Bayer boosts investment in employee wellness

May was a busy month for Shenelle Satar. The young content development specialist with Bayer Canada had a lot on her plate, including the planning and execution of Bayer’s Mental Health Week activities. She called in experts from across Bayer’s Toronto office to help with the slate of education sessions planned for Bayer employees. The group that showed up included a senior mental heath consultant and a mindfulness expert – both of them Bayer employees.

“It really struck me that we have those people inside our organization,” says Satar, “people who you can reach out to who are your colleagues and your peers.”

Satar has always been interested in the wellness side of things. That’s what originally attracted her to Bayer. “For me it was the health-care side of the business. With everything going on in the world – like the pandemic – it was very appealing to work for a company that gets medicine to people who need it.”

Bayer was founded 160 years ago in Germany and went on to develop dozens of well-known pharmaceutical, health-care and agricultural products. Since the beginning, the company has stayed true to its vision of health for all, hunger for none. It’s a vision that is easy to get behind, says Bayer Canada human resources vice president Janine Pajot. “Health and wellness is a big part of what we do here at Bayer. It is imperative we walk the talk and prioritize employee health and wellness as well.”

Bayer looks at wellness holistically by concentrating on categories such as financial wellness, physical wellness, emotional wellness and mental wellness, with resources and programs available for each category – more than 40 programs altogether. “There’s something for everyone at every stage of their wellness journey,” says Pajot.

“There are really great programs available,” says Satar. “We have a virtual wellness program which you can use anywhere. You can even get prescriptions online, which was very helpful during the pandemic. We have gyms located at two locations, one in Toronto and one in Calgary, and if you don’t want to use one of them you can even get a subsidy to go to your own local gym.”

A wellness app subscription helps guide employees through a myriad of mental wellness issues including healthy sleep and meditation. Satar also makes use of financial wellness seminars and education sessions that are offered throughout the year.

She also loves ‘slowdown days,’ periods of time where employees prioritize their mental well-being by slowing down their work schedule. Slowdown days allow employees to reduce emails, meetings and project deadlines that aren’t critical, so they have some time to recharge.

“It doesn’t necessarily matter where you work, the place where you work shapes you,” says Satar. “If you’re having a bad day at work, it sometimes follows you home. Being surrounded by great people who are there for you and support you makes a huge difference for me, and Bayer offers so many different tools to provide support and help navigate issues outside of work.”

The resources mean that employees tend to think of work as a place to come to get help and advice for whatever they’re going through, says Satar. “It’s all part of this great culture, knowing you have all these resources. It makes a difference, whether you’re at office or away from work living your life.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Greater Toronto’s Top Employers winners, published December 5, 2023 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.