How Snowball Turns Mental Health Awareness into Action
Over the years, we have watched the term 'mental health' make its way into the vocabulary of many countries and companies worldwide. It is changing from a quieted personal issue to a pillar of human health that society must address to achieve long-term well-being. As a worsening global issue that affects millions of people every day, Snowball puts mental health high on our company agenda as a priority for all employees.
Supporting Diversity
We often talk about diversity because it is central to our success. Snowball welcomes people of all ages, nationalities, backgrounds, and walks of life to join our team and help us create magic for our clients. But we are not blind to the reality that living abroad, far from home and without a close support system, comes with some challenges. This leaves us with the responsibility to support our people by turning awareness into action.
Remote management skill-building, enhanced health and well-being support for employees, and increased work flexibility are just a few of the Snowball ground rules. In and out of the workplace, the ways in which we support mental health and well being look a little something like this:
- Inclusion: listening and engaging with our people and supporting team collaboration across company lines.
- New to Norway: Moving to a new country can be overwhelming. Employees who have made the same journey have collected some helpful information compiled into our "Moving to Norway" document. Rest assured that you will receive this before moving.
- Hours: we provide a flexible work schedule that allows you to define your workweek within our core hours. We only work overtime when required or under exceptional circumstances.
- Flexible work: We celebrate flexibility and realize that there are times when we need to work remotely. It could be from home, the cabin, your parents' house, a different country, or anywhere!
- Time off: The hours we put in give us hours to take off. Aka, some well deserved time to enjoy ourselves outside the office. And this, we believe, is vital: we all need proper time to relax, slow down, and reconnect with ourselves, our passions, and the world around us. To reach a recharge level of 100%, we provide you with five weeks of vacation per year (25 days in total).
- Perks: Your best work often depends on having the best tools. To help you do your job comfortably, we offer each employee NOK 10.000 a year for work-related tools and services. In addition, we dedicate one Friday per month to professional development, offer pension plans, and offer insurance that covers travel, physical and mental health services, and occupational injuries.
Removing the Stigma
Snowball believes that mental well-being should be taken just as seriously as physical well-being. By providing a space where our employees feel heard, cared for, and valued, we ensure a mutual system of trust that enables our people to do their best work and feel good while doing it. This is where the rubber hits the road - where employers must connect what they say to what they are actually willing to do.
Ultimately, our mental health experiences often share a universality that can only decrease the stigma if openly talked about. By helping normalize mental health challenges, we build healthy workplaces defined by vulnerability, respect, and compassion. Sure, this requires systematic change and a lot of hard work, but if it can improves our quality of life, we think it’s worth it.