Putting employees first: How Bloomberg supports its global workforce while working remotely

At Bloomberg, our workplace has long been a symbol of our company culture, with our pantries, open desk arrangement and glass meeting rooms representing our values of openness, transparency and collaboration. Though they’re reflected in the design of our offices, our values truly come to life in our people. This extends to how Bloomberg has navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, and the support provided to employees and their families throughout.

Supporting Bloomberg families

As we began to understand more about the scope of this pandemic in early 2020, many of us realized we would need to make accommodations beyond just setting up a home office. One of the first things to close in cities around the world was childcare facilities and schools, putting a strain on many families. But just as when we’re in the office where we encourage a sustainable work-life balance, we continue to support this while away – no matter the circumstance.

An employee from our London office, Alexis Etienne, EMEA Head of the Portfolio Analytics & Index Implementation team, found himself setting up a home workspace alongside the crib of his young daughter. He quickly realized working and looking after a young baby at the same time would just not be viable. Therefore, with support from his managers and team, he works on a rotating schedule throughout the day to spend certain parts of the day with his daughter and others with his colleagues. Blocking out time in his calendar to care for her and coordinating with global colleagues to be efficient with calls and project catchups let him keep up with his career and give the best attention to his family.

Marianela Jaca, an Enterprise Data Technical Account Manager based in one of our New York offices, made the decision to travel to Florida to be with her family and help her younger siblings. But even in Florida, she can still stay connected with her team when she often takes part in a morning workout hosted by her team leader.

In addition to these flexible working arrangements, our Human Resources teams have been providing individualized support to employees, from those with family members on the front lines as healthcare workers and first responders, to those who are single parents, to those who need time away from work to care for their loved ones with COVID-19.

Additionally, the Bloomberg Working Families Community has been an incredible resource and a safe space for employees to discuss challenges, share best practices, and support one another. They even hosted a virtual “Take Your Kids to Work Day,” where employees’ kids were invited to hear from colleagues across Financial Products, Engineering and more, to learn about different professions.

Regardless of circumstance, we continue to encourage and support employees in the best working environment for themselves and their families as we all juggle our personal priorities with our work.

Defraying the cost of setting up a home office

As we transitioned to working from home, it soon became clear that working remotely for an extended period is much different than a normal work-from-home day.

“The right work-from-home work setup is key,” shares Isaac Gambo of our Global Data team in Princeton, NJ. For him, two monitors, a keyboard and mouse are must-haves to keep the same feeling and mindset of being in the office. To ensure that all employees were able to work productively and comfortably from home, Bloomberg provided a $500 (U.S.) one-time payment to all employees globally, as an added level of support. While some chose to purchase technology equipment, some utilized the money to offset at-home care costs and others opted to donate to their local food pantry or other organizations that support communities in need.

Prioritizing mental health and making healthcare benefits easy to access

The COVID-19 pandemic has also brought Bloomberg benefits front and center. For several years, Bloomberg has provided subsidized health care coverage to employees and their families, and this includes a wide array of medical and mental health resources.

To ensure that employees are aware of and able to easily access relevant benefits during the pandemic, including telehealth services and mental health resources, Bloomberg’s Global People Services team quickly created a centralized hub that outlines all programs and tools available globally and within each region.

Notably, the company has also put a spotlight on the long-running Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides employees and their families with access to counseling and other work/life benefit resources. With everyone facing a different personal situation, mental health challenges are sure to affect employees in different ways. Whether this comes from the stress of constant news coverage, difficulty managing personal situations or isolation from loved ones, the EAP, and other Bloomberg resources like resiliency trainings, have been helping employees acclimate to this new normal.

Bloomberg has had a long-term commitment to supporting the mental health of all employees by ensuring access to world-class healthcare, inclusive workspaces, programming and training around mental health and community support. Bloomberg’s Chairman Peter Grauer has long been a vocal advocate of mental health. In a recent message to employees, he shared that “I’m very proud of the support system at Bloomberg and the progress we have made together, to not only help with your well-being but also the way we all think and act about mental health.”

In recognition of mental health awareness month in the U.S. this May, Bloomberg is running a global internal campaign, “We are at our best, when you are at yours,” highlighting all resources available to employees and their families.

Building social connection during physical distancing

Bloomberg’s culture thrives on collaboration with others and, even though we’re away from the office, social connection has not dwindled. Many managers have been encouraging virtual catch-ups with friends and colleagues and organizing virtual team outings – including happy hours, trivia, volunteer projects and birthday celebrations

Virtual events continue to take place so employees can build their internal networks while away from the office. In the coming weeks, our MAKERS@ Bloomberg Ask Me Anything series will feature conversations led by women at Bloomberg to allow employees to connect through stories of women’s real-life experiences. In addition to taking care of one another, there is nothing more important than self-care to ensure your own health and wellness. Danilo Mazzi, from our Global Data team in São Paulo, Brazil, said he tries to disconnect from social media and instead works on building different playlists to put himself in a good mood.

Welcoming new hires and fostering a sense of community

While we are temporarily away from our offices, our business doesn’t stop. In fact, it is more important than ever that the firm continues to invest in top talent and developing the incredible people who are already part of the Bloomberg family. Joannie Diaz, who joined Bloomberg’s Diversity & Inclusion team in New York just a week before we began working from home, certainly won’t forget her first days at the company. Although she’s not in the office, Joannie is now finding ways to dive into the Bloomberg culture: like joining Bloomberg’s 8 employee resource groups.

While Joannie was able to spend a few days in the office and participate in some in-person onboarding, more recent hires have not had that opportunity, yet. Our Human Resources team quickly transitioned to make sure we provided seamless virtual interviewing and onboarding experiences for candidates and new hires – including video interviews, step-by-step guidance of what to expect and weekly orientation events. While we’re excited to be able to welcome new hires in person as soon as we’re able, this virtual onboarding experience will be just as thorough and educational for those joining us. Beyond your immediate team, Instant Bloomberg (our instant messaging system) also allows new hires to connect virtually with colleagues around the world, bringing a sense of community to those who recently joined.

Looking ahead, remote onboarding will continue as we welcome our 2020 interns into the Bloomberg community through virtual programming, volunteering and team bonding activities this summer.

The Bloomberg spirit lives on in each our respective home offices, and while we look forward to the day we can all be together again, we are prepared and confident in our ability to stay connected and productive, while supporting one another and serving our clients.

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