Workplace Inclusion in Practice: Ideas to Consider and Adapt

People come to work with different bodies, families, cultures, energy levels, finances, and responsibilities, shaping how they experience the workplace and what support looks like in practice. There is no single version of what an employee needs to feel supported at work. At Narratives, this principle guides how we design our inclusivity practices. 

We believe inclusion is not a statement to be made once or a box to be checked, but a practice that requires attention over time. It takes shape in everyday choices: how policies are written, how decisions are made, and how our spaces function. 

We know we will not always get this right, and we expect our approach to evolve as our team and context change.  

The examples below offer a snapshot of how we currently support our team in meaningful, practical ways while remaining open to learning what comes next. 

Our office includes a private wellness room designed to support a variety of needs. Team members use the space for virtual appointments, quiet decompression, chestfeeding or pumping, or as a safe and comfortable place for children when parents need to bring them into the office. The room is intentionally flexible to accommodate different situations. 

We provide a wide selection of menstrual products in all of our gender-neutral bathrooms. This ensures that anyone who needs them can access them easily and without judgment during the workday. While simple, this has been an important way we support comfort, dignity, and inclusion in our physical workplace.

Narratives participates in #CelebrateEverything, an equity and inclusion initiative created by Dr. Rehman Abdulrehman and the team at Lead with Diversity. The initiative encourages organizations to recognize holidays and observances beyond those traditionally acknowledged in Canadian workplaces. Each month, we highlight celebrations that are often overlooked, creating space for staff to feel seen and respected in their religions, traditions, and cultures. 

In addition to standard vacation entitlements, Narratives offers extended vacation time and dedicated wellness days. This additional time off supports staff with chronic health conditions, caregiving responsibilities, or other physical and mental health needs that require rest and recovery. It also provides flexibility for team members with young families or evolving personal responsibilities.

Staff returning from parental leave receive a welcome-back bonus and a monthly childcare stipend during their first year back at work. This support helps ease the financial pressures that often accompany welcoming a new child, particularly childcare costs during the transition back to work.

We recognize that commuting looks different for everyone. To help reduce financial barriers, we offer bus passes or reimburse a portion of transportation costs for travel to and from the office. This approach acknowledges unequal access to transportation and supports a range of commuting needs. 

Staff are encouraged to adjust their work hours to accommodate appointments, family responsibilities, or other personal commitments. This flexibility reflects our belief that productivity does not follow a single model and that rigid schedules do not work for everyone. We prioritize trust and autonomy, supporting team members in managing their time so they can do their best work. 

These practices reflect how Narratives currently approaches workplace inclusion. They are shaped by the people on our team, the needs we hear about, and the realities we continue to learn from.  

We know that no set of policies or benefits can anticipate every circumstance, and that inclusion requires ongoing attention rather than fixed solutions. Our commitment is to remain responsive, to listen when something is not working, and to adapt as our team and context change.