As we each continue to adapt to the changes, challenges, and opportunities of the past year, we aim to foster a working environment where our employees are happy, healthy, and thriving. To do this, UCB prioritizes enabling the right conditions – in the workplace or at home – for our colleagues to be their best selves. This Mental Health Awareness Month, learn how we’re putting the mental wellness of our colleagues, their families, and patients at the center of our focus.

At UCB, we know our ability to deliver innovative solutions for patients depends on supporting the physical, mental, and social well-being of our teams and their families. “It is important to encourage our colleagues and their families to check in with all aspects of well-being all the time- mental health is just as important as physical and social health, and many of our UCB families need support more than ever,” said Lynne Knapp, Director of Benefits.

To support our U.S. colleagues, UCB has expanded our efforts to support mental well-being, such as:

• Offering our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which covers counseling for UCB employees as well as their families, connects them to resources, and additional support
• Launching our first Employee Hardship Fund, which confidentially provides financial assistance to UCB employees experiencing severe and unusual financial hardship due to the COVID-19 crisis, knowing that each of our employees have unique situations they may be facing
• Hosting wellness webcasts, regular virtual yoga and meditation/mindfulness sessions, and fun and educational virtual sessions for kids
• Organizing a virtual meet and greet with the puppies at Canine Assistants
• Curating a new newsletter with tips, resources, fun activities, and support
• Starting wellness challenges and offering incentives devoted to mental health activities
• Providing company-wide mental health “recharge” days periodically
• Actively encouraging employees to use their paid time off for “staycations” during a time when travel is not often possible
• Offering 32-hours of time off to volunteer at non-profits of their choice, even virtually

We also are engaging our employees in new and creative ways – doing what we can to allow for as many opportunities as possible for employees to take a break, share their feedback, and tell us how they are feeling during this time, so we can ensure we are meeting their needs, together. In 2020, UCB established a model for delivering and tracking progress of all health, safety, and well-being initiatives, allowing us to be intentional supporting employees in a holistic way. Called the “UCB Well-being Index,” this model will provide us with an overarching view of our performance and impact over time.

We know to get through these challenging times, we must generously support each other. Through these efforts, we hope employees will continue to feel valued and see actions that show how important their mental health well-being is to the work of UCB.