Reach Out If You Need It
/
Scripps CEO Adam Symson sent this internal email to the staff, telling them that the company is offering a free support line to all employees who are experiencing anxiety or stress because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The company is also offering free financial advice to those impacted.
It is great to see a company that is showing concerns for their employees in this very difficult time.
Here is the internal memo he sent out:
Colleagues:
Over the last several weeks as the severity of the circumstances we face together have become clearer, I have been fortunate to speak with a number of our operations’ leaders — the CEOs of our national businesses and several of the Local Media GMs. Across the board, it is clear we have a company full of hardworking and dedicated people who are committed to our mission. Your strength and resilience are touching and impressive.
From the start of this crisis, we have focused on three priorities: protecting the health and welfare of our employees, serving our communities and maintaining business continuity. During the first several weeks of the pandemic’s spread, most of our focus has been on priority one, your health and safety — specifically your physical well-being. Now, as we move into the third full week of this experience, I want to check on your emotional and mental well-being.
To start, it is important to recognize what each of us is experiencing. Some among us feel firsthand trauma as you report the news or perhaps because COVID-19 is impacting you or your family personally. Others may be starting to feel the loneliness that comes as a result of social distancing and isolation. The broader economic impact of this situation may cause you to worry about your financial situation and perhaps rethink your family’s plans for the future. The strain you are under if you are caring for your children or parents all day while attending to your job responsibilities is real. And all of us are grappling with more uncertainty than normal. Whatever you are feeling, you should know you are not alone. Feeling this way is normal, and Scripps has ways to help. (For information on all of these services, visit WorkLife.)
Our life management program offers no-cost, confidential resources for benefits-eligible employees and your household members, including access to counseling.
We're also offering a separate, free service to all employees, available to anyone who may be experiencing anxiety or stress because of the COVID-19 outbreak. This is a 24/7 emotional support line staffed by professionally trained mental health experts.
I want to reassure you that Scripps is on firm financial footing, but I also recognize that the pandemic’s impact on the economy is touching our employees’ families in different ways. If the outbreak is creating immediate economic hardship for you, The Scripps Howard Foundation’s special employee relief fund may be able to help. The Foundation is offering grants of up to $1,000 to eligible employees for vital support. This fund was established for those who need assistance related to housing and utilities, food and household supplies, childcare or eldercare costs. Separately, we also offer all employees free financial counseling resources.
And our well-being program gives all benefits-eligible employees free ways to maintain and improve your physical, emotional, social and financial well-being while earning extra dollars for your Health Savings Account. The second-quarter program launches this week. We’ve added some activities to help you, including a meditation video, tips for success when your work environment changes and two well-being challenges: one focused on strengthening your social community by completing acts of kindness and the other encouraging you to take at least 15 minutes each day to focus on your own well-being. Look for more details about these activities in an email soon.
Many of the employees I know across the country count their colleagues among their closest friends. Under normal circumstances, we spend more time side-by-side at the office or in the newsroom than we spend at home awake. While necessary, social distancing can take a toll. I’m missing the walks I take around the floors at Scripps Center and the trips I take to visit the stations and our businesses. For as much as I am glad to be at home with my family (when my daughters aren’t driving my wife and me a little crazy), I miss seeing you all.
I hope Scripps can be more than just your employer through this, perhaps an important part of your community. While we are isolated, we can take steps to be isolated together. Use video conferencing to see your work friends face-to-face and check in on each other. As this situation drags on and wears on each of us in its own way, please don’t hesitate to take advantage of the resources Scripps has to help. And if you have any questions, reach out to your businesses’ Human Resources business partner.
Adam Symson President and CEO
