Urban Company introduces unlimited mental health leave policy for employees

Urban Company on Wednesday introduced an initiative under which its employees can take unlimited sick leaves in case they are suffering from any form of mental or physical illness.

The tech-enabled home services startup announced its mental health leave policy ahead of the World Mental Health Day on October 10.

"Under this employee-centric initiative, employees will be allowed to take unlimited sick leaves in case they are suffering from any form of mental or physical illness, particularly if the patient has contracted COVID-19," a statement said.

Further, Urban Company has partnered with mental wellness platform iWill to make mental health consultation from leading Indian psychologists accessible to its employees.

Any employee who wants to avail the service would have to register on iWill and thereafter, would be connected with a leading psychologist, who will address the psychological challenges faced by the employee. The complete consultation would be paid by the startup, Urban Company said.

"These are anxiety-prone and sensitive times. Mental health is one aspect of human well-being, about which people have very little understanding, in not only identifying the symptoms but also in helping another person suffering from it," said Suhail Vadgaokar, Director HR at Urban Company.

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Vadgaokar added, "Mental health treatment and psychological consultations continue to be expensive. Therefore, through such initiatives, Urban Company is not only trying to foster employee health but is also creating an environment where people feel safe to talk about mental health issues."

The startup has already implemented various employee well-being friendly policies in the past six months, including optional work-from-home till December 31, five additional privileged leaves, and no internal meetings are scheduled on Wednesdays.

Moreover, the 'buddy system' has been implemented for those living alone in the city. It also follows silence hours, and encourages employees to take personal time off from work, it said in a release.