We are delighted to announce that we’ve ranked 17th in the Great Place to Work’s Wellbeing category for medium companies. Amongst other great companies, we’re proud to have been recognised for our efforts that have gone into developing a great culture of wellbeing within the business.
“We have worked hard to identify and implement key wellbeing initiatives”, says Rich Holgate, Chief of Staff at Student Beans. “It is fantastic to see this hard work being recognised. What’s even more exciting is what is ahead. too.”
Student Beans has gone to great lengths to foster an inclusive environment that recognises that everyone’s struggles are unique – after all, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to wellbeing. We value our employees’ input and as a result, a lot of the initiatives that have been put in place have been directly influenced by our team.
Student Beans: key wellbeing initiatives
Pregnancy Loss Policy
We recognise that pregnancy loss, no matter the circumstances, can be an extremely painful experience, often causing long term mental and physical effects on the people involved. We aim to support all employees who suffer a pregnancy loss, whether it happens to them, their partner or their baby’s surrogate mother. For that reason, we introduced paid time off and up to £300 worth of counselling support.
Mental Health First Aiders
One of the most important things we do, as an employer, is ensure we are supporting and protecting our employees’ mental health and wellbeing for their time spent with us and beyond. In order to fully support everyone, there must be an open dialogue and this is where our Mental Health First Aiders come in.
Internal Podcast
2021 saw the launch of our internal podcast focusing on the people at culture at Student Beans. We’ve released episodes on topics of alcohol consumption, baby loss and men’s mental health, among other things. It provides an open forum for our people to get to know each other beyond the superficial – and share coping strategies and advice for others who might have similar life experiences
Flexible Working Hours and Remote-First
Back in March 2020 when all offices across the world had to close, the great debate across workplaces was where people work best. Student Beans decided early on that the most important directive we could give our employees on this matter was choice. We became a remote-first business in March 2020, and we’ve never looked back. Our employees can work from home, from one of our three working hubs, or indeed from any other location that suits them. This is combined with a flexible working policy, which means that our employees can choose when they start or end the day, so long as they observe core working hours.
Our employees are empowered to put their wellbeing first without the restriction of the usual 9-5 in an office space. This policy goes hand-in-hand with a specific work-from-home budget, which gives everyone the opportunity to access furniture and equipment to enhance their working environment.
Counselling
Everyone who works for Student Beans can access Medicash – a healthcare service that offsets the costs of appointments such as opticians, dental work and physiotherapy. As part of this, they can access up to three counselling sessions to support their mental wellbeing.
Endometriosis-Friendly Employer
Endometriosis is incredibly common, but shockingly hard to diagnose. We wanted to give employees at Student Beans who were suffering with Endo a safe and open environment to discuss Endo, as well as supporting anyone whose work may be affected by their condition. We also have created an educational space so that anyone not suffering with Endo could better understand the condition, and be there for their colleagues.
Fancy finding out more about our ranking on the Wellbeing list? Head right this way to view the full listing.