Bengaluru-based E-commerce company, Meesho, has announced an 11-day company-wide mental health break in a bid to prioritize employee well-being once the upcoming festive season rush subsides.
A release posted on its website said it “will allow employees to completely unplug from work and prioritize their mental well-being after the busy festive sale period.” Meesho said the initiative is the first by any startup in India. The 11-day break this year happens around the time of Diwali.
The company in its blog said that the 11-day leave is an initiative aimed at allowing employees to completely unplug from work and prioritize their mental well-being after the busy festive sale period. At a time when burnout and anxiety have emerged as key concerns for today’s workforce, it said, ‘reset and recharge’ will show the way for other companies to adopt similar employee-first practices.
Meesho has been at the forefront of several industry-first and forward-looking policies such as a boundaryless workplace model, infinite wellness leave, 30-week gender-neutral parental leave and 30-day gender reassignment leave. The Reset and Recharge policy amplifies the company’s concerted efforts towards creating a dynamic workplace built on the pillars of employee flexibility and empowerment.
Meesho said its comprehensive MeeCARE programme, designed to boost holistic well-being for employees of the company and their families, enables employees to balance their professional and personal goals. It covers a wide spectrum of wellness initiatives through a combination of policies, benefits and other interventions, the company said in its statement.
Founder and CTO Sanjeev Barnwal also made the announcement in a post on Twitter saying it was in keeping with the significance of work-life balance. “Mental Health should be a top priority at companies. Many burn in silence because they have to earn a living, said one of the responses to Barnwal’s post.
Mesesho’s CEO, Vidit Aatrey, also took to Twitter to announce the news. In his post, he stated that well-being is priceless and even astronauts need breaks. “Even astronauts need breaks. So do folks working on moonshot missions at Meesho. For the second year in a row, employees of Meesho will completely unplug for 11 days (Oct 22-Nov 1) to Reset & Recharge after the busy festive season. While startups are often scrutinized for their unreasonable work culture, we’re here to set an example of what can be done right. Work is important, well-being is priceless. #MentalHealth,” his tweet said.
Meesho had also earlier announced a “boundary less” workplace model, infinite wellness leave, 30-week gender-neutral parental leave as well as 30-day gender reassignment leave. Meesho was recently recognized by xto10x’s “Startups Employees Love” in the categories of ‘People Excellence’ and ‘Best for Women’.
