2020 was a life-changing year that, at the very least, led to a reassessment of the status quo. However, between August 2020 and February 2021, the number of adults showing anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms increased from 36.4% to 41.5%, according to CDC data. The threat of the pandemic ignited fear and maintaining safety precautions led to a lot of isolation. The time caused a collective reexamination of the stigma of mental health. At DMi Partners, employee engagement and investment in culture are what we strive for year-round to help DMi-ers take a break, play, or pursue their other passion areas. During Mental Health Month, DMi Cares and the Spirit team focused on reminding DMi-ers to dispel the stigma of mental health and participate in resource sharing throughout the month.

In March, we reflected on all the ways those committees and leadership have already been supporting employee wellbeing. Here are some things that DMi does to help build a collaborative team environment and a positive atmosphere that makes DMi a great place to work.

• At DMi, we love opportunities to get together and brief. Therefore, we have three integral meeting cadences: morning huddles, end-of-week meetings, and beginning of month meetings. Each gathering features its unique agenda but key features in each are updates and celebrating one another. This recurring practice ensures that everyone is on the same page, and no one is alone in any struggle or achievement. There is rarely a moment at DMi Partners where something is achieved by one person alone. These gatherings act as ways to help one another and praise each other.
• In addition to all the other team-building moments, DMi Partners runs “Quarterly Themes” to encourage a collective effort toward a company goal that often led to tangible company-wide benefits.
• And our internal engagement committees help facilitate activities that set time aside to support the community with, serve with and have fun with colleagues at work

These well-being supporting facets of our culture had to be re-envisioned and transformed during the pandemic, but DMi continued to strive for the same goal in virtual space. Our teams rose to the challenge by making programs and initiatives remote-friendly. Now as restrictions lift, we plan on continuing with the momentum as we phase into a hybrid environment. We will continue to offer the same level of support and engagement with our employees that will continue to stay remote. Along with remote-friendly engagement, we have updated our benefits, policies, and practices to keep that support sustained. We now offer:

• 17 PTO days
• Fitness and gym stipend rather than discounts to local gyms
• Hiring more people to improve bandwidth
• Tune out happy hours: time for employees to unplug
• Summer/Winter hours: time on Friday for employees to leave early to get some vitamin D early

Although not an exhaustive list, these are some of the ways that DMi promotes investment in the culture of our workplace. We have proven dedication to people and show that in the ways we support our employees and, in the humanity, we demonstrate to our clients and their business. Our values ring true so when we say that: “When it comes to doing the right thing or the profitable thing, DMi will always choose the right thing” we mean it!