Right after graduating from my undergraduate program, I started working at Paylocity, which for me, was a big milestone. Add to that moving from New York City to a rather small town in New Hampshire, and I was feeling out of place in all these new, unfamiliar situations.
My first day at Paylocity’s Nashua office was somewhat intimidating. However luckily, I was immediately welcomed by the staff and quickly made friends and found my lunch buddies. Even though my team was working remotely across the country, there was still this strong sense of community and support. Over a short time, intimidation dwindled, and I felt like I had found a second home.
During the first few years at Paylocity, my Government Relations team noticed that I celebrated different holidays than them, like Bandi Chhor Divas (Diwali), Vaisakhi, Lohri, and Hola Mohalla. They all encouraged me to share more about my culture, holidays, family dynamics, and even my passion for being multilinguist. Exposing my personal life to my team was met with curiosity and warmth. It helped us develop a caring community that is still present seven years later and continues to get stronger.
The nurturing environment I experienced immediately upon joining Paylocity prompted me to help create the same experience for all employees – whether just joining or having worked here for years! I joined our Employee Resource Group (ERGs) OneWorld as a Co-Chair, helping to create a place for individuals who fit into multiple spectrums of diversity and want to embrace all parts of being their whole self at their workplace. ERGs are essential to building culture and creating a sense of community within the organization outside of our teams, especially for remote employees seeking to network with others.
I continue to pursue my passion of building a community where people can be themselves and share their diverse opinions and be heard. That is exactly the spark that ignites me to be a better individual, leader, team member, and just an overall person. Seeing others experience the sense of community and a place to learn and grow while making friends started becoming a purpose of my life. Even today, I still feel a strong sense of community at Paylocity that I have not felt in other places.
