Peace Out 2021! Stories for a brighter future

Zurich’s top 10 stories of 2021 reveal some of the things we’ve learned about ourselves and each other this past year, and how we’re looking forward to a brighter future.

1. Shift your mindset

We might not be able to change what happened this year, but we can alter our mindset. 10 steps that will increase your personal resilience offers some helpful practices to better adapt and cope with stress. Step 8 suggests nurturing an attitude of gratitude as this is one of the basic underpinnings of contentment and stress resilience.

2. Be yourself

Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20 reminded us that many transgender people still live in fear. At Zurich, we want all our employees to feel a sense of safety and belonging. Faye Lynn – an IT Audit Manager at Zurich North America – shares her story of gender transition, and how Zurich’s PrideZ group, transgender-inclusive benefits and “unequivocal support” from her manager and team helped her finally embrace her true identity.

3. Focus on the things you can do

Our leadership model our values, and no one encompasses this more than Gary Shaughnessy, Zurich’s former CEO for Europe, Middle East & Africa. Gary is now Chair of Z Zurich Foundation, Parkinson’s UK and England Athletics. In his story, I am not Parkinson’s, he shares what factors (at work and home) enabled him to continue to thrive and progress his career after a diagnosis of Parkinson’s.

4. Learn how to meet someone’s emotional distress

At a time when taking care of our mental health has never been more important, Listen, reassure and respond: how to be a mental health first aider details Zurich’s roll out of Mental Health First Aid. Mental health first aiders are officially trained and accredited to provide initial support through non-judgmental listening and to guide towards further support as appropriate. Many employees who sign up use their own personal experience of mental health challenges to help others.

5. Confront your own bias

In Black Voices: Suppressing my Blackness, Sam Reason from Zurich UK opens up about the racism he regularly faces, from questions about his competence to racist banter. Other Black employees share their hard-hitting stories, including Sharon Robinson from Zurich North America who says George Floyd’s murder helped open up conversations about racial injustice with her colleagues. At Zurich, we are committed to working towards a culture where all voices can be heard, even when what they have to say may be uncomfortable for some people to listen to.

6. Safeguard the future

In this insightful article, How soil supports life on Earth, we explain why soil is one of the Earth’s most valuable natural resources. It is a vital source of food, medicine and a store of carbon – meaning it could help win the fight against climate change. But with 30 percent of the planet’s soil degraded, we explore how to safeguard our super soils.

7. Eat less meat

As we get close to another Veganuary – the campaign that encourages us to give up animal products for the first month of the year – Zurich’s senior editor Sean McAllister asks, is a vegan diet really healthy? The article explains that a plant-based diet can lower the risk of heart disease and premature death, can help manage type 2 diabetes, and reduce risk of cancer. But there are some potential deficiencies, and it is possible to follow an unhealthy vegan diet. Zurich employees share their experiences with Irina Singer describing the health benefits of her whole food plant-based diet as “a miracle.”

8. Plant a tree

Can reforestation uproot climate change? That’s the question posed by Alice Baghdjian in this article. She says it’s complicated and takes time. Alice speaks to photographer Sebastião Salgado, who co-founded non-profit Instituto Terra that is helping to regenerate the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Zurich has teamed up with Instituto Terra to plant a further 1 million trees over eight years. Zurich employees can attach their name to a tree and become a custodian of the Zurich Forest project.

9. Learn from wise minds

Here are seven facts you need to know about primatologist and environmentalist Jane Goodall. Her pioneering work has redefined what it means to be human, and what it means to be an ape, during her decades-long study of chimps in Tanzania. The 87-year-old environmentalist featured in the first installment of Zurich Talks, a four-part discussion series produced in collaboration with CNBC that discuss the most pressing issues of the day, such as mental health and innovation.

10. Lighten the load

Things have been pretty serious this year, but there’s always a way to lighten the load. For those of us that own pets, we know the therapeutic value they bring. But did you know cat lovers score higher on intelligence than dog lovers? “Mia-ouch!” says Sean McAllister in this lighthearted article, A ruff day in the office, that has a fun look at Zurich employees and their furry (and not so furry) friends. “It’s all too easy to make fun of some of the posts on Pets of Zurich,” says Sean, “but it’s delivered a commodity that’s been in short supply: joy.”