Being well, doing well

A SMALL ORGANISATION DEALING WITH RAPID GROWTH HAS MADE FLEXIBILITY AND INCLUSION PART OF ITS CULTURE TO GET THE BEST OUT OF ITS EMPLOYEES, EARNING RECOGNITION AT THE 2019 DIVERSITY AWARDS NZ

W ellington- based Sharesies, winners of the Work Life Balance category at the national awards programme, is a company that aims to create the most financially empowered generation through its products. In order to best achieve this goal, it must first build a work environment that empowers its employees.

The first key part of this is flexible and remote working practices. Sharesies encourages its 28-strong team to make use of flexible hours and working remotely, using tools which ensure that the team can remain connected regardless of people's individual locations. Plans for flexible working have been co- designed by the whole team and are designed to change to suit the needs of individual employees.

The other key feature of Sharesies' employee support programme is a focus on mental health, with activities including Wellness Windows, in which one of the team's mental health first aiders has an open space every week where anyone can talk through issues they're experiencing, and Emotional Workouts, where the team sets aside time to prioritise their mental health.

Tamara Buckland, People Experience Advisor, says these activities are “creating a workplace that acknowledges that people need to be able to bring their whole selves to work in order to do their important mahi.”

The judging panel said that Sharesies has proven that even a very small organisation dealing with rapid growth can make flexibility and inclusion part of its culture to get the best out of its employees. Supporting people to harmonise work and life and celebrating diversity of thought and individual contributions to a shared company culture is bringing positive benefits to the mental health and wellness of its workforce. It also ensures a small team can work without disruption when workload pressures are high.