In leading the new wellness program at Informatica, Jo Stoner has found her resolution inspiration for the new year
By Jo Stoner
As the new year begins, one can’t help but think about the year ahead and what it might bring: new goals, new challenges and opportunities for change. The word resolution hangs heavy in the air, and it’s as common this time of year as the holiday music we’ve been surrounded with since early November, the decorations, the snow and the vast amounts of food that have filled our plates over the holidays.
Last year, we introduced a wellness program at Informatica: Bloom. The goal was to help our employees focus on all aspects of a healthy life, including financial, social and physical wellness. As the head of Human Resources (HR), I have been a champion of this program. We have given out activity tracking devices to nearly 4,000 employees around the globe, run webinars on healthy eating and planning for retirement, and sponsored walks for charity from Singapore to London.
With people living and working longer, not to mention the disappearance of the “work-life balance” notion, there is an acknowledgement that work is 24/7 and we all need to think more proactively about our health and our financial future as well as striving for some balance in this new world.
As I look at my own to-dos, I realize that the list is long, for both work goals and family ones. Informatica passed the billion-dollar revenue mark last year; with employees in 28 countries and a competitive talent market, we have many people strategies and plans for the year ahead. With a husband and two small children, the reminders for homework, dentist appointments, playdates and new shoes are endless, not to mention the more aspirational goals of potty-training and swim lessons. The scales are balanced by the weight of both, but don’t leave much room for my personal wellness.
So, my resolution this year is to redesign these scales. To momentarily step out of the role of HR executive and into the world of product engineering and design. I am looking for a three-dimensional version, as the traditional two side plates leave no room for me.
My list of personal to-dos—including various doctor and optometrist appointments, investment correspondence and even my former favorite hobby of shoe shopping—were all mostly incomplete in 2014. Instead of moving them to a new list for 2015 and then scratching out the title again and subbing in “2016” in 12 months’ time, I shall add a third plate to my new hi-tech digital scales. I will try to ensure that equal weight is given to the goals that ultimately will keep me healthy, and therefore in better shape to achieve my other deliverables.
Final note to self: Dental checkups and regular gym sessions are important, but pedicures and shoe shopping hold an equally important place in establishing personal wellness.
Jo Stoner is Senior Vice President of Global HR at Informatica. She was featured in Issue No. 6 of Forefront magazine.
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