Stagecoach West has over one thousand employees’ and credits the Healthy Workplace scheme with reducing sickness absence and improving staff morale.
We heard from Rachel Geliamassi, Managing Director Stagecoach West on the journey they have been on; the impact the scheme has had on staff, some top tips and their continued learning.
For example the scheme has helped reduce staff sick days by almost a day per year per employee, whilst staff turnover has been reduced from 25 percent to an impressive 16 percent. It doesn’t matter how big or small your organisation is, the programme can be scaled up or down depending on the resources you have available.
The Healthy Workplaces Award is a standard of good practice and a quality mark of health and wellbeing in the workplace. Organisations are assessed through a series of online standards and commitments in a range of health areas from healthy eating to personal safety.
We spend approx. 90,000 hours of our life at work which is about a third of our life and this is only going to get bigger as we live and work longer. To be productive and to enjoy our time at work we need to look more closely at creating a healthy environment.
Download the slides here: Stagecoach West – Healthy Workplace
Watch the recoding of the session:
Rachel Geliamassi was appointed as the Managing Director (MD) of Stagecoach’s operations in the West of England and Oxfordshire in April 2021. Rachel joined Stagecoach in 2007 through the company’s graduate training scheme and worked as Operations Manager across England before becoming Operations Director of Stagecoach West in 2014.
In her role as MD she is responsible for over 1000 employees and over 500 buses, as well as Oxford Tube coach services.
Why employment matters to health
As adults in employment spend a large proportion of their time in work, our jobs and our workplaces can have a big impact on our health and wellbeing. In fact, employment can impact both directly and indirectly on the individual, their families and communities. Therefore, work and health-related worklessness are important public health issues, both at local and national level.
There is clear evidence that good work improves health and wellbeing across people’s lives, not only from an economic standpoint but also in terms of quality of life. ‘Good work’ means having not only a work environment that is safe, but also having a sense of security, autonomy, good line management and communication within an organisation.
There is also evidence that shows that good quality work protects against social exclusion through the provision of:
- income
- social interaction
- a core role
- identity and purpose
The cost of ill health
From an employer perspective, the benefits of a healthy workforce are clear. Healthy staff are more productive, take less time off sick and do not necessarily need to retire early.
An unhealthy workforce negatively impacts our economy and society due to:
- lost productivity
- a reduction in income tax receipts
- increases in long-term sickness
- increased informal caregiving
- increased healthcare costs
Read the full government report: Health matters: Health and Work: Health matters: health and work – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
