Software company pushes wellness efforts amidst pandemic

‘We’re trying to let people know that it’s OK to feel like you can prioritize your family in a time like this’

Software company pushes wellness efforts amidst pandemic
Xero’s offices are located on University Avenue in downtown Toronto.

For Xero, which employs 2,700 employees globally, the shift to working from home amidst the pandemic has been easy, according to Will Buckley, country manager for Canada at the cloud-based accounting software firm in Toronto.

“We’re quite fortunate that because we’re a tech company and our platform was born on cloud technology back in 2006, we’ve always had the capacity and capability to be able to run and maintain a remote workforce.”

But the company has made a greater push to help employees remain connected during the stressful time of pandemic, he says.

“COVID-19 has just reinforced for us the importance of always prioritizing that connectedness and having a suite of tools and resources for our teams to really champion that themselves.”

Xero is offering various toolkits for its employees to support them working from home, with one for people leaders and another for parents working with kids at home.

“We’re trying to let people know that it’s OK to feel like you can prioritize your family in a time like this,” says Buckley.

There’s also a wellness committee that meets virtually each week to discuss well-being during COVID-19, such as new wellness resources, culture-driven wellness challenges, and the launch of a cookbook of recipes contributed by Xero’s Canada team.

With the advent of mental health week in Canada (May 4 to May 10), it’s important to support employee’s mental health, especially in a remote environment, says Buckley.

“We’ve rolled out a wellness hub for our teams as well, which provides them with a suite or a library of resources to prioritize their physical, mental, social, and financial and environmental well-being as well.”

Having a workforce remain in positive mental health is also good for the bottom line, says Buckley.

“It’s important to prioritize mental health just to help foster an environment where people feel they belong and can do the best work of their lives. Supporting the mental wellness of your people is an essential component of running a compassionate and successful business and there’s definitely a productivity side to it as well.”

High levels of depression have been rising during the COVID-19 crisis, according to another survey by Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC).

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