performers Steve Aoki, Lance Bass, and Paula Abdul heated up the virtual stage for the LiftUp! Music Festival in September 2021, which also spotlighted employee performances. Meanwhile, an hour-long LiftUp! Live session during RestUp! Week featured music, magic, and trivia, all designed to create connection for employees who may have felt isolated while away from colleagues.
There are all sorts of ways for companies to mix surprise and creativity virtually. Digital collaboration company MURAL, for example, hosted a multiday virtual retreat in early 2021 for its global workforce that involved a maze and virtual reality. Many companies held virtual happy hours for their workforces or online team events that centered on activities like pizza making, whiskey tasting, or group painting classes.
Some companies even splurged on personalized gifts. Digital marketing agency Blue Compass surprised its team members by delivering their favorite drinks to their homes. Spanx CEO and founder Sara Blakely gifted her employees with two first-class plane tickets to anywhere in the world and $10,000 to spend on their trip after the company’s deal with private equity firm Blackstone.
But individual leisure, away from the company, is critical too. In January 2022, LinkedIn announced employees could use their annual $2,000 PerkUp! benefit to cover vacation, hotel, and flight expenses.
Global companies need to consider an inclusive approach to well-being
For LiftUp! programming to have maximum impact, offerings were made available to as many of the company’s 18,000-plus employees as possible.
The paradox, Nina says, is that for “mandated” well-being programs like companywide shutdowns to achieve critical mass, the key is giving employees flexibility to use them.
“Anything that was LiftUp!,” she says, “was global to be inclusive of everyone.”
Hour-long LiftUp! live sessions took into account various time zones in different regions, such as Asia, Europe, and North and South America. And company leadership made sure that the teams — such as data center and customer service employees — that continued to work during “RestUp Week,” had alternative opportunities to log off.
Still, Nina acknowledges it’s difficult to meet everyone’s needs when planning globally. Summer Fridays for the employees in the Northern Hemisphere might mean winter half days for colleagues in the Southern Hemisphere. There are other regional differences to consider.
“Dubai works Sunday through Thursday,” Nina says, “so their day off or half day off was on Thursday. We try to think through all the scenarios, but then we can’t always accommodate everyone. We attempt to, but it’s not always perfect.”
But no matter the location, all LinkedIn employees have access to virtual workshops on topics that interest them. For instance, classes such as “Practicing Self-Care” and “Fostering Social Connection” are offered through a partnership with provider Lyra Health.
Final thoughts: Coupling flexibility with everything
Many employers are responding as the workforce is facing increasing burnout and a lack of social connections. The companies that find more meaningful ways to lift up their people — whether it’s with the precious gift of time, entertainment that can surprise and delight, or being thoughtful about inclusion and well-being — will have happier, more engaged employees.
And the success of these well-being programs will depend on catering to a global workforce and allowing employees to use benefits in a way that’s most beneficial to them.
Nina says LiftUp! will continue to evolve based on employee feedback, but so far the response has been encouraging.
“It has been absolutely incredible,” she says, “to see employees talking about what their experience is and how they feel cared for. We see the sentiment and participation, and we’re measuring things up. We try to measure in a lot of different ways, but it’s really the employee feedback that is the most important.”
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Topics: Company culture Employee engagement Talent leadership HR
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