The work is difficult. The days are hard for the staff at Interfaith Family Services.
"We have a staff of 33, about half of which work in our childcare center and the other that support our moms and our adults. And it's a lot," says Kimberly Williams, CEO of Interfaith.
Interfaith helps families in crisis break the cycle of poverty, with a particular focus on single mothers facing homelessness.
"Sometimes having families come to us who've been living in their car for over a month, or having children go to the doctor for the first time in months and finding out they have issues and challenges, we've had parents come to us and find out that they had cancer while they're in the program," Williams says. "So it's all kinds of different things in addition to just the trauma of homelessness that we have to deal with on a regular basis."
One can only imagine the toll work like that puts on the Interfaith staff.
To support their team, they have created relaxation rooms where employees can take a break, decompress, and recharge.
"Staff can spend up to 30 minutes to collect themselves," Williams says. "They have everything in the room, including a massage chair, a reclining lounge chair, pillows, blankets, healthy snacks, refreshing drinks where staff can go to unplug, relax, or even take a nap at any point during the day."
This initiative not only acknowledges the importance of mental and physical well-being but also helps boost productivity and reduce turnover.
"Having a place that acknowledges the fact that people are human in the office and gives them a place to recharge and reset can mean a whole lot to employees," Williams adds.
And Williams feels other employers can learn from the efforts of Interfaith.
"Since the Pandemic, we found that there's been so much turnover. I think it's about a 40% turnover rate nationwide, and even higher sometimes with nonprofit or social impact work. And so having a place where employees can refocus is really important," Williams says.
"Studies say that it takes an employee 20 minutes to refocus after they get distracted, and that stress and distraction and anxiety is a big factor when it comes to absences and poor performance. So having a place that acknowledges the fact that people are human in the office and gives them a place to recharge and reset can mean a whole lot to employees. And so we encourage other organizations to do something similar because we believe it's going to be really beneficial for our employees and that it'll be beneficial for others."
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