Insight #5 — COVID-19 & Well-being
Supporting those most impacted by COVID-19 highlighted a universal need for well-being solutions.
Spotlight
Hear our Regional Director of Market Human Resources in APAC, Anny Tampling, and Global Head of Inclusion for Women of Color, Stephanie LeBlanc, reflect on what we’ve learned about well-being as we’ve supported those most impacted by COVID-19 in our workforce.
2021 Diversity Annual Report
A Conversation on COVID-19 and Well-Being
Anny Tampling (Regional Market HR Director, APAC) and Stephanie LeBlanc (Global Head of Inclusion for Women of Color) led some of Google’s COVID-19 employee response.
How did Google approach its COVID-19 employee response?
Stephanie: I focus on strategy and programming to support our Black, Latina, Indigenous, and Asian women communities. During that time it was working to kind of understand what the landscape of benefits and resources that we could highlight and proactively get out to the community to support them through all of the crisis moments that they were experiencing and to make sure that our communities of people of color were not left behind in the decisions that were being made.
Anny: I look after our market HR team for the Asia Pacific region. The first thing we did was, you know, mobilize a truly cross-functional team to look at what we needed to do to support those on the ground in mainland China. We were able to get them care packages to support them, things like masks and hand sanitizers. Each location was so different, and so it was really about getting them the information that they needed. And then I think we’ve gone through this phase of: We are in this for the long run. Like this is … how do we keep on thinking about what is the support that our Googlers need?
What were some of the ways we supported Googlers’ well-being?
Stephanie: I would definitely say carers’ leave. Google has created that space for us to hit that pause button and come back to work. The fact that our services, you know, not only supported parents, caregivers, and individuals with different needs across that umbrella was amazing.
Anny: And making sure that we have been giving people the resource that they need to manage their well-being, making sure that it’s okay to not be okay and that managers lean into those conversations and start every discussion with: How are you doing? What is happening for you right now?
What has Google learned?
Anny: For the first time, you’re really understanding what people were experiencing in their full lives. And I think as an organization we create a lot more empathy for that – empathy and understanding. The pandemic has helped us learn to really be conscious that everyone is working in a different way or working in a different environment and how to drive inclusion regardless of where someone is working from or located.
Stephanie: I think even – you know, with having not only the pandemic but the racial reckoning that has happened not only in the U.S. but across the world – even that dynamic was fascinating, right? Again, that leveling of everyone being in your home I think in some places created a space for that dialogue. Just yesterday you saw my kid run naked behind me, and today we can talk about, like, how unfair and unjust this world can feel.
How do you feel about the future of this work?
Stephanie: Now we can really reimagine the way in which we work that is more inclusive to those who are parents or caregivers or need to be closer to family for family obligations. And so I’m excited to see how we continue on that path.
Anny: Throughout this whole pandemic, I think we’ve always had to be agile and respond and meet the moment where that moment is. And we need to continue to keep kind of listening to what is the most pressing concerns for our Googlers and what support can that be. And we need to be thinking about what are the things that we want to take forward that we’ve learned through the pandemic and trying to give that flexibility to meet people where they are.
Stephanie: It’s been so awesome to hear about your experience, and I look forward to keeping the conversation going.
Anny: Bye, Steph.
Stephanie: Bye, Anny.
Further reading
Learn about how we’re providing helpful COVID-19 information and resources for everyone.
What's working
We're providing immediate support to help Googlers take care of themselves and others.
For caregivers
Expanded Carer’s leave from 4 to 14 weeks of paid time away from work to help support the many Googlers with caregiving duties, including those with children, those taking care of elderly, and those with family who have been impacted by COVID-19 and other events of 2020.
Expanded emergency and backup care options to reimburse the costs of a caregiver for up to 20 days.
For all Googlers
Provided a home office allowance to every Googler at the start of the pandemic, so they could create an ergonomic workspace that met their needs.
Provided Googlers with global days off to help everyone detach and recharge.
Launched several programs all over the world to support workers in accessing COVID-19 viral testing, including at-home testing services, reimbursement programs, and in-person testing services.
In the workplace
We’re building sustainable solutions that prioritize our Googlers’ health and well-being.
Increased our free mental health sessions to 35 sessions per year for Googlers and their families.
Providing 14 hours of free virtual developmental support for Googlers with children.
Providing support for parents with young adults who have substance issues, through the Partnership to End Addiction, with additional help from a coach as needed.
Transferred all of our health and performance courses from strictly in-person to online platforms to allow Googlers the opportunity to prioritize health, movement, and recharging, even while working from home.
Created an Asian Googler Network community support hub to centralize all COVID-19 programming, resources, and communications specific to the challenges faced by the Asian community.
In the world
We’re building for those disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
Collaborated with the Morehouse School of Medicine to create a Health Equity Tracker, allowing health practitioners and policymakers to analyze the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable populations and pursue more equitable responses.
Partnered with the National Domestic Workers Alliance to build an open source Cash Assistance Platform, raising $30+ million to be used by 50,000 workers for food, rent, medicine, and more.
Launched a $10 million Distance Learning Fund to support educators and parents. This includes a $1.8 million grant to launch the INCO Education Accelerator Fund in France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Turkey, supporting 240,000 youth through 15,000 teachers.
Allocated 50,000 scholarships for Google Career Certificates for
people from underserved communities as part of our commitment to
the
European Commission’s Pact for Skills. Google.org gave an initial €4.6 million grant to
INCO to work with local nonprofit partners across 17 European
countries to distribute these scholarships. Together they will
provide underserved groups with services like career advice,
interview preparation, childcare vouchers, and language support
to help them successfully complete their learning journey.
Image source: Website of Tinh Thuong One Member Limited Liability Microfinance Institution (TYM).
Supported The Asia Foundation in Southeast Asia with $3.3 million for the Go Digital ASEAN initiative to equip 200,000 underserved small business owners, underemployed youth, and people with disabilities with digital skills and tools, ensuring 60% of the beneficiaries are women.
Helped NASSCOM Foundation in its goal to support 100,000 women farmers in India with access to digital and financial skills through a $500,000 grant.
Enabled Supply Nation in Australia to provide 200 Indigenous businesses with the skills to navigate the evolving commercial landscape through a $300,000 grant to support its capability building program.
Supported direct cash assistance to individuals and families through GiveDirectly’s campaign across the U.S., which resulted in donations of more than $20 million (this includes Google.org seed funding, Googlers, and public donations). We also gave $2 million to UpTogether (formerly Family Independence Initiative) and provided grants to support nonprofits providing cash assistance to support vulnerable families in India through GiveIndia, part of $10 million we gave to direct cash efforts.
Working with Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) to allocate $180 million in loans from the Grow with Google Small Business Fund and Google.org grants to community partners serving minority- and women-owned small businesses across the U.S. $50 million of financing and grants from the fund has been committed to small businesses focused on the Black community.
Further reading
Learn more about how we’re helping small business owners gain access to capital.
In the world
The Google American Indian Network employee resource group supported the Harvard Honoring Nations team in launching the Nation Building Toolboxes based on Google Sites in 2018, which use a variety of Google tools to help tribal leaders and policymakers share stories of success with each other. In 2020, they created a COVID-19 toolbox on the site, which tribes like the Tohono O'odham GuVO District used to respond to the challenges facing Indian Country during the pandemic.
Spotlight
“It is our hope that the stories we share through Honoring Nations and the Nation Building Toolboxes arm leaders and policymakers with practical tools that help to strengthen their nations, on their own terms — and as Wet’suet’en Hereditary Chief Satsan says, ‘put a new memory in the minds of our children.’”
— Megan Minoka Hill (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin)
Further reading
Learn more about how tribal schools are embracing distance learning with Google tools.
“For the first time, you’re really understanding what people were experiencing in their full lives, and I think as an organization we create a lot more empathy for that.”
Anny Tampling is the Regional Director of Market Human Resources in APAC at Google.