A former analyst, Gera retrained as a medical doctor. She now leads the wellness team at Goldman Sachs
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A next generation wellness facility takes centre stage at the £1bn European headquarters of investment bank, Goldman Sachs, which has opened in London. The head of wellness EMEA speaks to Kath Hudson about the firm’s approach to employee wellbeing 46
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oldman Sachs wants to be the best in class when it comes to corporate wellness and employee wellness is embedded into our culture,” explains Shefali Gera. A former analyst, who took time out to train as a medical doctor and complete an MBA, Gera returned to the company in 2010 and now heads up the wellness team, working with vendor partners to deliver services and programming. Based in London, this team steers the wellness strategy for offices across EMEA. Each office has a wellness facility, but London’s luxurious facility is the newest and most extensive. It pays testament to Goldman Sachs’ philosophy of wanting to look after the wellbeing of its employees in mind, body and soul. The investment has not been disclosed, but Gera confirms her team has support to think creatively and identify new programmes and services to support the employees. There’s a 20,000sq ft fitness centre, along with steamrooms, a spinning studio, treatment rooms for complementary therapies, a yoga and Pilates studio, and other facilities which support the work/ life balance, including childcare facilities, a prayer rooms and lactation rooms. “We know workplace wellbeing is important to our employees,” says Gera. “Seventy per cent are millennials and on a macro level, wellbeing is important to this demographic. We also have a strong feedback culture and do a number of surveys to understand what’s important to our people. Our research tells us that the range of facilities we offer brings value to their employment.”
THE FITNESS CENTRE
The wellness team worked closely with the internal corporate and real estate team and external architects, as well as Nuffield, which runs the facilities in terms