Five awesome reasons to feel Zen working at Zen!

When it comes to being in a job you genuinely love and look forward to going to, our employees can certainly relate. That’s why we have been ranked among the UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing (2022) by Great Place to Work®, the global authority on workplace culture.

Mental health and wellbeing within the workplace are finally getting the airtime they need to drive towards positive change, and our leaders have been instrumental in putting effective initiatives in place to ensure workers feel truly valued and ‘Zen’.

Read on for five fantastic reasons why being a member of the ever-growing Zen Internet team means you’ll be well looked after from day one. The kettle’s on…

1) Flexible working? It’s a no brainer…

With The Great Resignation 2022 research showing that a third of workers are considering moving to a new job, but 1 in 3 admit a flexible way of working would encourage them to stay, Zen has listened to what employees really want in order to feel happy in their job. It’s one thing attracting new talent, but another thing maintaining it - and since experiencing the benefits of remote working during the pandemic, workers now want to have more control over their schedules. The key to a successful flexible working strategy is proper communication and trust – so that when employees are provided with the flexibility to do theirs around a schedule that enables them to maintain a healthy work life balance, they’re far more likely to want to stick around for much longer. Ayesha Robertson, People & Culture Director at Zen Internet, said: ‘’Factors such as financial wellbeing, work-life balance, care responsibilities and relationships can all have an impact on a person’s mental wellbeing. We have always had a number of initiatives in place to support this, and we have now put an added emphasis on those activities that can be executed remotely.”

2) We’re tech savvy!

 The latest findings also indicated that having the right collaboration technology to enable flexible working is important for employee wellbeing and overall productivity. In fact, 10% of UK workers say that having access to collaboration technology is making them stay in their current jobs – emphasising the importance of undergoing a digital transformation to reflect this rising demand from employees. Our commitment to sustainable technology means this has always been the natural choice for us at Zen, and our employees are able to access the latest tools they need to enable them to work both efficiently and comfortably.

3) Our culture puts ‘People First’

 Furthermore, the latest studies which surveyed 1000 UK workers, showed that stress and burnout are contributors most likely to lead to workers leaving a company. Zen has always had their employees at the forefront of its business by strategically putting measures in place that prevent any work-related mental health and wellbeing issues from arising in the first place. From investing in our people to drive growth and development within their role themselves, to helping create great leaders via The Living Leader training programme and exciting work experience opportunities for the next generation of talent - it’s this key ‘People First’ approach to empowering the workforce that has proven to be a hit with our happy employees!

4) Mental health first aiders

To achieve this level of support, multiple members of our team have been fully trained as mental health first aiders, offering a listening ear to those who may be struggling. We believe for this to be extremely important for an authentically compassionate ‘People First’ culture – and so if anyone has any niggling worries (no matter how big or small), there is always going to be an understanding colleague who can help the individual to work through and resolve it. Here at Zen, creating a judgement-free environment where our workers are heard is at the core of our employee wellbeing strategy, and it doesn’t stop there…

5) Activity Calendar

Along with this, we have created our own ‘Activity Calendar’ based around wellbeing awareness days – from ‘Feel Good Monday’ and ‘Time to Talk Day’ for fostering an open culture, to Black History Week and Suicide Prevention Day to acknowledge important global dates. With so much talk about mental health and often little action, our calendar keeps the conversations open all year round and covers a wide range of cultural topics – from diversity and equality to health and safety. We want our people to feel understood, but to also keep learning so that they can take this experience through life and go on to help others along the way. For us, that’s how positive change is made.

“Being better for people is better for business, especially in tough times,” explained Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director of Great Place to Work® UK. “When employees feel genuinely cared for, their loyalty, engagement and productivity improve. Happier people also become brand advocates for the business and will often go the extra mile to provide a positive experience for their clients and customers. We’re delighted to launch our first-ever UK's Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing list in 2022, shining a light on the 250 companies who have succeeded in ensuring staff experience high levels of wellbeing across the organisation. Hopefully this recognition and acknowledgement will inspire more workplaces to do the same in years to come.”

Ayshea Robertson, People & Culture Director at Zen, said: “This repeated recognition is a testament to our ‘People First’ culture. We want Zen to always be a great place to work, which is why we place great emphasis on getting our culture right, enabling our people to feel part of an connected to the business, empowering them to be successful, and caring about their wellbeing.”

About Great Place to Work®

Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees around the world and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. In 2022, they launched the first-ever annual UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing list of organisations who stood out as delivering exceptional wellbeing support for their employees across all levels and departments. For more information, visit www.greatplacetowork.co.uk