Mississauga, ON, January 18, 2021 - Walmart Canada and Thrive Global, the behaviour change technology company founded by Arianna Huffington, announced today the national launch of a strategic partnership that brings Thrive Global’s behaviour change resources and solutions to Walmart Canada’s 100,000 associates including corporate executives and management and frontline store managers and associates.
The partnership combines Thrive’s behaviour change capabilities, IP and digital products with Walmart’s deep focus on associate health in order to achieve even greater and long-term impact for Walmart associates. Walmart Canada has made wellbeing a strategic priority throughout the entire company, empowering everyone, from the leadership team to store associates, to make wellbeing a priority.
Huffington recently joined Nabeela Ixtabalan, Executive Vice President, People and Corporate Affairs at Walmart Canada, to launch the Thrive Wellbeing Journey experience to Walmart Canada's entire leadership team. The Thrive Wellbeing Journey equips corporate leaders and associates across the organization with the tools to put their own oxygen mask on first, lead with emotional intelligence, and leverage the connection between wellbeing and productivity that drives cultural permission. Thrive Wellbeing Journeys share upstream strategies – identifying and addressing stress triggers before they become symptoms – to help leaders role model and encourage wellbeing practices that drive long term cultural impact.
“The pandemic has brought a magnifying glass to the mental health crisis. It’s real and Walmart is taking it very seriously. Our goal is to evolve the narrative and experience of workplace wellbeing and contribute to a societal movement that changes the expectations and norms for everyone,” said Ixtabalan. “As we continue along our wellbeing journey, providing our associates with the best resources and engaging platforms is vital. Together, we will make a difference.”
“This pandemic represents an unprecedented opportunity to redefine how we work. At Thrive Global, we’ve responded by enriching and scaling our behaviour change technology platform – aimed at helping people reduce stress and build mental resilience – to hundreds of thousands of people around the world,” said Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global. “We are thrilled to be launching with Walmart Canada and partnering with their forward-thinking leaders who realize that now more than ever, it is imperative to prioritize the mental health and wellbeing of their associates, who have been stepping forward and providing a critical lifeline to their communities this year.”
Additionally, Thrive will launch the Thrive ZP app to Walmart Canada associates, inspiring them to make Better Choices and inviting them to take the Thrive ZP Challenge. Thrive ZP connects participants to a community where they can share their stories, support each other, and celebrate success. It also provides incentives to encourage participants as they build long-lasting healthier habits. Thrive ZP helps associates improve their lives in the areas of Fitness, Food, Family, Money, Sleep and Gratitude to deliver a truly whole human approach to behaviour change.
Building on the tremendous success of Thrive ZP in the US, the launch marks Thrive ZP’s first international expansion. The initiative focuses on small daily challenges, rather than big long-term outcomes, built on the belief that every individual has the power to transform their life through small Better Choices and peer-to-peer inspiration. The Thrive ZP app is currently available in English and will be translated into French, making it even more accessible to Walmart Canada’s associates and inviting as many people as possible to embark on their behaviour change journey.
About Walmart Canada
Walmart Canada operates a chain of more than 400 stores nationwide serving 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canada's flagship online store, Walmart.ca is visited by more than 900,000 customers daily. With more than 100,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada's largest employers and is ranked one of the country's top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada's extensive philanthropy program is focused on supporting Canadian families in need, and since 1994 Walmart Canada has raised and donated more than $400 million to Canadian charities. Additional information can be found at walmartcanada.ca and on Walmart Canada's social media pages – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About Thrive Global
Thrive Global is a leading behavior change tech company helping individuals, corporations and communities improve their wellbeing and performance through our behavior change platform, storytelling and corporate services. Thrive was founded by Arianna Huffington and launched in 2016 with the mission of changing the way we work and live by ending the collective delusion that burnout is the price we must pay for success. We offer companies and individuals sustainable, science-based solutions to enhance both mental and physical wellbeing and performance, purpose and relationship with technology. We are committed to accelerating this culture shift around the world. Thrive Global is headquartered in New York City and has offices in San Francisco, Athens, Melbourne and Bucharest. For more information, visit www.thriveglobal.com.
