Synchrony, a premier financial services company, and Thrive Global, the leading enterprise behavior change technology company founded by Arianna Huffington, announced a new partnership that brings well-being tools and technology to Synchrony employees and leaders directly in their flow of work, furthering the company’s commitment to prioritize the mental health and wellness of its people.
Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global and DJ Casto, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Synchrony, highlighted the initiative at Synchrony’s Global Diversity Experience in Chicago, a three-day event which brought together employees, leaders and Board members – in-person and virtually – to celebrate equity, diversity, inclusion and citizenship.
Synchrony makes active listening a consistent part of its hybrid work model, using Agile test and learn methods to co-innovate benefits and offerings with employees to better support their evolving needs. The partnership with Thrive was born out of that process.
How Thrive is Helping Synchrony Frontline Associates “Reset”
For Synchrony’s frontline hourly associates, who represent a majority of the company’s workforce, the process of taking back-to-back customer calls and resolving disputes can be intense. Thrive Resets, 60-second, science-backed breaks, are pushed to associates directly in their flow of work when they need a short break. In a pilot program launched late last year, Synchrony contact center associates shared that they were able to reset mentally and prepare for the next customer service conversation using Thrive Reset, which aims to break the cycle of cumulative stress in just one minute through breathing, stretching and mindfulness. The company expanded this well-being pilot initiative with hundreds of frontline associates.
How Thrive Will Embed Well-Being Into the Flow of Work
Synchrony is also planning a phased rollout of the Thrive Global platform to its leaders and teams later this year after testing with dozens of employees who are also caregivers. The technology platform embeds well-being directly into people’s daily experience, offering tools, webinars and personalized resources, and all integrated into the Microsoft Teams (mobile app and desktop) platform that the company uses. Thrive also gives employees “Microsteps,” which are small, science-backed actions to build healthy habits, strengthen connections and improve their overall health.
“We continue to invest in the total well-being of our employees,” Casto said. “Thrive Global shares our belief in active employee listening and co-designing solutions together with our people that integrate wellness into their daily lives and enhance innovation. It’s one more step we are taking to care for our colleagues and eliminate the stigma of mental health.”
“Thrive Global and Synchrony are deeply aligned on our whole-human approach to help employees improve every aspect of their lives,” said Huffington. “Together, we are embedding employee well-being into everyday workflows, which lowers stress, builds resilience and improves performance.”
Supporting Employees’ Total Well-Being
The Thrive program is part of Synchrony’s broader efforts to support employee total well-being. In response to employee feedback, Synchrony went all in offering its people flexibility and choice on how, when and where they work. Synchrony also provides flexible scheduling options to better support frontline associates’ needs and Flex Fridays where employees are encouraged on Fridays to avoid morning meetings and take the afternoons for enrichment, learning or personal time.
Synchrony also offers a wide range of mental health initiatives and wellness resources, including sabbatical and employee balance programs, which allow employees to reduce their schedules or take time off (up to a year) while retaining benefits, 16 diverse well-being coaches dedicated to employees and their families, career coaches and financial wellness counseling.
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