Supporting Wellness at Work, No Matter Where Work May Be
CoverMyMeds prioritizes wellness at work — no matter where work may be — so our employees can be their best selves. In 2022, we’re excited to continue investing in our employees’ mental, physical and spiritual health — that includes our fitness center, campus culinary team and our flexible office-as-a-destination mindset.
Workplace burnout isn’t new. In fact, the World Health Organization officially recognized it as an occupational phenomenon in May 2019,The World Health Organization officially recognizes workplace ‘burnout’ as an occupational phenomenon, CNBC, May 28, 2019 months before the COVID-19 pandemic dominated global headlines.
Yet, the events of the last two years have impacted employee morale in the U.S. in unprecedented ways, prompting what experts call the “Great Resignation.” Over 38 million workers quit their jobs in 2021 — with seven months of near-record highs.2021 was the year of the quit: For 7 months, millions of workers have been leaving, Business Insider, December 8, 2021 In particular, the technology and healthcare industries experienced the highest rates of resignations.What is 'The Great Resignation'? An expert explains, World Economic Forum, November 29, 2021
There are a myriad of reasons why workers left their jobs during the Great Resignation, and solutions to address those concerns are likely just as wide-ranging. As a healthcare technology company, we’re committed to ensuring our employees feel cared for and energized to solve some of the country’s most complex medication access challenges.
As we kick off 2022 and progress into the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re taking time to reflect on what we’ve done to be a best place to work and grow — and will continue to do — to support the mental, physical and spiritual health of employees, no matter where they work.
A 24/7 fitness center for our employees
When creating plans for our destination workplace in Columbus, a state-of-the-art gym for employees was a must. In October 2021, that dream became reality with the opening of the fitness center, which is managed by Crystal Winfrey-Ellington — our company’s fitness and wellness lead.
Prior to joining CoverMyMeds in September 2021, Crystal worked as a fitness manager, wellness director, fitness coach and nutritional advisor at various places including, Akron General Health and Wellness Center, Canton YMCA and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Health & Fitness Center. Her goal in this role at CoverMyMeds, she said, is to make fitness accessible to everyone — remote employees included.
“It can be intimidating to step into an atmosphere with new equipment, but my job is to make that a smooth process — regardless of where you are on your fitness journey,” Crystal said. “Overall, I’m an encourager, supporter and motivator of all things health and wellness.”
In addition to managing CoverMyMeds’ fitness center, Crystal also plans to lead group classes in 2022, including small group classes and providing yoga, HIIT, Zumba and other exercise modalities through certified instructors. She also offers one-on-one consultations with employees — virtual and in-person — to complete biometric screenings and set individualized goals.
To help maintain motivation, Crystal manages a Slack channel called #cmm-fitness_center where she posts health and wellness tips, weekly challenges and workout videos — all of which can be done at home. Of course, health and wellness go beyond working out, which is why Crystal is a major proponent of finding mental, physical and emotional balance.
“What you think, feel and do — your body follows,” she said. “That’s why I work closely with our company’s nutritionist, Susan Berkman, to ensure we’re providing employees with a holistic health and wellness experience.”
It can be intimidating to step into an atmosphere with new equipment, but my job is to make that a smooth process — regardless of where you are on your fitness journey.
Feeding on-site employees to fuel innovation
If you ask any CoverMyMeds employee what the best perk of working in the Columbus office is, they’ll likely say our culinary team. Not only does our culinary team provide flavor-packed lunches every day for CoverMyMeds employees at no cost, but they also help keep campus visitors caffeinated at the lobby’s coffee bar.
To ensure the daily food and drink selections are as healthy as possible, CoverMyMeds employs Registered Dietitian Susan Berkman to serve as our on-site nutritionist.
“I work closely with our culinary team to conduct nutrition analyses of everything we provide to employees,” Susan said. “Entrée meals are designed to be less than 650 calories, we won’t serve any items with more than 25 grams of sugar and we always promote vegetables as the first ingredient you put on your plate.”
That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for flexibility.
“The culinary team is so creative — stromboli has been a long-time employee favorite, and we recently got requests to make them,” Susan said. “So, I worked with our cooks to play with the original recipe and create a delicious dish that still followed WELL guidelines.”
Beyond collaborating with the culinary team, Susan also provides one-on-one consultations for CoverMyMeds employees. In the last half of 2021, she estimates she individually met with more than 40 people via video chat to discuss their health and wellness goals and create action plans to help meet them.
For employees who choose to work remotely, CoverMyMeds also offers pre-recorded virtual cooking classes and plans to make all 2022 lunch-and-learn events available for streaming. Of course, employees who are based in Columbus can participate in these virtual offerings, as well.
Entrée meals are designed to be less than 650 calories … and we always promote vegetables as the first ingredient you put on your plate.
Creating an employee resource group dedicated to wellness
One employee resource group — or ERG — at CoverMyMeds that’s specifically dedicated to improving wellness at work is aptly named Wellness. Currently, the group focuses on four key pillars: 1) Financial Wellness, 2) Mental Wellness, 3) Physical Wellness and 4) Relational Wellness.
“Wellness launched in September 2020 to help employees be their best selves. Coincidently, the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing, and our focus was directly aligned with boosting morale during a challenging time,” said Kelia Baker, human resources generalist at CoverMyMeds and co-chair of Wellness. “Stay-at-home orders made many folks feel isolated, so we wanted to create an online community for opportunities, resources and education.”
2021 began with BeWell Bingo — an event for all employees to participate in. The month-long initiative encouraged employees to complete cards with activities like “send a letter to a loved one,” “complete 20 burpees throughout your day” and “open a health savings account.” Each week’s winners were awarded prizes, including memberships to Headspace, Vitamix blenders and Fitbit activity trackers.
BeWell Bingo was so popular with 400 participants in February 2021 that its second annual occurrence is slated for March 2022.
Beyond BeWell Bingo, the Wellness ERG also partnered with Modo Yoga Columbus throughout 2021 to offer virtual classes — a partnership that Crystal will manage in 2022. They also planned a plethora of virtual workshops such as “Budgeting 101,” “Building Resilience in Children” and “Eat for Energy, Train for Tension, Manage your Mindset.”
To further promote financial wellness, the company also created the CoverMyMeds Employee Assistance Program in collaboration with The Columbus Foundation to provide grants for food, shelter and other basic needs to employees who experience financial hardship due to an unexpected emergency or qualified disaster.
“Employees are people first — if their relationships are on the rocks or their finances aren’t in order, they won’t be able to be their best selves at work or elsewhere,” Kelia said. “It’s our goal to provide the tools our employees need to become well-rounded individuals.”
Employees are people first — if their relationships are on the rocks or their finances aren’t in order, they won’t be able to be their best selves at work or elsewhere.
Wellness at work, no matter where work may be
The CoverMyMeds Columbus campus in Franklinton was created with wellness in mind. Beyond the 2,000-square-foot fitness center and cafeteria community space filled with healthy food, our building is close to the Scioto Trail for bike commuters, and it’s surrounded by a half-mile walking trail for employees to get their steps in.
Campus also features a variety of wellness rooms for people to pray, new moms to nurse and busy workers to relax — that’s right, we’ve got nap pods so employees can take a break if need be. Most recently, our Wellness ERG advocated for sun lamps to be added to each wellness room to help ward off seasonal affective disorder.
Additionally, desks at CoverMyMeds are adjustable for employees who prefer to stand, and practically every corner features a plant for biophilic benefits.
While we’re proud of our physical space, we recognize that working in an office isn’t for everyone. That’s why we’ve adopted an office-as-a-destination mindset, and we encourage employees to work in a way that works best for them. Employees can choose to work in the office five, four, three, two or one day a week — or rarely at all, which is the case for many CoverMyMeds employees who don’t live in Columbus.
In 2021 as part of a McKesson initiative, CoverMyMeds also introduced “Your Day, Your Way” — a company-wide mental health day for employees to unplug and recharge. We also launched a collaboration with Vitality Group — a solution that aims to transform the health of employees by rewarding daily engagement and creating long-term behavioral change.
Fostering wellness at work is an ongoing effort — one we take seriously. As 2022 kicks off, we look forward to discovering even more innovative ways to support employee mental, physical and spiritual health, and including our fully remote workers in those efforts.
Want to work for a company that prioritizes workplace wellness? We’re hiring! Explore our open positions on our careers page.
