Mental Health Awareness Month: How Bospar Supports Its Employees

00:00:06.240 Today we’re talking

00:00:11.920 about mental health awareness month it is the month of May so that’s the month where there are so many more initiatives

00:00:17.279 coming up companies are talking about what it means to help their employees to help stay on track to keep people

00:00:22.400 emotionally resilient so they can keep doing their work and and fundamentally enjoy what they’re doing and and do a

00:00:28.240 good job at it not quit not burn out so here we’re joined by Jess Orsini our fearless head of HR who’s got all the

00:00:34.399 answers for us because she’s solved she’s solved mental health awareness for everybody and Gabby right one of our

00:00:39.920 young mothers here with two small kids so I’m sure you never have any issues right but I’m sure you’re never stressed

00:00:45.840 out because your two kids always behave perfectly well when you’re trying to get your work done in your home office i

00:00:51.840 feel like I’ve I’ve I’ve solved this right isn’t that right Gabby everything’s fine yeah everything’s fine

00:00:56.879 um I’m like Ross Geller from Friends like it’s fine i’m fine everything’s fine i have my emotional support

00:01:03.120 dumpster fire that Zoom in on that let’s Let’s get that real close that’s great i

00:01:08.400 don’t know if you could see it it says emotional support dumpster fire it’s fine i’m fine everything’s fine um so

00:01:15.360 yeah I mean it’s just part of the industry like it’s stressful you can get burned out quickly but I do think that

00:01:22.080 Bosespar does a great job of mitigating stress and anxiety as much as as much as

00:01:28.000 we can did it change for you when you had kid one and then when you had kid two or was it or did you just find a way

00:01:33.680 to balance it or did it literally become like my life is more stressful now actually I think it was more stressful

00:01:39.920 going from not having kids to having my first kid and I actually started working at Bospar when my youngest was only 2

00:01:46.880 and 1/2 months old and that for me it took a little while to get used to

00:01:52.079 working remotely and also just setting boundaries for myself and being able to really turn off work and be present with

00:01:59.200 my family when I needed to um for me that was actually harder than going from one kid to two kids now it’s just added

00:02:06.560 chaos but I am more used to it i’m more mature as a mom so I think that has

00:02:12.319 helped actually a lot jess what do you think about you know if Gabby mentioned the going remote right a lot of people

00:02:18.879 we all used to work in an office at some point in our life now we’re remote for me I love it it’s better i think it

00:02:24.239 works better for my personality but I think for other people’s personalities it’s actually bad for them right it doesn’t it doesn’t fit what they want to

00:02:30.879 do and how they want to interact with people do you find that the stress the

00:02:36.319 mental health issues sort of hit different personality types when it’s like oh this remote thing doesn’t fit my

00:02:43.920 you know extraversion i need to be out there talking to more people absolutely i don’t think that fully remote is for

00:02:49.440 everybody and it’s just very interesting that I’ve seen because I started in this industry 20 years ago and where you know

00:02:55.519 remote wasn’t even an option it was five days a week in the office and then things shifted and then COVID happened

00:03:00.800 of course but at Bosebar it’s been fully remote since the day it started so it’s always been that way and it’s something

00:03:07.760 that it’s interesting to me that even people in their early stages of their career haven’t even stepped foot in an

00:03:13.200 office before ever which is fascinating to me because that’s a different way of learning and that is also a different

00:03:18.640 way that you see and absorb stress um it’s something that I ask people in interviews a lot is how if they’re

00:03:24.239 comfortable working fully remote and most are that’s why they’re talking to us but some will ask me like “Is there a

00:03:29.840 space I can go to can I rent an office space for a day if I need to to go out can I meet with team members and get

00:03:35.519 together and that is something we absolutely do encourage but the biggest part of working remote that while it

00:03:41.360 does offer great autonomy and you can sort of schedule your day and it’s wonderful for stay-at-home parents or

00:03:46.720 somebody or anyone who’s taking care of another family member but it’s hard to find keep that boundary of my day is

00:03:54.159 done because for a lot of people their living room is their home office it’s not necessarily a space in the house

00:04:00.159 people have roommates you know and things like that or sometimes it’s hard to even get away to take a call because

00:04:05.360 you have kids in the house so you’re hiding in the bathroom doing a conference call so well you’re going to admit to that you’re going to admit to

00:04:10.720 the bathroom conference call i don’t think I’ve done that i’ve been there i’ve done it all but the thing is like I

00:04:15.920 for me I always tell people you have to set your boundary and that’s hard for people to do especially in this industry

00:04:21.759 because we’re known to being so 247 you set your own boundaries with the time with a routine you know and trying to

00:04:29.040 have a specific area in your home that you are working and doing things like that so it’s like that’s what I really

00:04:34.240 encourage for people to do is have a space set boundaries block off times take those walks for no reason you know

00:04:40.960 or to walk your dog or to do those things like that helps sort of keep that on schedule that you have an in and out

00:04:48.000 of your day that’s what you want you want a start and an end to your workday does that but does that seem realistic

00:04:53.600 like when you hear when you hear Jess say you know set boundaries and this and that and we all have bosses right

00:04:59.199 whether the bosses are internally or we have clients it it’s sort of hard to say well I know they’re emailing me but I’ve

00:05:05.680 set my boundary i’m just going to go ahead and ignore that and wait till tomorrow i know they’re they’re close to

00:05:11.039 firing us if we don’t have you know whatever like these boundaries sound good and then all of a sudden okay you

00:05:16.400 know life sets in i think it it is hard um I do think to be able to work remote

00:05:22.639 successfully you need to be really good at time management and if you’re not it’s probably not for you um because

00:05:28.320 you’re not clocking in and out you have access to your phone 24/7 so for for me

00:05:33.840 personally as a mom like my boundary is I will not like I’ll shut it off during

00:05:39.840 dinner time and bedtime like the bedtime routine I’m present with my kids i don’t want to be like on my phone answering

00:05:46.560 Slacks and emails while I’m trying to read them a bedtime story i think it shows a great example that I am a

00:05:52.479 working mom but at the same time I don’t want to set the example that I’m a workaholic and I’m not present with them

00:05:58.400 so you do have to find the balance um but yeah it is easier said than done i think uh a lot of transparent

00:06:05.240 communication with your teams is key too so a lot of times like I’ve been pinging

00:06:10.639 after hours and I’m like “Hey you know I’m feeding the baby or I’m putting my daughter down for bed right now i can

00:06:17.280 get to this later tonight.” And that’s just part of it like if I need to log off a little bit earlier to go pick my

00:06:23.600 kid up from school or you know hang out with her go to a performance whatever it is like I will wrap it up at the end of

00:06:30.639 the night or log on a bit earlier um so you just have to kind of get in the groove and I think communication is key

00:06:36.720 with your teams so I I hear that and it sounds like you’re you’re a selfarter you’re organized you can manage your

00:06:43.440 time correctly but but my guess is Jess has experienced employees that can’t figure that out right it’s like oh I’m

00:06:49.919 losing track of my schedule one thing is going to derail me i am at home and home might be multiple roommates it might be

00:06:56.560 a a cramped apartment where it’s it’s loud outside or different scenarios

00:07:02.400 you you know so what what do you do with people like that Jess where it’s like hey you’re you’re a good worker but it’s

00:07:07.919 it’s not it’s not clicking for you is that where you try to help them or you say maybe maybe you need to go get a job at at a company that makes you come into

00:07:14.319 the office is it we have resources for you like what do you do to help that person with their life we try we try

00:07:19.840 different resources there’s definitely like I said you know do you want to you know go into an office space you know once a couple times a month for the day

00:07:26.800 so that you can get out there’s those resources I also you know to Gabby’s point so much of it’s communication ation with your your manager with HR

00:07:35.199 with like what your needs are and if you know specifically they are there are also those times where you have to have

00:07:40.560 that conversation that some people just work better getting up getting into an office that’s their day they shut off

00:07:46.560 and come back and there’s nothing wrong with that and as somebody I’ve worked remote for many years now and as much as I do love it I I do miss the in-person

00:07:54.479 experience as well at times and there is something to be said about getting in your car at the end of the day and

00:07:59.759 listening to your music and driving home and having that 30 minutes or even an hour to decompress because you know when

00:08:06.479 you’re home you’re just walking to the next room and it’s right there right after work but I do give I try to be

00:08:12.000 very honest to say that this is being remote fully this way this is what it is that’s not going to change where we are

00:08:18.240 here so you have to figure out work what works out best for you and that may not be a fully remote environment and that’s

00:08:24.080 what a lot of people are learning i’m noticing in their early careers too they’re testing those waters and realizing I would rather be someplace

00:08:31.280 else my stress levels feel lower if I have this sort of setup which is fine it’s interesting the remote thing goes

00:08:38.640 across industries right okay there’s PR as an industry there’s remote as a as a type of of concept but I feel like

00:08:45.519 people are stressed out in in both remote and in office i think people are stressed out regardless of what industry

00:08:51.760 they’re in right talk to doctors lawyers teachers contractors you know whatever

00:08:57.200 it is journalists you know you name the job i don’t feel like I’m meeting someone in an industry and thinking “Oh

00:09:03.120 everyone in that industry is totally fine right?” So I wonder if it’s something that’s bigger it’s it’s societal it’s cultural it’s it’s

00:09:09.480 national it is a particular industry i think it’s just we get a lot of information coming at us obviously at

00:09:15.360 all at once all the time any industry you’re in I think you’re still expected to be on all the time it is the cell

00:09:20.959 phones it is social media it is all those things too which that’s something that I’ve also done for myself where I’m

00:09:26.320 like I have to take a break from social media i have to even though we’re in PR not pay attention to the news for maybe

00:09:32.480 a week because you have to take that break because I think it is so much beyond where you’re working it’s

00:09:38.399 everything else around us and it’s then it’s family responsibilities or it’s taking care of kids or it’s any of that

00:09:44.880 or your you know there’s people who are now becoming parents to their parents and that adds a whole another level of stress which is something that we also

00:09:52.080 you know take into consideration people having to take time off like yes you have to do that you have to take take care of those things but it is all

00:09:58.959 coming at you at once so I think it is larger a society thing and what’s happening I think people who don’t even

00:10:04.640 work are super stressed out right like people who let’s just say stay at parents they don’t even have a job and and I think you’re right like my guess

00:10:11.680 is Gabby when you think about social media and news and all this stuff because I find the same thing i find

00:10:16.880 like the the just having the phone on me stresses me out reading the news stresses me out because in in any

00:10:22.640 situation it’s like we’re all going to die right come kill us there’s never good news there’s never conspiracy

00:10:28.480 theories right nothing’s positive everything’s bad and then and then the social media whatever you know whatever

00:10:34.320 platform you look at it’s like oh everyone else has a better life than I do right like I feel like those three things white me I wonder what you think

00:10:39.839 about that Gabby no it’s so much of it is just comparison too i mean personal

00:10:45.519 work life it has a an online persona and that

00:10:51.360 online persona is always rainbows and butterflies we all know that’s not the case um so even on LinkedIn like it’s

00:10:57.680 just constant there’s just constant news constant updates um and it’s really hard to turn off but I think like setting

00:11:04.079 your space up to be like peaceful is really helpful so I am talk about your

00:11:10.959 space or what’s going on yeah I I’m lucky enough to have a home office but like if I know I’m going to have like a

00:11:16.320 crazy busy day full of meetings like I’ll make sure I light a candle put on

00:11:22.399 some put on some music to really just like get me in a a happy place um

00:11:27.839 because like it is your house but you know try to make it as least stressful as possible what are you doing Jess i

00:11:34.720 see the I just see the copier printer thing back there i know you know what i’m in the middle of remodeling actually and I just recently so that’s why I

00:11:41.200 explained I have so many things to hang on the wall but I recently repainted and I did color drenching and I I’m

00:11:47.279 decorating my office i’m calling it my dorm room um because I’m actually decorating it not around like a bunk bed

00:11:53.440 in there or something i would have practically just because I wanted it to be less about let me decorate what an

00:11:59.200 office should look like i was like “Let me make this a fun place that feels like a warm hug for me.” Just like Gabby was

00:12:05.600 saying where you can like light candles and I have twinkly lights on my fus tree and I whatever it is that just makes my

00:12:10.800 office is pink and it’s color drenched from ceiling to and I love it and um it

00:12:16.160 that brings me peace and I love that too because it is my space that I can do that and I also love working outside i’m

00:12:21.519 fortunate enough to have a nice patio that I’ve worked outside a lot and I find that that is helpful as well just

00:12:27.760 put a different perspective any advice from you too because my my I’m in the attic up here and there’s a guest bed

00:12:32.959 behind this plastic wall I have here from Amazon and and there’s just wires and stuff all over the place here that

00:12:39.600 you don’t see and my wife every time she comes up she’s like I hate this room i hate this room i want you to change

00:12:44.639 everything in this room you just have equipment all over the place i Yeah that’s like my husband’s home office it

00:12:50.079 like it kind of gives me hives a little bit because it’s like it’s that s Yeah it’s like your nervous system reacting

00:12:55.360 so I’m a big I I’m a big believer too that your nervous system contributes so much obviously right so if you’re in a

00:13:01.760 nice space that brings you joy whether it is like with a lot of clutter but if it’s things that you love or if it’s just that’s so huge too because that

00:13:08.959 just how you start your day that you start your day with the house kind of in order which is easier said than done

00:13:14.079 especially when you’re a mother of two young children um but and it’s not easy for me with a 16-year-old and a husband

00:13:19.600 believe me that’s like two young children that’s like the same thing this is like the same thing but it’s so much of it is just like making sure your

00:13:25.760 nervous system is as calm as possible and I do you know it’s those simple breathing exercises meditating for 10

00:13:31.519 minutes in the middle of your day it’s these little things that sound so small and insignificant but they do make an

00:13:37.360 impact because it lets you just stop and take a second and realize that the sky is not falling and you know everything

00:13:44.800 has a solution and we can get there and the day is going to get better and this we’re in this moment you’re living in

00:13:50.240 this moment of stress and it’s just a moment is what I try to tell myself i’m I’m like personally not good at

00:13:56.079 meditating but like for me my version of that is just like walking outside of my office and being able to see my

00:14:02.480 eight-month-old who’s being you know watched by a nanny here which is amazing like I don’t have to send her to daycare

00:14:09.199 right away but yeah I agree i mean unfortunately for me my mood my

00:14:15.199 aesthetic affects my mood so much so like my house has to be like organized and clean for me to be able to work like

00:14:21.920 I cannot concentrate unless everything is in order but that’s very much a me

00:14:27.040 problem i don’t think a majority of people are necessarily like that but for me I wouldn’t call that a problem that’s

00:14:34.160 not a problem that’s a preference and I think it’s a good preference yeah it’s

00:14:39.519 work it’s a comfortable working from home because you know if you’re working in an office space like you can’t

00:14:46.320 necessarily control the aesthetic but in your home you can at least you have control right because think about in an

00:14:52.000 office you’re a prisoner it’s just it is what it is there’s nothing you can do about it and good luck complaining to

00:14:58.320 some facilities manager you know this that’s going to go nowhere like oh it’s too hot in here it’s too cold in here

00:15:04.000 well I don’t know right the thermostat’s under the plastic key lock thing you

00:15:09.360 can’t touch it oh my god yes i What about So internally I’m sure you

00:15:15.760 have certain programs or or features there’s there’s you know initiatives

00:15:21.440 what’s going on within Bosebar that that either you’re organizing Jess or like you know employees like Gabby come to

00:15:27.600 you and say “Hey we need XYZ services for us.” What what do what are we doing internally to help promote mental health

00:15:35.120 sure so like I mentioned before we we are you know launching what we call is Bose for balance which is just our big

00:15:41.120 umbrella of the these things that we do around mental health and the well-being of our employees and that comes with

00:15:46.800 things that we have already going on which is you know we have a monthly wellness stipen that employees can use towards anything and that’s I mean it’s

00:15:53.360 not it used to just be gym membership back in the day but it’s literally now like if it’s a meal if it’s a day at the

00:15:58.800 spa if it’s a pair of shoes we don’t care if it brings you joy and gives gets those endorphins up have at Um we have

00:16:06.000 what we call feelgood Fridays where you know if your schedule allows you get to log off at three o’clock and be sort of

00:16:12.079 kickstart your weekend or that’s also a good time to use to maybe to take appointments that you need to take so

00:16:17.440 you’re not doing things over the weekends because so many of us are you know you’re working working and then the weekend is just working on the house so

00:16:23.759 it helps just get get that you know going for you um and then we also have um reimbursement to um annual

00:16:30.720 memberships to mindful apps like Calm um that helps with like guided meditations

00:16:36.240 and and things like that and we have partnered with a couple

00:16:41.399 um wellness experts one who is a holistic nutritionist and another who is

00:16:46.639 a certified mindfulness teacher that has the Dan Globus has joined with us and

00:16:51.680 he’s done um guided meditation and we’re going to have him come back regularly to do that and then we also have Jackie who

00:16:58.000 came in recently to talk about how nutrition can affect your mental health and things that you can do so those are

00:17:05.039 all tools under that and also you know we have wonderful benefits and our employees that are signed on to our

00:17:10.720 medical benefits have access to our um mental health which is access to

00:17:17.039 psychiatry therapy if there’s substance abuse issues anything of that nature that can be done that’s also can be done

00:17:23.119 you know not only in person but you know via video as well so we try to do all

00:17:28.480 that as this one big umbrella of having everyone be able to have options to take care of themselves because as I said I

00:17:35.280 can’t change the industry but I can we can at least give people tools to help

00:17:40.960 manage that a lot like when you hear all that Gabby what what’s your favorite one of those because I’m like you I struggle

00:17:47.360 with meditation it’s hard for me I would much rather go for a walk and move and and I’m going to walk with no headphones

00:17:53.360 you know or drive with no radio on but the sitting there silently is hard but I’m curious what which one of those you

00:17:58.799 feel like oh that’s the one for you yeah I mean definitely our wellness stipend is a really great perk our benefits are

00:18:06.160 amazing especially with a family like they are unmatched um and also Jess did

00:18:11.919 not mention but we also have a really generous PTO policy too um and for

00:18:17.600 mental health like I just got off a few days of vacation like everyone needs to

00:18:23.600 take advantage of all of these resources because it does contribute to your

00:18:28.640 mental health and I personally love the wellness typing as an excuse to get my

00:18:34.640 nails done get a facial go shopping you know it’s nice it does it helps i have

00:18:41.039 to put that Yeah you have to put that there and you’re right i did forget to mention our PTO we structured our sick time policy this year differently too

00:18:47.760 where instead of it just being sick days that people just take you know you wake up in the morning and you’re like I

00:18:52.799 don’t feel well or I just can’t mentally handle today for whatever reason that is we’ve now structured our sick time where

00:18:58.400 you can take them you can schedule them out even to use them for doctor’s appointments you know whether it’s for

00:19:04.320 yourself or someone you’re taking care of and also we have one things that are called like call-in well day which basically means you’re taking a mental

00:19:10.320 health day or we also have one that’s an addition called heads down day where you

00:19:15.679 know you can work all day you are working but you’re not responding to emails you’re not get going on meetings

00:19:21.200 so you can actually sit down heads down and not be interrupted and feel like you get through the day because so much of

00:19:27.039 stress comes from feeling like you can’t get it done and you’re on this constant hamster wheel so sometimes just having

00:19:32.640 that one day of I’m technically offline but I’m working makes a big difference i

00:19:38.720 that one that one I I feel in my gut i feel like that’s the one that that I resonate with because I remember one of

00:19:43.919 my old jobs uh uh one of my TV jobs there was a reporter on the West Coast when I was in the New York office and

00:19:49.679 she said to the bosses “Hey I just need I need a day to not be on TV like I I need a day to catch up and do all this

00:19:56.799 research work for all these stories I’m working on.” And they just like laughed at her and said “What’s the deal with

00:20:02.160 this you know person?” Yeah no don’t you want to be on TV she’s like “I got work to do.” You know it came up for us too

00:20:09.520 because I had I’ve been I’ve done it over the years where I’ve called I’ve called in sick and I that was kind of a

00:20:15.440 lie i wasn’t sick i just wanted to be left alone so I could work and you know

00:20:20.480 like that had happened that way and I remember having that conversation with the principles and I that’s how that other thing came in of like heads down

00:20:27.039 day it’s like well let’s give people the opportunity so that it’s also not just last minute and teams can work around it

00:20:32.880 but that they can say to their managers and supervisors like hey I want to take this heads down day so I can handle this this and this but I’m not going to be on

00:20:39.200 these calls and do these things because the principles were like we don’t want people having to do that and that’s interesting they didn’t it didn’t even

00:20:45.360 fathom them but it happens because it feels like you almost have to hide to get your stuff done and shouldn’t be

00:20:51.200 that way but putting it out in the open and talking about it openly and saying I need this there’s no weakness in that

00:20:57.440 that doesn’t make you a bad you know employee who’s lacking none of that it’s actually the opposite in my mind you

00:21:02.880 want to focus you want to do good work but sometimes that means having to shut out what’s around you so yeah so so many

00:21:10.720 days are filled with calls that sometimes it’s really hard to just be able to like sit down and write pitches

00:21:17.159 or you know really stay on top of more of the account management side of the

00:21:23.039 work outside of being on calls with your teams and clients so it’s so liberating on light call days or just having a

00:21:30.159 chunk of time to just check things off your to-do list

00:21:35.280 do you find that there’s this multitasking going on because we’re

00:21:40.799 remote we do a lot of Zooms we do a lot of Teams calls we We have to see each other but we don’t really need that i

00:21:47.360 don’t need to be in an hour meeting right like I may only talk for two minutes but we’re all in this hour meeting so everyone’s checking their

00:21:53.120 emails everyone and I think that builds a lot of mental stress is there any initiative to say “Hey you know what keep these meetings as short as possible

00:21:59.520 or or try not to multitask.” But if you’re in eight straight hours of Zooms then you can’t then start all your work

00:22:04.880 at five o’clock like how do you guys balance that i think there’s a time and place for multitasking i think on you

00:22:11.919 know majority of our client calls you you need to be present like it’s really hard to be an active listener or talk

00:22:20.400 intelligently on a client call if you’re emailing and slacking about other clients during the call like it’s pretty

00:22:26.080 obvious so I think there is a time and place for multitasking if it’s an internal and you know there’s nothing to

00:22:32.720 contribute on on your side of the the task then that’s a time where maybe you can start working on something else but

00:22:39.679 I think agency life is a lot of multitasking in general like we’re dealing with a lot of different clients

00:22:46.320 across different industries so like we are kind of uh really great multitaskers

00:22:52.480 um but there is a time and place I think where it’s appropriate how do you compare and maybe this is

00:22:59.520 more of a just question how do you compare all rights success in these initiatives or success with mental

00:23:04.799 health cultural progress do you compare that to other companies in the industry or is it just on we’re doing better than

00:23:11.679 we used to do what are there any metrics or is it is it so much of a of a gut feeling that it’s more of a gut feeling

00:23:17.520 for me I would say I it’s hard with metrics you know with these things too and also you know Bospar itself has

00:23:23.840 changed so much over the years I started here it was 30ome people and it you know it’s grown so much so it’s different you

00:23:30.400 have to treat everything differently but for me I just measure it by how people how easily people are coming more to me

00:23:36.559 now and expressing their needs and talking about it and being more open which is just like the biggest theme for

00:23:42.320 me with this is that it’s just not shame to talk about and like putting in these

00:23:47.440 activities and like you know having the nutritionist come or the the mindfulness teacher or anybody the response I’ve

00:23:53.039 been getting back is what I’m basing a lot on where people don’t just go through it and say okay we did that I’m

00:23:58.240 starting to get responses like this is really great we would love more of this you know so it’s that or I just feel so

00:24:03.600 much better just from having that meditation session for 15 minutes in the middle of the day so that’s how I base

00:24:09.039 it on is really just the feedback and organically I’m I’m a very organic HR leader i like things to happen that way

00:24:15.679 so that’s how I measure it is that I just feel like people are more um just straightforward on their needs and

00:24:21.679 what’s working and what’s not working and that’s that’s how I measure with that and I’ve seen a nice uptick with

00:24:29.120 what we’ve been doing has there been a surprise in terms of oh in the last couple years I’m getting a particular

00:24:36.240 kind of question or concern more and more than I would have expected because there’s some sort of new trend in people

00:24:42.559 are really bothered by something that I I didn’t expect them to be bothered by um oh gosh that I’d have to think i mean

00:24:49.039 I think to me it’s always typically the you know what this is hard for me to answer because I started at a time where

00:24:56.159 mental health wasn’t cared about as much at work where it was literally like shut up and do your like do your job we don’t

00:25:02.559 care how late you are here if you don’t like it then you can quit or Yeah it’s just it’s that so it’s like it’s me

00:25:08.240 going through that transition has been very interesting because it was not the same and even on maternity leave it’s

00:25:13.360 like yeah you got it but you expected to come back and jump right back into it in an office the first day the first day

00:25:18.960 right and it’s like 9 to5 and so so much of that has just changed a lot that when

00:25:24.960 people will come to me and say you know like I still have these concerns about my stress or this is still difficult it

00:25:30.720 is really difficult for me to not go say you should have seen what it was 15 years ago but that’s you know you can’t

00:25:36.480 do that you have a generational thing is there a little bit of like when younger people say “Oh I’m so stressed out.” You’re like “This is nothing from what I

00:25:42.480 Yeah i have to Sometimes I hold back saying that and I joke and it’s and it’s not me putting down it’s not me saying

00:25:47.520 like “Oh they’re weaker.” I don’t feel that in any way i love working with the different generation i love interviewing

00:25:53.120 the different generations i’m Gen X and very much so and I remember when the millennials were coming up I was I was

00:26:00.400 like “My god these people are demanding so much this is crazy.” But because of them I really feel millennials made the

00:26:06.400 difference in working from home being a thing boundaries being set that was not done in my generation we were just kind

00:26:12.559 of like yeah no we we’ll abuse us we’ll abuse ourselves we’re masochists let’s go like that’s how I feel it happened

00:26:18.320 but now it’s more of you know like it does keep coming but it’s less of a I’m struggling with this it’s more of just

00:26:24.799 like this is what I expect this is what I need to be able to function i need to be able to shut down at a certain time i

00:26:30.640 need to be able to you know as Gabby said like turn off my phone and be away during bedtime during dinner time so

00:26:37.039 it’s I would say it’s less of people being stressed out more about certain things and more of them just really

00:26:42.720 putting out there what they need and want which is something that’s changed over the years in the generations i think yeah I I’m a millennial i agree

00:26:50.880 with that i would say even the Gen Z is very different in their like mindset i

00:26:56.799 do feel like they’re they come with solutions though and it’s almost like they’re a bit more innovative and I

00:27:02.799 don’t know if it’s because they were just brought up with like social media like I technically was it kind of

00:27:08.640 started when I was in high school but like they’ve they’ve had social media

00:27:13.679 and like been able to be online almost their whole lives so like they’re very tech forward they’re very innovative

00:27:20.559 they come with solutions they know what they want i feel like they’re um it is a different it is a different mindset

00:27:27.600 generationally i agree and they’re definitely talking about mental health way more even than I would

00:27:34.960 say millennials yeah when we started I’m I’m millennial when we when I started working nobody was talking about that

00:27:40.480 that was just not like know you just keep going to work and that’s it like Yeah crack

00:27:47.840 go to crack they’re not going to make it and yeah so which is unfort you know it’s not that it’s unfortunate I don’t

00:27:54.240 regret growing up the way that I did in in the industry because like yeah it gives you a thick skin and stuff but sometimes I have to for a while I had to

00:28:01.039 remind myself like this is a different generation they are you know it’s it’s it’s good that they’re coming with these

00:28:06.480 concerns it’s good that they’re demanding these things in the workplace you know even though my generation just didn’t do it or we just or at least I

00:28:13.279 wasn’t I was too afraid to say hey I’m stressed out can I have xyz because it was like no you just did your job so I

00:28:19.760 think it’s it’s good to have those conversations But at the same time we still have a company to run and things have to happen so another part of it too

00:28:26.399 that I see a lot here and especially amongst you know Jenz and Steph everyone

00:28:32.480 really supports each other and that’s a big thing it’s the camaraderie that is so important which is not the easiest

00:28:39.279 when you’re remote because you’re over Zooms and you know that’s why we try to get together when we can but you do see

00:28:45.120 people really like hey I see that you’re still on Slack right now what what do you need i’ll step in and help you so

00:28:51.360 there’s a lot of that that I see which like really makes me feel good too that I didn’t see as much in my younger years

00:28:57.440 in agency life and I think part of that is having that understanding of of mental health being aware of the

00:29:02.720 stresses that people are on because people are more also just putting it out there like that I’m a I’m a new mom or

00:29:09.039 you know I’m dealing with a parent who’s going through dementia or I have to this person passed away like whatever is

00:29:14.240 going on um and people are talking about it more so it’s easier to even help each

00:29:19.520 other too so I I find there’s a lot of support here as well and I would and I

00:29:24.640 would assume and hope that is across other agencies just even as a generation thing it’s just a different generation they’re vocal and I like it because it’s

00:29:32.640 just I think that helps yeah and we even have a Slack channel called the Bose Bar

00:29:37.760 New Mom Club oh there you go and so it is like an extra like community within

00:29:43.919 the agency where we you know complain talk about the joys of parenting share

00:29:49.679 pictures of kids so like we have that community and we’re able to like communicate about all of the the life

00:29:56.240 experiences we’re going through do you kick anyone out it’s like new moms only you said new moms i’m I’m on the verge

00:30:03.600 of probably almost being kicked out because I have a four-year-old but like I I’ve angled my way in for the

00:30:11.000 eight-month-old like to consider myself a new mom still but I’m probably the one that’s probably going to get the boot

00:30:16.640 next is is there at some level almost too

00:30:22.159 much information coming in all of us because I feel like Slack when we started was just email right then it was

00:30:27.200 email and text and then all of a sudden oh now we’re adding in Slack and and all these things have started to add up is

00:30:33.760 there ever a push to say let’s cut some of these out or is that just never going to happen yeah i mean I don’t know about

00:30:41.200 cutting it out but sometimes like I don’t I don’t really prefer texting about work unless I’m like on a vacation

00:30:48.240 and I say like if there’s an emergency or something super urgent then text me

00:30:53.360 but I try to limit text um and just keep it to like Slack and email but yeah it is a lot of information all the time

00:30:59.679 where you’re like h I got 10 slacks to read after this meeting or I’m 20 emails

00:31:06.080 behind like it is it’s a lot of different mediums coming at you at once right like I’d rather have a hundred

00:31:11.679 emails than 20 Slacks and five texts and three calls and I got to check this

00:31:17.120 social thing and you know it’s almost like the the switching of platforms I find is mentally taxing for someone like

00:31:23.039 me yeah and like I have refused to get on the new social media platforms like threads as a millennial like I I just

00:31:30.240 cannot learn another one right now i’m done me too like I I can’t do another

00:31:36.000 one like I whatever twitter died x whatever like I’m still on Facebook i

00:31:42.799 just can’t learn another one i don’t have the mental capacity to take that on that’s how we become old then we become

00:31:48.240 like the older generation it’s like I just do phone calls i don’t text everybody this will be our version of

00:31:53.679 like I write letters and do phone calls i just do Facebook that’s it and I’m okay with that i’m okay with being the

00:32:00.000 old person that doesn’t want to do the new stuff honestly I’m I’m embracing that in my age yeah it’s humbling it’s

00:32:06.080 okay something that’s worked for me though that I tell people if they can do it and I and I because we’re also we’re

00:32:11.679 so trained to be like even though you’re on vacation you still have to be accessible and it’s something that I feel like we do to ourselves i mean it’s

00:32:17.919 just like because you just you have to be a good employee and be like “Don’t worry.” What I you can’t show up a week later be like “So what happened i I have

00:32:24.159 no idea.” That is hard and I usually I do make the habit of like you know the night before if I can start going

00:32:29.760 through emails what I do do on my phone is I take my emails I take my Slacks I turn off the notifications I put it the

00:32:35.679 screens in a different f like I literally put the icons in a different folder rather so that you know you’re always looking at your phone and it’s

00:32:41.360 habit because I’ll open up my email on vacation without even it’s it’s muscle memory it’s not even what I found what

00:32:47.919 happens to me is I I literally like delete it from my phone because if the sky is falling someone will text me and

00:32:54.960 nine times out of 10 the sky is not falling not enough to text me anyway so it’s like I tell people to do that just

00:33:00.880 like take it off your phone for the two days or the week that you’re on vacation because the stress will be here when you

00:33:06.559 get back that’s not going away so you might as well enjoy your time you know i like that i like Go ahead but I was

00:33:12.799 going to say like the uh if you really if someone really needs me they will find a way to get they will find you

00:33:18.799 yeah and I know it’s difficult because this is media and this is everything else and it’s it’s all the time and twin you have to answer questions but when

00:33:24.720 you’re on PTO and we’re also trying to really streamline our PTO system and and and scheduling much better too so that

00:33:31.600 we don’t have have people working on skeleton crews and up all night because people are or people are on vacation having to take calls we’re really trying

00:33:38.000 to make an effort this year to make it so that doesn’t happen so that people who are on PTO can enjoy it and the

00:33:43.279 people who are working are not drowning by it all so that there is that that balance but that’s like that’s a self-d

00:33:48.799 disccipline of being like I don’t have to look at my email i don’t have to like you’re creating you’re almost creating

00:33:54.240 this like self-importance like no I have to no you don’t it’s okay like you know you really don’t and if Curtis wants to

00:34:01.519 get in touch with you Curtis will get in touch with you so he’ll find you he will find you he knows all our phone numbers

00:34:07.279 so like that’s how I look at it if it’s not getting text it can wait until I return yeah but it is honestly muscle

00:34:14.000 memory and I was like in line getting like a drink at Epcot and I’m like

00:34:19.760 opening Slack i’m like what am I doing yeah yeah i’m telling you remove it remove the remove it from your phone

00:34:26.639 like you really can’t and then you just download it back the second you get back it’s really that’s helped me a lot

00:34:32.079 because you just you can’t help it and then I start answering and then you know it’s then you get wrapped up in the

00:34:37.359 thing and it’s not it’s not necessary agreed what before we go I’ll say start

00:34:42.879 with Gabby then what what would you like to see a year from now right next May it’s mental health awareness again what

00:34:50.560 would what progress would you like to see within the company or in the industry or yourself even like hey I

00:34:55.760 wish we could solve this thing or tackle this particular issue I don’t know if we’ll ever solve mental

00:35:02.320 health I think it is such a universal crisis that everyone deals with but I

00:35:07.920 think just continuing to talk about it and stop making it so taboo um is a

00:35:14.000 great step in the right direction like I love that we’re doing this i love that we’re talking about being a new parent

00:35:20.160 talking about the struggles that everyone is facing just on in their own battles silently um and we shouldn’t

00:35:27.440 have to so I think just continuing to talk about it um and being open to finding solutions and I think that Jess

00:35:35.839 has really created a safe space for us to to do that

00:35:41.280 what about you what about you what are the next initiatives in Bosespar Balance going to be or the next big uh progress

00:35:47.040 we’re see i have to I have to still come up with those to be honest but no I mean it’s a continu it’s a continued work in progress to be honest it’s it what comes

00:35:53.920 up and sometimes a lot of things come up just because I do have a team member come to me and say I’m struggling with

00:35:59.119 this or what do I do in this scenario and that peaks this that that’ll peak the interest of like oh what can we

00:36:04.320 build around this how can we make this better for this person so it’s always ongoing and I am I always tell people I

00:36:10.079 am a safe place i know that sometimes it’s a little tricky because I’m HR so you know I’m here to protect the

00:36:15.119 employees i’m here to protect the company but first and foremost I care about everybody’s well-being absolutely

00:36:20.320 and I am so much of an empath that sometimes I get drawn into it and have to even set my own boundaries for my

00:36:26.079 mental health because I want to help and fix everybody but what I want to see is just this continued conversation people

00:36:32.400 feeling comfortable saying their needs and their wants of to have a healthy work environment and then also just to

00:36:39.280 have the honest conversation too that you can say maybe this isn’t for me maybe this industry isn’t for me maybe

00:36:45.280 this agency isn’t for me and there’s nothing wrong with that there’s no shame in that that’s not making anybody a

00:36:51.599 failure or they couldn’t hack it i hate when people use that term well they just couldn’t hack it no it’s you have to do

00:36:56.960 what’s right for you so and you have to listen to yourself and that’s what I think I would like to see people do more

00:37:02.400 of too and we just continue to do as much as we can to support everybody in their needs if that is extra time if

00:37:09.200 that is I need to take a week off because I have to go take care of my mom in another state or those things like we will continue to be flexible as much as

00:37:15.599 we can with that and I just want to just see that continue to grow and to to have employees come to me and tell me their

00:37:22.000 needs that you know they can come they’ll never get in trouble for saying anything can’t promise that I can change things or create stuff but I’m going to

00:37:28.160 do my best so that’s what I would like to see continue just the open dialogue of that yeah I like it i like it the

00:37:34.960 open dialogue is key it’s good that you’ve created a culture where at least people feel like they can come and and talk about these things so which is good

00:37:42.160 yeah and we also have our mentor program which helps with that too just having someone within the agency that you can

00:37:48.560 turn to that’s not necessarily you know HR or your manager or someone that’s

00:37:53.839 kind of overseeing your success it’s more of like a a friend right because that that’s the thing it’s you you want

00:38:00.160 to get out of the reporting structure right i need someone else that that I can ad that can advocate for me or help

00:38:06.400 me but is not I don’t owe them a deliverable so at least I can be more open and honest with them that’s a good point i’d also love to see people just

00:38:12.880 get together more if they can and I know so for some it’s it’s difficult because obviously you know I’m in Jersey and

00:38:17.920 Gabby’s in Florida so we’re not exactly getting together for lunch but I do find that even if it’s just a couple times a

00:38:24.320 year or whatever it is that people who even live near each other work together spend the day working with each other

00:38:29.599 out of your home offices and have those moments because I think a lot or just get together for happy hours and things

00:38:34.640 because let’s all go to your patio we’re all right welcome to my patio because I think it’s also just so important for

00:38:40.000 people to talk on a level of just like that was a crazy day or this was an insane week and like and just but right

00:38:46.400 that was my I’m not crazy right this is crazy and I think it’s okay to have that moment you need that camaraderie so much

00:38:52.400 because that like just to continue to help each other as I had spoken before so I want to see more of that my goal

00:38:58.000 over the next year is to have more regional gatherings when we can and when people start also at the company new and

00:39:05.119 they’re new hires to just meet people face to face because I think that brings down your anxiety a bit like once i feel

00:39:10.160 like if you can meet somebody one time in person that’s good for years if you help and it just it makes a difference

00:39:16.240 and I feel like it helps you get to know people and like okay I’m not in this alone like and I’m not alone in feeling

00:39:21.680 anxious i’m not alone in feeling you know stressed out or like I’ve I’ve cried too during the day and then you

00:39:27.839 come back and you go back to work it happens okay like people do it and people get shocked when I tell them that i’m like “Of course I cry during my

00:39:34.079 career during the workday.” And but it’s people need to hear that like you’re not alone in it and I think like so much

00:39:40.240 gets lost in translation over communicating like over Slack and email constantly and even Zoom like there’s

00:39:47.040 just something about being able to see someone in person and like their mannerisms and gestures like there’s

00:39:53.119 nothing like that face to face interaction and I feel like you will truly get to know um your co-workers a

00:39:59.760 lot better that way awesome awesome well this has been fantastic thanks so much for spending

00:40:05.440 this time with me for both of you i heard a dog barking i don’t know who needs to my daughter just came home from school it’s almost 5

00:40:14.240 let’s get out of here before 5 let’s get dogs walked and kids fed and everything jessica we really appreciate the time today thank you so much so fun thank you

00:40:23.359 thank you to my guest and thanks for listening subscribe to get the latest episodes each week and we’ll see you

00:40:28.720 next time