Self-Care in the Workplace with Jessica Carpenter
September is Self-Care Awareness Month, and at the DriveTime Family of Brands we understand how difficult it can be to prioritize yourself and your needs. Through our wellness initiatives, we help our team members center themselves with countless opportunities to take care of themselves and their loved ones.
Helping organize these efforts is wellness specialist, Jessica Carpenter, who works on the Total Rewards team. Her passion for giving back and helping others has led her to a career doing so professionally.
“I have been with the DriveTime family for a little under a year now and have worked in the wellness space for over seven years,” she said. “In my role, I am responsible for developing, implementing, and managing the wellness programs internally and externally that promote the health and wellbeing of our employees across the DriveTime Family of Brands.”
The Importance of Self-Care in the Workplace
For many, the practice of self-care begins and ends at home or within personal time. However, the Brand Family believes self-care has a seat at the table within professional settings.
More than just giving space for employees to take time for themselves, implementing self-care into the culture has proven to have numerous benefits. “There’s a really big positive impact on employee morale, productivity, and overall health,” Jessica explains. “When you’re given that space to take a moment, people feel more connected and supported in their role. That demonstrates DriveTime’s commitment to the whole person, not just the person that’s sitting in the seat performing a specific role.”
So, what exactly are these initiatives, and how do they help our people?
DriveTime’s Offer
At the DriveTime Family of Brands, our wellness initiatives are housed under a large umbrella that includes but is not limited to mental, emotional, physical, social, financial, and cultural health programs. These offerings are communicated through on-site and virtual events, our employee intranet, and through internal communications systems like Viva Engage.
“We have a robust program that supports self-care practices. For example, we support mental and physical wellness through our employee assistance programs including access to services like LifeGuides, ComPsych, and Virgin Pulse” Jessica shared. “Information on how to access these resources are available online at any time.”
Our go-to spot for wellness, Virgin Pulse, is a virtual platform accessible to our entire population. Virgin Pulse allows team members at the Family of Brands to connect with people across the organization in friendly challenges, health and wellness journeys, and self-care practices. By interacting with this platform, users can earn Pulse Cash which can be used to buy items from the Pulse store or even redeemed for gift cards. More than a resource, Virgin Pulse is a hub for collaboration, fun, and knowledge that helps users engage in self-care activities.
Another sphere of our wellness initiatives includes the company’s benefits package. DriveTime offers different plans that are set up in a way so that they are accessible to everyone in our organization.
Jessica explained the perks of some of these benefits. “We offer a wellness rate through the completion of a biometrics screening and a health check survey through Virgin Pulse which gives our people a huge opportunity to save. But even if somebody opts out of enrollment, outside perks including discounts on our Active & Fit program and childcare programs are still available.”
More than just having these programs available, DriveTime is also dedicated to finding new and improved ways to continue to support our people.
“DriveTime is always looking to stay fresh and up to date with what is happening within their organization, not staying stagnant in the wellness place but always looking to meet their population where they are,” Jessica shared. “It’s refreshing to come into an organization that wants to drive a program that builds a culture of wellness that also supports individuals.”
2024 Initiatives
The Total Rewards’ team goal for this year’s wellness initiatives has been visibility.
Jessica and her team have maintained this goal through communication with vendors to offer multiple events, including on-site vision clinic appointments, on-site biometrics, dental appointments, virtual workshops with our financial resource programs, and upcoming flu shots.
A big part of Jessica’s role also consists of ensuring that our initiatives continue to remain accessible and engaging with everyone throughout the entire Family of Brands.
“Despite not being able to be there in-person for every single event, I was able to dive in and work with our teams across the organization to ensure that our events went on as scheduled,” she said.
These moments of contact and connection are one of Jessica’s favorite parts of working in wellness. “I really love to get to meet people as they come through when hosting. That interaction has been fun for me, helping make these initiatives work across the US for many of our locations.”
Looking To The Future
Looking forward into 2025, the Total Rewards team is dedicated to developing their programs, looking to gamify existing platforms to grow wellness initiatives that are fun, rewardable, and accessible.
Jessica’s goal is to also encourage mindfulness and visualization techniques to help drive us forward and pursue the things best for us.
“I believe it’s important to acknowledge and communicate to others that they have the right to permit themselves to engage in self-care. Recognizing that they deserve to dedicate even just five minutes each day to any practice of their choice is significant and can have a profound effect on their life.”
