CVS Health® prioritizes a company culture focused on wellness because when our employees are able to focus on their health and well-being, they are best able to care for our patients, customers and members. Recently, we teamed up with Thrive, a science-driven behavior change technology company that works to help people live and work with less stress, more productivity and greater well-being. We’re providing Thrive’s behavior change technology platform to our 300,000 employees, and their friends and families.
“As I’ve gotten to know CVS Health, its leaders and its employees, what I’ve been struck by most is how purpose-driven everyone at the company is, with a passion for truly bringing their heart to every moment of health,” said Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive. “The dedication of CVS Health to the well-being of its employees is as strong as it is to its patients, customers and members. We are so excited CVS Health is bringing Thrive tools to its employees to deepen the culture of wellness at the company.”
How Thrive helps employees focus on wellness
Thrive offers science-backed strategies to help improve well-being and resilience, strengthen connections and support people in the ways that matter most. At the heart of Thrive’s platform are Microsteps — small, science-backed steps to improve health and productivity. Unlike many prescriptive programs that tell employees what to do, Thrive goes upstream, equipping people with the knowledge and tools they need in order to achieve goals that matter most to them.
Tami Barnes, a customer care operations manager for CVS Caremark®, CVS Health’s pharmacy benefit business, began using Thrive shortly after it was launched to CVS Health employees. While she had been trying to focus on personal well-being and lowering her own stress, she was encouraged by feeling as if the company was also focused on supporting her goals.
“I was amazed to find this as a benefit we are able to take advantage of through CVS Health,” she said. “Thrive provides fabulous tools to promote overall health and wellness, both body and mind. You don’t even realize how much tension you are holding until you release it. Life is too short, so I’ve been urging my team and my colleagues to use Thrive to take a minute for themselves and reset. I’m so thankful for this tool.”
Tami uses Thrive’s Reset tool daily and is working on three Thrive Challenges by taking Microsteps to create lasting change in her chosen Challenge areas. She has shared her passion for wellness with the team of supervisors she works with. Now, her team starts weekly meetings with a Reset and is planning to expand the practice to other meetings as well.
Prioritizing employee well-being at CVS Health
Our work with Thrive is part of our holistic approach to supporting employees’ well-being. This approach recognizes that the path to mental wellness is not always easy to follow. Across a company with 300,000 employees, there are varying and unique needs and preferences for managing wellness and individual well-being. That’s why we have a diverse set of benefits that give employees tools and resources — both virtual and in-person — to manage their mental health and well-being across a span of needs, from improving sleep quality to managing anxiety. We recently joined Thrive, The Society for Human Resource Management and over 80 other business leaders in a pledge to continue prioritizing the well-being and mental health of our employees, even if uncertain times lie ahead.
“We are continuously working to build a culture where employee wellness and well-being is not only a priority, but it is part of the way we work,” said Laurie Havanec, Chief People Officer for CVS Health. “Helping people take actionable and approachable steps toward living better as part of their everyday lives benefits our colleagues and our entire organization as we continue to focus on bringing our heart to every moment of health.”