Russell Keating Mental Health and Wellbeing Ambassador for SSE Airtricity
This Friday 28 April 2023 marks National Workplace Wellbeing Day, a campaign run by IBEC to highlight the importance of initiatives introduced by companies to increase the health and wellbeing of their teams.
As Mental Health and Wellbeing ambassador for SSE Airtricity, I’m delighted to see the spotlight shone on this extremely important area. The steps we take to manage our physical and mental wellbeing benefit not only our work performance, but also our contributions at home with our families and to society in general.
Clearly the workplace has undergone massive changes since the pandemic and people’s expectations have changed with it. In a recent international report undertaken by Indeed, 46%* of employees stated that their expectations on workplace wellbeing have increased in the last year alone. Positive company wellbeing practices are being sought out by job applicants in the market.
Of the millions of people globally who resigned their positions in 2022, three of the top reasons for doing so related to a desire to find a job with less stress, increased job satisfaction and that would importantly make them feel happier.
The causes of stress are many and varied and our inability to manage it can be detrimental. At SSE we have invested in a range of initiatives to improve the wellbeing of our people which include:
- Enhanced family leave policies
- Employee Assistance Programmes
- Subsidised health care for all colleagues
- Access to online GP services
- SSE Health Hub – access to wide range of services including counselling
- Discount Gym Membership with Gym Pass
- 34 days annual leave with the opportunity to purchase up to 10 additional days
- SSE Advantage, giving you a range of deals on shopping, hotels, technology and more
- Financial support services
- Charity volunteering days
- Daily meditation sessions
While happiness is of course subjective, it is frequently associated with having purpose in your role and the ability to learn and develop your skillset. At SSE we are united by our strong purpose to help our customers achieve Net Zero and build a better world for tomorrow. We are committed to attracting and developing the people required to achieve this purpose.
I am very proud of the investments made to improve the mental health and wellbeing of our teams and committed to delivering further initiatives in the future. I also look forward to hearing about the campaigns and successes of other companies so we can learn and improve together.
#WorkWell23
