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What is a Splunker to Jason Morgan? Daring. Innovative. A Splunker values diversity and collaboration. A Splunker pushes the limits, seeks to learn, and uncovers surprising opportunities for improvement. Splunkers are inventive.
The 7,500 Splunkers currently employed around the world have received more than one thousand patents. This pool of thinkers comprises business analysts, engineers, salespeople, product designers, accountants, lawyers, and others. Together, they power Splunk, a global technology company that helps organizations use data at any scale to become more secure and resilient so they can innovate with speed and agility.
Splunk’s leaders like to say their company is what happens when the right passions, products, and people come together. Morgan, the global health and well-being lead, joined the company in 2020. Shortly after, he built a fully customized well-being strategy designed to energize the environment and keep pace with rapid growth in a crowded and competitive field.
“I’m passionate about what I do because I know it can impact employees’ lives and really make a difference. You can’t do that if you’re only willing to take things part way.”
Jason Morgan
Morgan’s reputation is that of a dynamic and relentless leader; one refusing to pull punches or rely on hype, trends, lip service, or buzzwords. He’s partnered with Fortune 500 companies, worked in fifty countries, and implemented massive, culture-changing initiatives. “I’m passionate about what I do because I know it can impact employees’ lives and really make a difference,” he says. “You can’t do that if you’re only willing to take things part way.”
It’s an approach Jason Morgan has championed since the start of his career. Twenty years ago, when his peers across the industry focused on simple movement and weight management programs, he collaborated with leaders at Chrysler to adapt policies and better meet the real needs of seven thousand employees and their families. Morgan took the company tobacco free and introduced healthy options to the cafeteria long before the now-popular moves became standard. He then launched a comprehensive well-being program, featuring on-site health clinics, family health screenings, built-in metrics, one-on-one fitness assessments, and other unique perks.
After seven years at Chrysler, Morgan created and managed an employee health and well-being program for a medical college with 5,500 employees before continuing his progression with positions at General Electric and Mars. He revolutionized the well-being program at GE by expanding it beyond the physical to include spiritual, emotional, and social health categories. Similarly, at Mars, Morgan partnered with functions like HR, facilities, benefits, legal, and IT to integrate health and well-being into everything the company does.
While big changes to policies and programs are often important, Jason Morgan knows little adjustments also can have a big impact. He’s led many of his companies to reduce meetings from thirty, sixty, or ninety minutes to twenty-five, fifty, and seventy-five. This, he explains, adds time for recovery, hydration, nutrition, and movement.
Combined, these and other measures improve engagement, presenteeism, and productivity—but only if managers are on board. “Leadership plays a critical role and is the single most important thing when it comes to a successful well-being program. You can have the greatest program in the world, but it will fail if it’s not supported by key leadership team members,” Morgan says.
When he arrived at Splunk, Morgan intended to use the most effective strategies that worked at places like GE and Mars, without building an exact replica. He spent three months meeting with senior leaders and forming a strategy that was tailored to the organization and that matched the company’s vision. “Organizations don’t often think about purpose in corporate health, but it’s one of the most important factors around well-being,” Morgan says. Since Splunkers are busy and creative, the concept of energy management emerged as central to the plan.
“You can have the greatest program in the world, but it will fail if it’s not supported by key leadership team members.”
Jason Morgan
With that in mind, Morgan set out on a virtual tour and held focus groups with about one thousand employees before unveiling five pillars and modifications to Splunk’s physical environment to encourage and support healthy behaviors. The five pillars informing Splunk’s well-being program include purpose, emotional, mental, physical, and financial. Known as Spark, the effort provides events, opportunities, and resources to help employees thrive in all of these areas, with a special emphasis on mental health.
Splunk partnered with Modern Health to offer employees and their families ten free video or in-person sessions with licensed therapists. Group counseling, digital courses, and guided meditations on areas such as stress, relationships, and inclusion also are available.
“Splunk is an incredible partner to Modern Health, and we continuously see strong engagement with our platform from its global workforce thanks to Jason’s thought leadership,” says Modern Health Founder and CEO Alyson Watson. “With our expansive network of providers and culturally centered mental health care, we’re able to offer Splunkers the tools they need to feel productive and energized in their roles.”
The program is designed to encourage employee health and engagement as Splunkers tackle big projects and move into the future. Today, the company’s workforce is trusted by many top brands, including Wal-Mart, Heineken, Slack, Care.com, and McLaren Racing. As Splunk expands, Morgan and the company’s wellness team ensure well-being is at the forefront and that it scales across multiple regions.
It’s a challenge, but one for which Jason Morgan proves well prepared. He still carries the same passion that initially motivated him many years ago, having seen the difference an effective global health program can have. They’re better for employees, families, and the business as a whole.
Yes, daring and innovative. But a Splunker also is healthy, resilient, balanced, and fulfilled.
Modern Health is a comprehensive mental health and wellness platform supporting enterprises globally that combines the WHO well-being assessment, self-service wellness kits, a global network of certified coaches, and licensed therapists, all available in a single app. It is the first global mental health solution to offer employees access to one-on-one, group, and self-serve digital resources for their emotional, professional, social, financial, and physical well-being needs. Whether someone wants to proactively manage stress or treat depression, Modern Health guides people to the right care at the right time. Modern Health empowers employers to lead the charge in acknowledging that mental health is just as important as physical health, destigmatizing the conversation, and increasing accessibility of mental health services for all.
