Employee health
We have signed up to the Public Health Responsibility Deal pledges on health and wellness in the workplace.
We believe that we have a responsibility to our employees to create a working environment which enables and encourages them to live a healthy life.
Our health and wellness at work strategy focuses on four key areas: diet and hydration, smoking, exercise and mental resilience. We are supporting employees on these issues through professional support, active engagement, healthy choices and education.
During 2010, we focused on providing employees at each of our sites with health checks covering blood cholesterol, blood pressure and other tests. As a result of the information received, several employees identified issues which prompted them to visit their GP and get early treatment for potential long term problems. We will repeat this programme in 2011.
Health Action Teams
We believe the best people to lead and drive healthy behaviour are the employees themselves. So our strategy is based around empowering teams of people on-site to lead specific strategies through Health Actions Teams (HATs). They are creating relevant programmes of local health events and activities at their site, supported by the leadership team and a dedicated Health and Wellness Manager at Head Office.
Encouraging workplace health at Boxford – case study
Feedback from a questionnaire sent to the 90 employees at our Boxford site in Suffolk by the site Health Action Team in 2010 Is already leading to improvements.
The PepsiCo challenge, launched in 2011, aims to get at least 25% of our employees doing some form of new regular exercise over the next two years. At Boxford, the HAT hire the local sports centre every week for employees to play badminton, basketball and other games, supported the creation of a walking club and formed their own weight loss club. The 21 participants have so far lost 95.2kgs between them.
The site now provides free fruit to employees and working with a local caterer, delivers healthier, subsidised ready meals for employees who want a hot meal (there is no canteen on site). Providing more water stations has doubled the amount of water intake, improving hydration.
Employee absences
PepsiCo UK also publishes its employee sickness rate as required under the Responsibility Deal. In 2010 this was 3.5% compared the industry average of 5.7%.
Please give us your comments on the 2011 Health Update and our plans for the future.
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