5 things that energize me as an employee at Elsevier

When I started working at Elsevier, one of the first things I thought was that it was a company where I could stay for a long time and develop my career. And indeed it is. Most people tend to stay here about nine years on average. I have been working here for the last six years, and I want to share with you why I connect with Elsevier and why I’m happy to be a part of this global company.

1. A mission to believe in

What really impressed me was Elsevier's mission: “To help researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society.” It totally resonated with me and gave me a sense of purpose in my day-to-day work.

2. New challenges and new cultures

As a Journal Manager and Learning Manager based in Barcelona, I work with several teams at an international level. This allows me to learn new ways to face challenges, to innovate, to discover new cultures and to speak in several languages, such as Portuguese, Spanish and English. And I love that. Also, I am able to share our local initiatives, way of working and culture with my international colleagues (or as I like to call it, the Mediterranean style).

3. A belief in psychological safety

I am also delighted that Elsevier is really focused on creating an increasingly psychologically safe environment in which people are comfortable expressing and being themselves. With this purpose, the company is working with team leaders to build more psychologically safe teams. As Prof Amy Edmonson of the Harvard Business School explains in her book The Fearless Organization(opens in new tab/window):

If leaders want to unleash individual and collective talent, they must foster a psychologically safe climate where employees feel free to contribute ideas, share information, and report mistakes.

At Elsevier, I have been trained as a Psychological Safety Facilitator, and I facilitated some Psychological Safety sessions last year, so I have seen first-hand how committed Elsevier is to creating a culture where inquisitive minds thrive and building an inclusive, agile and engaged culture.

4. A focus on wellness and inclusion

Apart from that, I’m really proud to be part of the WISE team (Wellness, Inclusion, Safety & Strategy and Engagement), whose team members work in helping our Operations colleagues achieve and drive an amazing culture of success, pride and celebration. The WISE team also partners with people managers to assist in activities that foster high performing and engaged teams.

The team's motto is “creating a movement not a mandate.” They focus on:

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  Bringing ideas and sharing best practices from around the globe to move from “awareness” to “action”

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  Coordinating and celebrating achievements globally but with a local flavor

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  Ensuring that every employee understands Operations’ key initiatives and opportunities and how they relate to their day-to-day environment

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  Creating a community of mutual respect among everyone and with everyone that resonates across all of Operations

5. Support from a great team

Apart from all these interesting initiatives and projects, I have been really lucky with the managers and mentors I have had. They are great professionals who strive for performance and for their teams’ wellbeing. I´m really inspired by them, I trust their judgment, and I appreciate that they trust me and are always available to guide me to develop my skills. That is so rewarding!

This has been my journey so far in Elsevier. We spend so much of our lives working, so why not feel passionate about what we do? As Nelson Mandela(opens in new tab/window) said:

Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.