Mental Health Awareness Month is a dedicated time to help recognize the importance of your well-being and how to take care of yourself in a way that best meets your needs to find balance. Mental health support is especially important at Reddit where our core mission is anchored around empowering community and remembering the human.
Raising Awareness and Empowering Others
Throughout the month of May, Reddit’s People & Culture team alongside our Ability employee resource group (ERG) developed valuable programming for employees to engage in mental health-related conversations, find supportive resources, and build support systems with colleagues.
Devoting time to learn and discuss mental or behavioral health problems opens up the opportunity for understanding and gives people the ability to talk openly about their struggles. The Ability ERG promoted this by creating a workshop geared towards equipping employees with helpful strategies to support others who may need help. They also launched a Mindful Minutes Challenge through a self-care app that employees have free subscriptions and 24/7 access to for better sleep, reduced anxiety, and improved focus.
Supporting mental health online is just as essential, which is why we offer a variety of different initiatives and assistance on Reddit’s platform. To educate and bring awareness to mental health issues, we’ve announced a special Ask Me Anything (AMA) series with academics and health experts. Participants confirmed at the time of writing (with more to be added) include: professor Patricia Deldin in r/IAMA on Thursday, May 19th, for Mental Health Action Day. For those seeking additional information and support for themselves or others, Mental Health Awareness Network provides helpful online resources, and we’ve also offered our volunteer Reddit moderators a one-year prepaid subscription to a self-care app to promote mindfulness and reduce stress.
Finding Your Workplace Balance
Reddit’s benefits are thoughtfully designed to support the health and safety of our employees. With our flexible-first workforce model, existing and future employees are empowered to manage their work in a way that is most effective and flexible for them. Employees are encouraged to create work boundaries that help them stay healthy, sane, and productive, which may take the form of blocking time on calendars or taking advantage of Reddit’s volunteer benefit which provides 8 work hours a month to dedicate to volunteer work. They can also use their yearly Workplace stipend to fund at-home workspace expenses (e.g. desk, chair) that they may need to be successful in their environment.
Our entire global workforce can also unplug, reset, and enjoy personal time in a way that’s most meaningful to them during our monthly Global Wellness Days. In addition, all Reddit employees have access to a mental health service which includes 12 paid coaching or therapy sessions per year with a licensed professional.
All the programs and experiences created for our employees are a reflection of our Company Values and are meant to foster diverse needs. We continue to evolve our workplace with a sustainable approach that supports all employees as unique individuals, small teams, whole departments, interest groups, and as an entire company.
Ability: We are a space of belonging for Reddit employees with disabilities and neurodiversity. We raise awareness of disabilities and neurodiversity by planning awareness events, being visible, and celebrating accessibility within Reddit. We champion the needs of Reddit employees and redditors with disabilities and neurodiverse brains and help ensure that Reddit is a place for everyone to find community. Ability was established in 2021.