Fostering a culture of mental wellness in the workplace starts with awareness, advocacy, and supportive community-building. This session at RIMS 2025 explored how colleague resource groups can play a vital role in promoting mental health, driving inclusion, and creating more connected work environments.

Speakers included:
• Michelle Ryan – Client Director, AIG
• Jenna Dempsey – Brand Experience Project Manager, PMP, Sedgwick
• Virginia Baba – Senior Risk Claims Manager, Petsmart LLC
• Kimberly George – Global Head of Product Development and Innovation, Sedgwick

Q: How did you start your ERG program start?

A (Virginia): Petsmart calls its employees, associates, so we named our program, Associates with Visible and Invisible Differences. Our offices consists of working in an environment with friendly, collaborative co-workers, and we are constantly meeting new people. The forced isolation from COVID changed that, and our claims employees were typically only communicating with upset, injured workers. After discussing with Sedgwick and researching, we noticed that our employees were dealing with “compassion fatigue.” We started having compassion fatigue calls with colleagues to reconnect and vent stressors, which turned into hour long meetings. Petsmart decided the stores could benefit from these meetings, too. I was then asked if I could lead this group. The beauty of it is it helps everyone. Everyone has been affected by mental health, and these groups help build inclusion.

A (Jenna): The Disability and Neurodiversity CRG was a response to colleague request where they could receive the support they needed. It is the fastest growing CRG at Sedgwick, and impacts all other CRGs. This helps build a community, when so many employees are working remotely, and connects employees that normally would not have that chance. We host monthly coffee chats, which are just one-hour sessions to talk about anything. We built conversation starters, but had to use them since the conversation flows organically.

A (Michelle): We have over 100 ERGs globally at AIG, such as gender, disability, or faith-based groups. They are tied in with our corporate citizenship program, so employees are encouraged to include their charitable causes since we have a doubly-matched program. This gives employees ownership of what matters the most to them.

Q: How have you been able to reach employees or expand the program?

A (Virginia): We have found it’s more challenging to reach out to the stores versus our corporate offices. We have over 1700 stores nationally, including Canada and Puerto Rico. Home office engagement is easy, but with the stores, you’re dealing with different time zones and schedules. We host communications through our Intranet, which keeps employees connected since they look at it every day. During something like Heart Health Month, we may post about healthy eating or early warning signs of a heart issue. One was geared toward those that are hearing impaired, so we brought in an expert on sign language, which including virtual access for remote employees. Executive sponsors have also been critical to the growth of these programs, and it makes people feel like they’re in a safe space and are recognized. One exec was neurodiverse, so he led a discussion where employees could answer questions.

A (Michelle): From a business perspective, by sponsoring at an executive-level, we can use these for programming, mentorship, and leadership opportunities. These programs are promoted through culture. We have a global leader responsible for all of the ERGs, and she brings in the best resources to make these possible.

Q: What is the impact you’ve noticed from your ERG?

A (Jenna): The employee stories are incredibly powerful, and the comment we heard the most was “I feel seen.” Employees note that they have somebody who finally understands what I deal with on a daily basis. It’s important to remember that 1 in 5 people are neurodivergent and 45% of executives are neurodivergent. We didn’t have to come up with programming because employees had ideas.

Q: What is your personal experience with being part of an ERG?

A (Michelle): I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 20, but it wasn’t discussed in the workplace. I was expected to work through or present it as a positive trait. To me it’s not a disability, it’s a superpower for my job. It’s about finding your place where you can maximize your talent. From a people leader perspective, it’s about leveraging these traits to an employee’s advantage. ERGs are great, but what are we doing to leverage this information to improve the organization? We’ve even created insurance products from ERG feedback. we also changed dress codes and how we think about and accommodate employees. ERGs are used as a resource now for opinions on new ideas too.

Q: What is the process for people leader training on these issues?

A (Jenna): It’s a direct response to what employees need. People leaders of certain generations are empathetic but we’re empowering them to support employees, since they may be afraid of saying the wrong thing. We’re teaching younger employees how to advocate for themselves and be vocal about their needs and that’s not a bad thing. My people leader would rather know about my barriers than keep it to themselves. It’s about being supported. It’s just smart business to tap into these talents. People leaders have to understand how this is helpful to the business.

Q: How does having pets in the workplace create a culture?

A (Virginia): The beauty of it is that it fosters an inclusive environment. It boosts collaboration. Never at a loss for that. It’s a stress reducer and promotes productivity. The benefits are endless.

Q: How do you get buy-in from top-level employees?

A (Kimberly): There were roadblocks due to concerns like legal issues, limited productivity, or excluding certain groups. The nay-sayers took convincing, but we found that the power of the people leaders make significant influences on the top-level execs. We had to build momentum, and help them understand that these are colleagues with real issues. You have to find those champions in your organization and then begin to build it.

A (Michelle): Anytime you can bring stats, do. There’s a business case to be made about why this matters and how it benefits the organization. Generationally, this isn’t going away. It’ll become more front and center. Gen Z and Alpha see this as normalcy, but getting ahead of it and seeing it as a need not a want.