Thrive: Mental Health and Wellbeing at DNEG

Global initiatives and events

In honour of World Wellbeing Week, we’re proud to spotlight Thrive, DNEG’s Mental Health and Wellbeing programme!

Aiming to provide an environment which fosters good mental health and breaks down stigma and barriers around mental health issues, Thrive helps our team members access mental health support when needed. Here are a few initiatives and events happening at DNEG around the topic:

 

Mental Health Champions and Allies

Our trained Mental Health Champions and Allies act in much the same way as our physical first aiders respond to health emergencies. They know how to recognise the early signs and symptoms of common workplace mental health illnesses, hold the necessary skills to have supportive and non-judgemental conversations, and are able to guide their colleagues to the appropriate professional support where required. Delna Dhamodiwala, Global Head of HR talks about their roles:

“Mental Health Champions and Allies play an incredibly important role in supporting their colleagues when they need it the most: they also contribute to the overall promotion of mental health and wellbeing at DNEG. This type of relationship requires mutual trust, respect and a great deal of empathy.”

 

Awareness events

A series of events and discussions is running at DNEG to de-stigmatise mental health and promote wellbeing. Most recently we had the pleasure to welcome Dr. Drea Letamendi, Wellbeing Strategist, for Mental Health Awareness Month. Find out more about the session here. Philipp Wolf, Executive-in-Charge Corporate Strategy at DNEG Montreal was our host:

“It was an honour to host this chat with Dr. Drea and hear about her insights and experience for Mental Health Awareness month. Wellbeing is a topic that needs to be addressed on a regular basis throughout the year and we will make sure that these important conversations continue to happen at DNEG.”

 

Our team in India is also partnering closely with Saantvan Mental Health Services to deliver regular workshops on mental health awareness, coping with grief and loss, emotional abuse, boundaries, and more.

 

A dedicated Employee Resource Group (ERG)

Our employee-led groups are identity or experience-based communities. They aim to create an open forum for our crew to meet and support one another in building their networks and their sense of belonging. Matthew Smith (Head of Lighting) and Natasha Van Leeuwen (Technology Coordinator) are leading DNEG’s discussion group for mental health and wellbeing in London:

“The group was created in 2019 and has grown organically since then! Our members are employees who wish to champion mental health and support others. We meet every few weeks to discuss what we can do within our studio in London to continue to raise awareness and break down the stigma around mental health.”

 
 

To go deeper

Listen to the VES Society’s ‘Reignite Yourself’ podcast created, produced, and co-hosted by Philipp Wolf, Executive-in-Charge Corporate Strategy at DNEG.

Watch #DNEGDeepDive | Life Lessons to Thrive in VFX and Animation, part of our DeepDive series.


To find out more about Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at DNEG, click here. And if you are interested in joining our team and building your career at DNEG, check out our open positions.

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