July 31, 2024
Happy Wellness Month! Throughout the month of July, our Wellness Employee Resource Group (ERG) led several internal celebrations that highlighted Aledade’s approach to employee wellness, underscored the four pillars of the ERG (social, mental, financial and physical health) and culminated in a companywide “balanced lifestyle challenge” using the Wellness Coach app. Additionally, a few members of the ERG sat down with us to discuss what wellness means to them and how Aledade supports them in their personal journeys. Learn more below!
Jess Pius-Nwagwu
To me, wellness means peace of mind. As a nurse and as a mom of two small kids, I have a lot of experience feeling too busy taking care of everyone else. But many of us have to learn how to sit back, listen to our bodies and our minds and ask ourselves what we need to feel steady or to feel good…and then give ourselves permission to prioritize those things.
The older I get and the further along I get in my personal wellness journey, the more I’m realizing just how much community means to me. We live in an often siloed society, and it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day or focus too much on specific tasks or deliverables that we miss out on connecting with those around us. Thankfully, Aledade – despite being a mostly virtual working environment – creates many opportunities for us to come together. I’m part of three active employee resource groups, I’m in and out of several Slack channels where I’m catching up and connecting with others…and last fall, I organized two volunteer service days for Aledaders in my area, where we came together in person, united in our core value of service, to create a deeper sense of community with one another as we simultaneously made a difference in our local community.
Every day at Aledade, we have an opportunity to find and get to know some really great folks. For me, that brings peace – and that peace is everything in my wellness journey.
Rebecca Kirtley
I believe wellness and quality of life go hand in hand. It’s about being able to do the things you need to do and want to do in life – and being in a place where stress can’t overwhelm or take anything away from you.
In many ways, Aledade has supported me in getting to that place. We have excellent benefits here, including health insurance that offered me coverage on care that helped me not only get a solid footing with my physical health but with my overall quality of life as well. Additionally, between our coverage as well as our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and our Flexible Spending Account (FSA) offerings, I’ve been able to support my mental wellness and engage with a trusted professional who I can regularly check in with, process with and learn to cope with – helping me to become the best person I can be, all without the stress of charging my credit card.
Between our benefits and facilitating a culture of taking care of employees, Aledade has my back. From leadership to our overall solid community that regularly leans on one another, we’re a company that is committed to doing right to and by its people – and it helps my mental health and overall wellbeing so much.
Rainy Atherton
When I was new to Aledade, someone from my team joked that walking while on a call here was “dressing for the job you want.” And they weren’t wrong! From the very top of the organization, health and wellness are a top priority here, and it’s made known to us in many ways. One way is our annual step challenge, which is run by the Wellness ERG and how I came to join the ERG in the first place. It’s competitive here, but I’m proud to say I placed in the top 20 participants in our most recent challenge!
We have a wellness-focused culture – and a few members of my team decided to go beyond the step challenge and push ourselves even further. Six of us came together to run a Ragnar Relay race, and we placed first in our division! (You can check out the picture of us with our gold medals at the top of this page.) And that kind of thing would never have happened anywhere else I’ve worked.
I also just finished my very first full marathon in Seattle, Washington – which is something I wouldn’t have been able to do without the incredible work-life balance Aledade has given me. Between our flexible culture and our remote-first environment, I was able to travel, work in a different time zone and take time off before and after the race – all of which my boss was totally okay with. And taking off for doctors appointments or any other needs that arise is also never an issue. Actions speak louder than words, and the way Aledade lives out our values is something I’m extremely grateful for.
Maritza Castro
Plain and simple, in big bold letters, I believe health is wealth. I believe stress is the outlier. And I believe that to mitigate stress and achieve health, we have to manage our money well so it doesn’t ultimately manage us.
I think many of us feel a pressure to live outside of our means and to then live a stressful lifestyle…sometimes getting caught up feeling hungry to make top dollar and see a certain number in our bank accounts instead of having a plan, setting clear intentions for our money and remembering that money will come and go, but time with our families and friends isn’t something we’re able to get back once we lose it. I constantly ask myself how I am putting my money towards what matters most – and how I can best support my overall wellness.
I was a contractor before I joined Aledade full-time, and I can’t speak enough to how grateful I am for our benefits. I have taken full advantage of our HSA/FSA incentives and our 401k match (with no vesting timeline!). And l feel so secure with our employer-paid short- and long-term disability plans. Additionally, my family means everything to me, and so does time with them, so knowing that I have a fully paid six-week sabbatical after six years of employment to look forward to is extremely exciting – and I believe it’s further proof that Aledade walks the walk and aligns with my belief that health truly is wealth.