Generous parental leave, mentorship opportunities and other perks all have their place at DoubleDown Interactive, but there’s one benefit that the company considers especially critical to its employees’ success.
According to Senior People Generalist Amanda Wolf, mental health support is a key component of the gaming company’s approach to employee well-being.
“Mental health impacts not only our workplace culture and employee collaboration but also team members’ physical health, home life and self-worth,” she said.
To make it easy for people to access mental health resources, the company partnered with employee assistance program provider SupportLinc. This partnership gives employees access to free, confidential counseling sessions for themselves and their family members as well as meditation tools.
“This is vital because if a partner or child is in need of support, they can get it,” Wolf said. “What’s going on in someone’s home life has a huge impact on how they are doing in all other areas of life.”
This resource, coupled with management training focused on strong communication and support, empowers employees to thrive, both professionally and personally.
Below, Wolf shares more about DoubleDown Interactive’s investment in mental health support and how its people benefit from these efforts.
About DoubleDown Interactive
DoubleDown Interactive is a global gaming company that develops popular casual games for mobile and desktop, such as DoubleDown Casino and DoubleDown Classic Slots.
A quoteworthy truth about mental health at work here?
We value our employees’ mental health, understanding it’s an integral piece of their overall well-being. Mental health impacts not only our workplace culture and employee collaboration but also team members’ physical health, home life and self-worth. Having easy access to support is a high priority for us at DoubleDown.
“Having easy access to support is a high priority for us at DoubleDown.”
Which program shows the true impact of DoubleDown Interactive’s mental health benefits?
In addition to our medical benefits, which provide in-person and virtual coverage, we invest in a standalone employee assistance program, SupportLinc. SupportLinc is a free, confidential service available to all employees and their households, regardless of their medical benefit coverage. This is vital because if a partner or child is in need of support, they can get it. What’s going on in someone’s home life has a huge impact on how they are doing in all other areas of life.
SupportLinc offers five free counseling sessions per issue and pairs employees — when possible — with therapists and counselors who are in-network so they may continue the work. We also love their text counseling options, meditation tools and toolkits. For example, right now, they are featuring a Holiday Toolkit to help people navigate a potentially stressful season. We just really appreciate that this program is here when people need it most.
Which manager behavior sets the tone for work-life balance?
Our managers receive training for communication and dealing with different working styles, coaching, navigating change and respectful workplace behavior. They tend to respect and uphold a good work-life balance as well as create open and trusting relationships with their employees.
One of our core values is “Inclusive,” which we are always striving to be with our programming and training. We encourage our managers to empower employees to show up as their authentic selves, which goes a long way toward creating an environment where people are comfortable sharing and supporting each other.
