Lululemon to provide mental health first aid training to employees
Lululemon is launching a new employee initiative.
The specialty athletic apparel retailer said that mental health first aid training will be available to all employees globally by 2023. The initiative was announced on the heels of Lululemon’s second annual Global WellBeing Report, a benchmark for wellbeing worldwide that assesses mental, physical and social wellbeing.
Starting with Lululemon managers, the training will equip participating employees with tools to identify signs of emotional distress and connect them with the appropriate resources, including the company’s mental health benefits. The offering builds upon additional Lululemon programs that focus on employee wellbeing, including on-demand coaching, an employee assistance program, psychological counseling benefits and a monthly per-diem to participate in fitness and meditation classes in local communities.
Lululemon took the ninth spot in Glassdoor’s 14th annual Employees’ Choice Awards honoring the 100 Best Places to Work in 2022 (among employers with 1,000 or more employees) across the United States.
Additionally, lululemon’s Centre for Social Impact today announced new fund recipients with $2.25 million in contributions to local grassroots organizations and global non-profits focused on wellbeing in the global supply chain, including Care’s Made by Women (promoting improved practices in global supply chains), the United Nation’s Resilience Fund for Women (investing in long-term health and economic resilience of women in the global supply chain), and Women Win (global fund to support maker wellbeing).
The newly launched Lululemon Centre for Social Impact disrupts inequity in wellbeing through movement, mindfulness, and advocacy with the goal of impacting more than 10 million people globally by 2025 through a $75 million pledge.
Lululemon’s Global Wellbeing Report found that Mental wellbeing has improved since last year, while physical and social wellbeing remained at the same level. Social wellbeing, despite edging upwards since last year, continues to score the lowest among the three.
The top drivers of wellbeing are being in good physical health, feeling confident in oneself, managing stress effectively, having enough energy to accomplish daily tasks, feeling in tune with one’s emotions, having a good work/school/home life balance, and getting enough sleep.
Four coping strategies show the highest increases: spending time outdoors (up 10%), physical activity (up 9%), connecting with people (up 8%), and taking breaks to relax throughout the day (up 8%). Other top coping strategies include getting enough sleep, listening to music, and eating healthy food.