Starbucks Wants To Ensure Its Employees Are In The Right ‘Headspace’

In the past year or so, Starbucks has really taken an initiative to take care of its employees and the communities it serves. In October, the brand announced that it was investing $10 million to a group of community development organizations in Chicago. The investment was expected to fund more than 500 loans to small businesses in the Windy City.

Starbucks latest investment? Its employees mental health well-being.

According to The Takeout, Starbucks announced its new mental health initiatives, which include online forums, partnerships with organizations to promote World Kindness Day and Veterans Day, and training sessions “tackling topics like loneliness, vulnerability, courage, and the power of small acts and conversation to strengthen human connection.”

Additionally, Starbucks employees will receive a free subscription to the mediation app dubbed Headspace.

The employee reactions have been mixed—whereby some have said “they’re really happy about this and have already logged into Headspace” and others mentioned that “Starbucks could be offering more practical help than a meditation app,” according to The Takeout.

Business Insider even interviewed a few of the employees and they explained that “a lot of their mental stress stems from Starbucks itself” as the company has “cut back on staffing hours, leaving them to work longer shifts with fewer people and with no increase in pay.” According to The Takeout, a Starbucks spokesperson told Business Insider that managers and employees (or partners as they call them) will be working together to create more manageable work schedules for everyone and that the company has responded to partners to who raised concerns.

It’s interesting to see employees’ reactions to this new mental health initiative—even if they aren’t that pleased with it. Regardless, it’s extremely important for companies to take their employee’s mental health seriously and hopefully other brands will start to follow suit.