Hollywood & Media Companies Turn to Calm, Headspace, and Thrive

“There’s more focus on mental health in the workplace than ever before,” says Jason Richmond, VP of Sales Solutions at HeadSpace, a popular mindfulness and meditation app offering corporate clients mental health coaching, therapy, and psychiatry. “We were all dealing with a pandemic, then dealing with the aftermath.”

“Companies are taking care of employee mental health and putting it on the same footing as physical health,” agrees Danny Shea, chief brand officer of Thrive, a platform encouraging employees to take micro steps like breathing, stretching, or brief rests on the job to help reduce anxiety.

HeadSpace and Thrive are part of a growing group of businesses and nonprofits expanding mental health services: from the Calm app to online therapy provider TalkSpace, corporate wellbeing platform Grokker, and organizations like NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Mental health services exploded across industries during Covid, a period hitting the entertainment industry particularly hard with unemployment waves due to Hollywood strikes, ongoing streaming revolution disruptions, AI advancements, and economic challenges like inflation and high interest rates.

A look across major media companies reveals a new digital arsenal supporting insurer-provided therapy sessions alongside gym discounts and Wellness Weeks. Calm, a meditation and relaxation app, began offering corporate packages in 2019. Business skyrocketed in 2020, and Calm now works with 3,500 organizations, including NBCUniversal, Fox Corp., and others, offering employees the app free as a mental health benefit. The app has about 150 million downloads.

“Covid was a low point for us as a nation and world. Companies reached out to get Calm into employees’ hands,” said Nina Bankar, VP of Customer Success at Calm. Initially a reaction to the crisis, companies now view it as an integral part of their benefits strategy.

HeadSpace supports about 4,000 organizations, including around 100 in media such as Disney, Paramount, Sony, Vox Media, BuzzFeed, and the NBA, and 300 in tech. They saw a significant jump during Covid, with ongoing high demand. Launched in 2010, it has around 100 million downloads in 90 countries with corporate clients seeing employee engagement of over 30% across services, likely higher in media and tech.

In its last annual Workforce Data Mind Survey, 67% of respondents said work affected their physical health. About a third cited work as their biggest stressor, above personal lives, with 80% appreciating company leaders speaking out about personal mental health.

One executive noted, “Businesses have times of growth and contraction. The economy is what it is. Layoffs are part of the natural flow of business. The ability to take care of remaining employees is paramount.”

The corporate commitment to mental health marks a cultural and practical shift. Rising anxiety, stress contributing to health issues, and a national sleep deficit harm productivity.

Digital platform Thrive Global, founded by Arianna Huffington in 2016, has around 200 business customers, mostly large companies like Paramount, Disney, and several others. Thrive aims to improve health and productivity by tracking behaviors like food, movement, stress management, and connections, shaping healthy individuals and cultures.

“Our platform is built on micro steps, tiny things people can do to build healthy habits – like standing up and stretching between meetings,” said Shea, noting it helps demonstrate wellbeing’s critical importance to productivity.

Earlier this year, Disney’s president of global advertising, Rita Ferro, and Huffington hosted a “Thriving Together” conversation emphasizing investing in creative wellness.

An entertainment exec notes, “Uncertainty is part of work in 2024. Nurturing employee resilience is essential. You can’t just start nurturing during crises.”

Below are mental health resources offered by seven major media companies:

Disney: Offers behavioral health resources through Disney medical plans, mindfulness apps like Headspace and Thrive Global, confidential counseling sessions, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for all employees and household members.

Fox Corp.: Provides an Employee Assistance Program offering confidential support, onsite counselors in NY and LA, membership in NAMI’s Workplace Mental Health Collaborative, mental health training, LinkedIn Learning courses, free Calm app access, and Bright Horizon Family Webinars.

NBCUniversal: Covers 100% in-network therapy and offers 10 free counseling sessions per year, onsite therapists, trauma specialists, and free access to the Calm app.

Netflix: Offers mindfulness and meditation, free counseling and coaching sessions, and unique benefits like flexible work hours and parental leave.

Paramount: Offers an EAP, free access to the Headspace app, Headspace Care coaching, Thrive Global, RethinkCare for parenting support, and UnitedHealthcare counseling.

Sony Pictures Entertainment: Provides mental health benefits through global partners, corporate wellness professional support, and Respect in the Workplace training for productions.

Warner Bros. Discovery: Offers a variety of mental health resources, an EAP, virtual wellness app, live mental health programs, and training specific to employee roles.

Source: Deadline