The firm recently concluded its annual wellbeing month with a successful art initiative
Kennedys has launched an annual wellbeing day that can be taken any time – the latest initiative in the firm’s push to encourage employees to take care of their mental health.
“The wellbeing day is a bonus, but by calling it that we’ve found that it’s encouraging people to think differently and use it to do something for themselves. Over 600 people have already requested their wellbeing day so far,” global HR director Caroline Wilson said.
In line with the additional leave, the firm also relaxed a rule regarding the carryover of holiday allowances. Previously, employees were permitted to use just five days of their allowance before the end of April, but now they can apply six days of holiday throughout the year.
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“As anyone working in law firms will know, the end of the financial year can be one of its busiest times and we were finding that people were losing their holiday because they didn’t want to take the time off,” Wilson explained. “We didn’t want anyone to miss out or be caused unnecessary stress because of that so we’ve relaxed that rule and now colleagues can book the time off when it suits them.”
The leave-related initiatives come after Kennedys capped off its yearly wellbeing month with a series of well-received art classes that were held across three time zones for over 100 staff.
“The response was absolutely amazing. People only needed a pencil and a piece of paper, and I think that simplicity made it work. We had so many lovely emails afterwards from people saying they couldn’t believe how relaxing it had been, just to do something different and to turn off from work for an hour,” explained Christopher Malla, global healthcare head and strategy board member. “Judging by the standard of pictures we received, many people also found their inner artist!”
Malla led the efforts for this year’s wellbeing month, which also included yoga sessions and webinars on topics like healthy eating and finance management. The firm said that the events sought to foster connection between Kennedys’ 2,300-strong roster and address the pressures experienced over the past 18 months.
Kennedys is also piloting a hybrid working model, with a consultation programme ongoing in the London office to determine staff’s vision for a future workplace.
“While home working has been popular, the number one reason we’re hearing from people for coming back into the office is the social interaction,” global managing partner Suzanne Liversidge said. “The pandemic really forced us to stretch our thinking about how best we could look after everyone. We can’t promise the rooftop pool, but we do want to create an environment that is as welcoming and supportive as possible, and we want to hear people’s views on what that looks like.”