Digital advertising company provides students polar opposite of high stress work environment with focus on wellness
By: Namish Modi
In an era when awareness for mental health and wellness is growing, a standout University of 蓝莓视频 employer facilitates work-life balance for its employees.
Four-day work weeks, no-meeting Tuesdays and one-on-one mentorship opportunities are all components of the co-op work terms at . Together, they help make an outstanding and well-balanced work experience for students.
Kunal Gupta (BSE 鈥08), CEO and founder of Polar, a digital advertising agency, is a strong proponent of wellness, work-life balance and positive mental health. This dedication is reflected in the culture of the organization and its co-op program. Gupta, together with fellow 蓝莓视频 alum, founded Polar during his fourth year at the University.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very biased; we only hire from 蓝莓视频 right now,鈥 Gupta says. 鈥淲e genuinely understand the student experience because we鈥檝e been through it."
Gupta says Polar must continually 鈥渃ome to the table with fresh ideas,鈥 which draws parallels to how the co-op program at 蓝莓视频 is set up.
鈥淎dvertisers, publishers, consumers are constantly demanding new and interesting and innovative and interactive experiences online,鈥 he says. 鈥淭his idea of constantly reinventing yourself every four months is built-in (to what we do). And that鈥檚 really prepared me, and a lot of our team of former 蓝莓视频 co-op students, to not be shy and reinvent ourselves every couple years.鈥
Polar provides outstanding work opportunities to co-op students while also providing a memorable overall experience. Based on student voting, Polar is the recipient of the 2020 Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) Employer Impact Award for Impact in Student Experience.
鈥淚 want to thank Polar for their outstanding ability to empower students to complete quality and meaningful work during their co-op work terms. Most importantly, I want to recognize Polar for providing exceptional work-life balance and an overall fantastic experience to students,鈥 says Ross Johnston, executive director of Co-operative Education at 蓝莓视频. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very clear, especially from our students鈥 votes, that Polar has done an exceptional job with their co-op program.鈥
Prioritizing work-life balance
Polar has recently closed its physical office space and embraced a 鈥渨ork from anywhere鈥 model. The company鈥檚 co-op program does more than teach technical skills. It also helps students learn important business skills like how to run a meeting, how to write an email and, most recently, how to be effective in a remote work environment.
Among its many benefits, Polar offers what they call 鈥渟omeday鈥 each Friday. On these days, students and staff can complete non-work tasks or even something in their personal life like a music lesson or personal care appointment. The 鈥渟omeday鈥 experiment is meant to promote health and wellness as part of what is essentially a four-day work week.
Polar, overall, was a really great co-op experience because they provided us a balance of work and personal life and they really emphasize something called the life-before-work balance.
Shah believes emphasizing wellness allows students to excel and be the best version of themselves at work.
鈥淧olar really prides themselves on their mental health and physical health focus,鈥 says Shah, a Business Administration and Computer Science student. 鈥淭hey understand both things are really important for their employees to be successful. It鈥檚 important to have a healthy mind and a healthy body while you鈥檙e doing work.鈥
鈥淏usinesses, large and small, are facing challenges around burnout,鈥 says Gupta. 鈥淧eople are constantly connected, and boundaries between work and personal life and family are getting blurred.鈥
In Gupta鈥檚 experience, the ability to hire students can help provide balance for existing team members while easing their workload. This has been especially important amid the challenges of COVID-19.
At Polar, each co-op student is paired up with a mentor on their team that helps guide them through their work term.
As part of their mission to prioritize work-life balance, Polar employees have the option to take part in weekly initiatives like Wellness Wednesday鈥檚 and Flowday Tuesdays.
Meaningful work in a supportive environment
Students work under the three umbrellas of the organization 鈥 product, engineering and marketing/sales.
They take part in dynamic, practical work tasks that help them develop key skills for their future. This includes participating in calls with vendors, clients and external stakeholders.
During the Winter 2021 term, students participated in business activities to help develop Polar鈥檚 partner company, Nova. This included working on a website, demonstration tools, and marketing and sales materials.
I鈥檝e been really impressed with how fast students work. They鈥檙e great at working under deadlines. They鈥檙e great at finding the fastest, most efficient way to get things done. Which is a currency in small business.
鈥淚鈥檝e been really impressed with how fast students work,鈥 says Gupta. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e great at working under deadlines. They鈥檙e great at finding the fastest, most efficient way to get things done. Which is a currency in small business.鈥
Shah was fond of the togetherness of the team at Polar, which led to employees working in cross-functional settings and gaining new experiences. As a student working in product management, Shah was able to work with students and employees from other parts of the company and thereby deepen his understanding of Polar鈥檚 mission.
鈥淟ooking for a co-op placement is always a challenge for every student.鈥 Shah says. 鈥淔or me personally, the things I look for in a co-op role is the opportunity to really grow and hone my skill, as well as the opportunity to be able to participate in work that鈥檚 meaningful to the team, and the entire company that I鈥檓 working for. These qualities were really enhanced by Polar with the idea of being able to work in a smaller team with meaningful work that directly impacts the company鈥檚 products and services that it offers to its clients.鈥