Headspace is bringing its mindfulness and meditation-based wellness offering to Gympass, the world’s largest employee well-being platform.
Through the “Mind” category on Gympass, Headspace will help members address stress and burnout with over 1,000 hours of premium content including guided meditations along with sleep, focus and movement exercises. Gympass is used by employees at 10,000 companies and has grown by 233% since 2020. It’s "Mind," "Body" and "Life" categories tout other notable partnerships with companies like 24 Hour Fitness, CorePower Yoga and Sleep Cycle.
“Gympass’ goal, in tandem with Headspace Health, is to help employers better support their employees’ mental health and wellbeing,” said Cesar Carvalho, CEO and co-founder of Gympass, in a press release. “The responsibility falls on employers to care for their people. By offering Headspace’s easily accessible, beloved and evidence-based resources alongside fitness and nutrition tools, organizations can create positive impacts on talent acquisition and retention while fostering a happier, more productive workforce.”
Gympass’ platform includes more than 50,000 gyms, classes, trainers and well-being apps accessible through monthly subscriptions. The platform boasts 300 million check-ins to well-being and health activities.
The majority of Generation Z employees, 78%, reported that they would consider leaving a company that doesn’t focus on well-being, according to Gympass’ state of work-life wellness report. The same percentage of the newest generation of employees said they consider well-being at work to be of equal importance with salary.
Gympass surveyed 9,000 employees across nine markets for the report, finding that 85% of all employees would be more likely to stay in their role if their employer took better care of their well-being.
Gympass’ survey paints a rosier picture of the mental state of Gen Z employees, stating in a company blog that the generation is optimistic, with 55% rating their overall well-being as thriving or good and 75% happy at their current company.
In contrast, a Cigna study (PDF) found that 91% of Gen Z members reported feeling stressed, and 98% said they felt burned out.
“The spotlight has been placed on mental health at work. Our mindfulness and meditation resources are a wonderful way for companies to help cultivate healthier employees and more productive teams,” said Russell Glass, CEO of Headspace Health, in a press release. “We are thrilled to work alongside Gympass in helping people all around the world to prioritize their mental health and wellbeing, and to help employers make smarter leadership and benefits decisions to support their most important investment: their people.”
Reflecting a gloomy state of employee wellness, Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 report found that 21% of employees are engaged at work, and 33% report thriving in their overall well-being. When asked about their previous day at work, 50% of employees reported to Gallup that they experienced stress.
When it comes to metrics like reduced stress, improved focus and decreased burnout, Headspace has shown to increase favorable outcomes in 28 published studies. Findings have shown that four sessions on the app resulted in a 14% decrease in stress and a 16% increase in positivity.
Headspace Health cut staff by 4% in December, roughly 50 positions in total. In an email to Fierce Healthcare, a spokesperson for the mental health company stated that as a responsibility for those served by the app, the health of the business itself must also be prioritized.
“Over the past year, our business, like many others, has faced challenges within the context of increasingly difficult economic conditions,” wrote a spokesperson for Headspace Health. “As a result, we implemented preemptive cost savings initiatives earlier last year, but we’ve always viewed a reduction in force as an absolute last resort given the very real and deep impact on our employees’ lives. We took this step at the end of last year to reduce our workforce in order to equip Headspace Health as a long-term, sustainable business that can weather various economic environments while continuing to execute on our mission.”
The spokesperson also mentioned that initiatives such as MINDdays, alternative four-day work week programs, along with a remote-first work environment and a robust benefits package are a part of Headspace’s commitment to employee well-being.