This is “Company Culture Change,” an interview series by Mind Share Partners. Our goal with this series is to show the progress being made in the national movement for workplace mental health.
In this interview, we spoke with Vijay Rao, the Chief People and Places Officer at Okta to learn more about how Okta supports employee mental health and wellbeing. Rao oversees the company’s global People and Workplace strategy and teams. He has been a leader in building and growing People functions for more than 25 years.
Q: In the past, Okta has had an impressive lineup of speakers, sessions, and workshops for employees during May's Mental Health Awareness Month. What have you planned this year, and how have employees responded to this initiative in the past?
Rao: Last year, we spotlighted the importance of mental healthcare and wellbeing during Mental Health Awareness Month. Over 600 virtual attendees from 17 different countries attended mental wellbeing keynote speaking events, meditations, and family wellbeing events.
This year, our commitment to emphasizing the significance of mental health remains steadfast. We aim to spotlight mental healthcare and holistic wellbeing through a series of engaging events and ERG conversations. Our agenda includes diverse speakers and sessions that will delve into aspects of mental health, such as managing anxiety, resilience, and understanding the mental healthcare resources available through Okta. Additionally, we will offer live meditation sessions to promote mindfulness and inner peace among participants.
Q: We were excited to read that Okta aims to keep mental health conversations happening year-round. What are some of the ways you do this?
Rao: At Okta, our team is invested in all aspects of employee wellbeing with equitable access globally, including mental health. We use opportunities outside of Mental Health Awareness Month to highlight and promote the topic and Okta’s support platforms. For example, we curated a lineup to advocate our inclusive support, spotlighting various mental health needs and our tools during Women’s Health Month, and separately during caregiver sessions.
In order to support a positive mental health state, we continue to invest in a partnership with Modern Health to provide employees and their families with access to holistic mental health support and tools. Through this partnership, employees and their families can match with certified coaches and therapists who can support them with everything from stress management and healthy living to financial wellbeing. Through Modern Health, we can also organize sessions to address themes including healing circles focused on various needs such as stress and anxiety, support strategies for violence against women, mindfulness, racial injustice, caregiver challenges, coping with tragic world events and grief, family forming worries, and overall support to build resilience tools.
Finally, we’ve established a dedicated mental health awareness Slack channel, creating a safe and supportive space for employees to discuss mental health matters. This platform also serves as a resource hub, where team members can learn about available support options and stay informed about upcoming sessions designed to promote mental wellbeing.
Q: How does leadership at Okta support and encourage conversations around mental health at work?
Rao: Okta’s leadership is committed to supporting each employee as their whole self and this is reflected throughout Okta’s benefits and approach to flexible work. Okta’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) also provide safe spaces for employees to discuss various topics that impact employees, including mental health. Each ERG has a senior leader as a sponsor who supports the group’s work.
Q: How does Okta support employees at the organizational level?
Rao: One example of how Okta and its leadership supports employees is with its annual Wellbeing Week which takes place during December holidays. This provides employees with an opportunity to spend time with their families and recharge while the rest of the company is also offline. In addition, Okta encourages employees to leverage their flexible time off to recharge.
Okta’s values also ensure we’re continuously supporting each other to do the best work of our careers. For example, with our “Build and own it” value, Okta solidifies its commitment and investment in employees by encouraging collaboration and care for each other, at all levels. To learn more about our values, see here.
Q: While there has been so much movement nationally to support mental health at work, stigma remains pervasive. Is stigma still an issue for employees at Okta?
Rao: We aim to provide a number of safe spaces for employees to engage with others, seek support, and feel heard. We encourage employees to provide feedback and do our best to make changes when possible.
Q: Do you have advice for other professionals leading mental health and wellbeing initiatives within their own organizations?
Rao: Continuously leverage opportunities to share the resources available to employees. As benefits and resources change, employees can always use a refresher on what’s available or examples of how the benefits can be used. For example, we have a partnership with Carrot Fertility and many employees did not know at first that those benefits could be used to ship breast milk when traveling for work, or for a postpartum doula.
In addition, supporting employees should be a core part of the company’s culture and values. Our value of “Build and own it” showcases Okta’s commitment to employees and investment in their success.
As Mind Share Partners' Content Marketing lead, Nina develops and drives the organization's content marketing strategy. As one of the organization's early team members, Nina has a deep breadth of knowledge about workplace mental health and drives the creation of Mind Share Partners resources to support organizations in creating mentally healthy workplace cultures.