Since the beginning, our goal at Boldr has always been to raise the bar for outsourcing companies. We do this through various initiatives aimed to create a positive impact within our Client, Company, and Community. We create customized solutions for our Clients, learn and grow together as a Company through our Training & Development Programs, and give back to local Communities through our Impact work.
Boldr’s battle for mental health in the workplace aims to improve the wellness of our teams.
Being an agile organization in a highly competitive industry, we’ve had our fair share of adrenaline-pumping, caffeine-fueled moments. And we’ve learned that the best way to power through these moments is to not only have a healthy body, but a healthy mind as well. That’s why we’d like to share what we do to help keep our team in tip-top shape.
From a policy perspective, we believe in making sure that everyone’s professional experience is smooth and enjoyable. We do our best to make sure everyone maintains a healthy work/life balance through:
- avoiding an overtime culture
- implementing flexible breaks during shifts, and
- instituting Paid Time Offs (PTOs)
While some of us do work the night shift, we always make sure that team members are amenable to working on those times at the get-go.
We also use our General Learning classes as a platform to not only upskill our team, but also to create a culture of healthy living. We’ve had different classes on developing one’s personal health through fitness, eating habits, and healthy work practices in order to encourage this culture.
Two important General Learning classes we’ve had were about Depression by Counselor Theo Espinosa and about Mental Health misconceptions by Doctor Daryl Calleja. These speakers talked about mental health, mental illness, and ways we as team members can help each other keep a strong and sound mind. But we wanted to go further than education and use these talks as opportunities to take our advocacy further. That’s why, after his talk, Theo joined the Team Boldr as our Counselor.
This month I had the pleasure of talking with our Mental Health Advocates, Theo and Rain Hizola, Talent Sourcing Associate, about their thoughts on Mental Health in the workplace, especially in the BPO industry.
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Theo and Rain on Mental Health
Me: In the context of a BPO company, why is mental health important?
Rain: There was a study done in India, which showed that BPO workers were more stressed, anxious, and depressed than non-BPO workers. It was due to the nature of their work, which can be repetitive, and has long hours, some are on the night shift as well.
Me: Is it costly for a company to provide employees with mental health services?
Theo: Technically yes, but if a company is invested in its employees then it’s not expensive.
Rain: It boils down to whether or not they(the company) really values their employees or not. If a company values its employees, then it’s worth it.
Me: How do you perform your advocacy in Mental Health through your work here at Boldr?
Theo: Here at Boldr I’m a Counselor, and my job is to help employees by talking to them, helping them process their emotions. I provide for them a safe space to talk and release their emotions. These issues can range from professional to personal concerns. Whatever they need to talk about, I’m here.
Rain: For some people, night shifts can increase the risk of mental illness and many BPO workers don’t often get the choice of what shift to work. As part of the Talent Acquisition Team, we make it transparent when some roles will be day or night shift. That way applicants will know what shift they’re taking, and have the choice to opt of shifts they won’t be able to handle.
We’re All In This Together
At Boldr we want to do more and we’re calling on other companies to do more with us. Not every company will be able to have on-site counselors, but there are attitudes that employees and managers can have in order to create a better workplace. Employees can become advocates for mental health by not perpetuating a toxic work environment. Something as simple as having a positive perspective on taking leaves or completing work on time to avoid staying long hours in the office goes a long way. We also encourage managers to schedule regular check-ins with their direct reports to help them adjust to their roles and address bandwidth concerns. If everyone works together, then workplaces can be happier, healthier, and more productive.
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Moving Forward
As a Dynamic team, we believe there’s always more that we can do. After a few months with us, Theo made a few recommendations we can do to help our team. Based on these, we’ve begun to plan more team engagement activities that create a healthier workplace. For us, one way of creating an impact within our company would mean having team members who are not only fit, happy, and productive but are also passionate wellness advocates. If you want to learn about what else we do for a strong and Boldr culture, check out our blog.
