‘Wellbeing must be integrated throughout an organisation’

Wellbeing can be a tricky subject, especially when it comes to a big team. We’re all unique individuals with different needs and personalities, always striving to be better, to do better. That’s why we’re approaching wellbeing at Revolut as a complex, long-term strategy, to make sure Revoluters are as happy in the workplace as they can be. And we’re getting there!

Revolut’s Wellbeing Guild and People Experience team work together to take care of our Revoluters. We sat down with Sarah Naughton - our Product Marketing Manager - and the guild’s chair - to talk about wellbeing in the workplace.

Tell us a bit about yourself. Why did you get involved in the guild activity? And what made you decide to step ahead and lead the wellbeing group?

I’m from Galway, in the west of Ireland, and I work as a Product Marketing Manager. I’m new to the tech sector, my previous experience was in the pharmaceutical industry, so I’ve seen the impact mental health can have on people. I thought to myself: ‘Why not combine this experience with my marketing skills to become the wellbeing chair and be the voice of the employees at Revolut?’

I’ve been really enjoying leading the wellbeing group, I work with an amazing committee of 13 Revoluters. All committee members have different backgrounds and are from different areas of the world. This makes our planning more diverse with different and innovative ideas. As we’re a new committee, we’re still finding our feet and bringing many ideas past the ideation stage into action.

How would you define wellbeing? Why should business care about it?

Wellbeing, put in simple terms, is ‘how we’re doing’ as individuals, communities, employees. It’s a complex combination of physical, mental and emotional factors and can strongly be linked to happiness and life satisfaction.

Investing in employee wellbeing can lead to increased resilience, better employee engagement, reduced sickness absence and higher performance and productivity. Why wouldn’t a business care about it?

The problem is wellbeing initiatives often fall short of their potential because they stand alone, isolated from everyday business. To gain real benefit and impact in the area of  employee wellbeing, these  priorities must be integrated throughout an organisation, embedded in its culture, leadership, and people management.

Since starting at Revolut, I’ve seen some fantastic initiatives brought forward by the people engagement teams, such as wellbeing days. It's a great way to take time out and spend the day however you’d like, doing what you love. It’s amazing to see wellbeing being such a hot topic at Revolut and I'm sure it’ll continue to grow.

What changes are we seeing in the market about wellbeing in the workplace? Is business dealing well with this topic? How’s it been changing within the last few years?

Over the last two years, wellbeing has been a top-priority topic for many businesses, due to the effects of the pandemic on employees' wellbeing. We’re seeing the introduction of employee assistance programmes. For example, Revolut has voluntary Mental Health First Aiders, which is a fantastic resource for any employee.

With the pandemic, we’ve also watched remote work grow day by day. Personally, I love working remotely, as it gives me more time with family, friends, the gym, and the opportunity to work from new locations, all thanks to Revolut. But for other people, they may find remote working lonely or find it hard to switch off from work, so it’s great to have the option to visit an office or a ‘We’ work space, if we want to. Companies that offer remote work should be aware of the importance of taking time off, connecting with colleagues virtually, and promoting work/life balance.

We also see a lot of discussions around burnout and stress, and how to prevent it. The key is focusing on preventative measures, rather than ‘how to solve burnout’. The People Experience team at Revolut have launched great psyche talk sessions, where they raise awareness to the importance of mental health, educate about different topics, broaden participants’ horizons, and help them be happier, more productive, motivated individuals and team members.

I’m sure 2022 is a year where everyone is finding new ways to thrive in this ‘new normal’, while also allowing space for inevitable changes life will continue to deliver. It’s great to see such a shift in behaviours towards employee wellbeing and, hopefully, it’ll continue to grow.

What’s the mission of the Wellbeing Guild at Revolut? How does it work?

As well as the Wellbeing Guild, Revolut has many other guilds: Pride, Parents & Carers, Women, and REACH. Guilds are networks representing different dimensions of diversity and inclusion (D&I). They’re run by and for our colleagues and a great way to get involved in D&I. They also provide Revoluters the opportunity to connect with like-minded people across the globe.

The Wellbeing Guild does all of the above, but focuses on employee wellbeing. We want to make sure Revolut is a positive, inclusive, and authentic place to work, so that each employee feels supported. We’re here to ensure management and employees work together towards common goals that benefit everyone's wellbeing.

Which problems do you want to address with your activities in the upcoming months? What’s your plan to improve wellbeing at Revolut?

Revolut is known for its ‘Never settle’ and ‘Get it done’ values, which are two things that draw many people to the company, along with a fast-paced, innovative environment. We want to encourage people to thrive on these values, while also maintaining a work/life balance, being aware of the signs of burnout, and looking after their own wellbeing.

So far, we’re kicking things off with activities like: raising awareness to the wellbeing resources Revolut already has to offer, running yoga sessions, webinars, game nights, posting wellness recommendations, and more. As many Revoluters work remotely, we don’t want anyone to feel alone, so making sure everyone feels included and supported is key.

In the long run, we want to make sure wellbeing initiatives continue to be embedded into corporate culture. So, not only running wellbeing events and posting in channels, but completely changing everyone's mindset to this motto: ‘you can get stuff done and look after your wellbeing’. We also want to work on things like providing playbooks, resources and training to managers, so they feel supported in raising awareness amongst individual teams; remove stigma around work/life balance and encourage employees to use wellbeing days; run more events and workshops for employees in the area of mental and physical wellbeing.

What works best for you to stay positive and feel well?

If you're stressed about something, there’s a saying I love: ‘Will it matter in 5 minutes, 5 days, 5 weeks, 5 years’ and nine out of 10 times, it won’t matter, and it’s not worth getting stressed about.