From Ice Skating to CrossFit: How Wish Supports Employee Wellbeing

Monica Kielawa

Around the world, we all have been adjusting to finding new routines, but we cannot forget to dedicate time to take care of ourselves. Knowing that mental and physical fitness has positive effects on our wellbeing, Wish offers multiple health and fitness benefits, including the ability for employees (including interns) to be reimbursed for eligible fitness expenses, such as gym classes, meditation apps, wearables, nutrition counseling, and even massage!

Wish is about helping you discover what you love, and that includes a healthy lifestyle.  Recently, we interviewed four amazing Wish employees to learn about how they leverage Wish’s fitness reimbursement program to ensure they are kicking off 2022 as their best selves. 


Katie Jundt - Communications Designer, Brand Marketing team

Kjundt_HeadshotLocation: San Francisco

My role at Wish: I work on our in-app banners and affiliate assets, among other design requests for internal and external use. I particularly enjoy projects where I can help improve workflows and documentation that will help improve the day-to-day experiences of my coworkers and teammates.

My fitness/health journey: I started going to therapy during the pandemic, and while self improvement is a lifelong journey, I am so happy that I took that first step last year. Since then, I’ve been exploring at home workouts, online yoga classes, and even got into weight training with a friend while he was training for the San Francisco marathon. As a Minnesotan, I grew up skating on frozen lakes, and I’ve decided that in the new year I am going to use Wish’s fitness reimbursement stipend to polish up my ice skating skills by signing up for a class that starts in early 2022. Being able to try a class and have it essentially be free to me through the reimbursement has encouraged me to do so many things that I otherwise likely wouldn’t explore, especially as someone who wasn't super comfortable in a gym and finds it pretty easy to convince myself out of working out or pushing that comfort zone. 

I think that it’s really important to try and take care of yourself so that you can show up to your life every day and give it your best effort. A huge part of feeling healthy, both mentally and physically, is reducing social isolation and getting your body moving. I can say for certain that I would not have explored yoga classes, gotten back into running and lifting, or signed up for ice skating classes without the fitness reimbursement policy from Wish. 


Daniel Ma - Data Scientist, Pricing, Marketplace Dynamics and Economics team 

Daniel Ma PhotoLocation: Toronto

My role at Wish: By leveraging my economic knowledge with Data Science skills, I mainly focus on promotion strategy designs and devaluations at Wish.

My fitness/health journey: I'm obsessed with CrossFit training and I have been going to a CrossFit gym 5 to 6 days a week for almost 5 years. One of my friends introduced me to a local CrossFit gym in Calgary in 2017 and the intensity of that type of training has improved my physical strength, agility, and flexibility. I weighed 220 lbs in 2019 during the quarantine and I successfully lost almost 40 lbs over a year with hard training. That physical change definitely elevates my confidence and strengthens my mind. In 2022, I aim to lose 5 lbs.

I have applied my Wish fitness reimbursement to my CrossFit gym membership. CrossFit gym is a bit more expensive than the regular gym because of the maintenance cost of Olympic competition level equipment, so being able to get reimbursed is definitely a great financial relief for me. 

I think both mental and physical health are very important for my career at Wish, especially now, as we are all working from home with much less access to physical activities. This program motivates me to work out with other people in the gym every day, which helps to release myself from the pressure of daily work, and allows me to stay concentrated and more effective when multitasking at work.  


Lucy Simon - Recruitment Coordinator, Talent Operations team 

Lucy - hikingLocation:  New Orleans 

My role at Wish: I coordinate interviews, debriefs, and offer letters. As part of talent operations, we work with recruiters and hiring managers to facilitate a seamless and streamlined recruiting process and achieve the ultimate candidate experience to attract top talent to Wish. I am from and currently reside in Louisiana, and I am a huge LSU and Saints football fan!

My fitness/health journey: I have always been very active. I grew up swimming competitively, and I continue to train to this day. That said, I am always looking for ways to challenge myself, and so for 2022, I have committed to a new workout training program. In addition, my boyfriend and I love to travel and hike, and we especially love very difficult and strenuous hikes, so I will definitely be using part of my next year’s fitness reimbursement to help pay for equipment and new hiking shoes. In 2021, I used half of my fitness reimbursement to pay for a membership to Hotworx, which is a gym offering access to 24-hour infrared sauna workouts that are virtually-instructed. I used the other half of the reimbursement to help build out our home gym, and I have been able to purchase more free weights, resistance bands, a TRX training system, battle ropes, and a speed bag.  While I love having the convenience of equipment in my house, I also enjoy having the ability to leave the house (especially after working from home all day) and being around a team to workout. I am very thankful for the Wish fitness reimbursement program because it has allowed me to balance both.

I believe that I am a better employee, family member, and friend when I commit myself to staying fit. I know if I give myself that hour everyday to workout, then I can be a more present human being in all aspects of my life. 


Brian LeDoux - Senior Technical Sourcer,  Technical Talent Sourcing team

Brian L_Location: Massachusetts 

My role at Wish: I am a technical sourcing recruiter working on mainly mobile, web and backend development profiles. I live in the Boston Area with my wife and son and enjoy traveling with friends and family. 

My health/fitness journey: My personal fitness journey began around age 14 with kickboxing and expanded to weight lifting when I went to college. I have continued with martial arts and fitness training for over 20 years and love to stay active. It has impacted my life immensely, instilling a mindset of goal setting, perseverance and problem solving. 

My fitness goals for 2022 is to earn my Purple Belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu and train more during trips abroad. I will use Wish's Fitness Reimbursement this year to help with the cost of tuition for jiu jitsu classes, and I am very grateful for such an amazing benefit as an employee of Wish. 

Join our team this year. To learn more about employee benefits and open roles at Wish, click here

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