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Approximately 30 percent of employees in Switzerland often feel emotionally exhausted. In short: stress threatens to make you sick. Psychological problems are now the main reason for new retirements from disability insurance throughout Switzerland. This is shown by a study by the trade union umbrella organization Travailsuisse. With approximately 34,000 employees in 150 professions from 100 countries, SBB is also familiar with these work-related diseases. Accordingly, investments are made in health.
“We observe that changes and dynamics in the working world lead some employees to feel stressed,” says Thomas Grahmann, team leader for health promotion and prevention at SBB. “Given this development, we still have a lot of work to do.”
If railway operations are not running smoothly, staff at the front feel it immediately. Therefore, great importance is given to the health of employees. SBB has been awarded the “Friendly Workplace” label by Health Promotion Switzerland since 2014. This rewards companies and organizations for successful corporate health management (BGM). This includes a systematic commitment to good working conditions and healthy employees. This includes social, organizational and development measures as well as prevention.
Management supported BGM
The measures are planned and implemented by a team led by Karin Mahler. The head of employability, health and social affairs is a member of the human resources management team. Provides annual SBB health report to Group Management and Board of Directors. This shows how important the issue is for SBB. Because it emphasizes that company health management (BGM) is useless without the support of top management.
Mahler says your function header contains what’s inside. “We define the term enterprise health management very broadly.” In addition to health protection and occupational safety, special courses, ergonomic workplaces or health-oriented shift and tour planning, the duty of care is also very important at SBB. “BGM is primarily a social obligation, but it is also important from a work and business perspective that you keep the number of days of absence as low as possible.”
The company also scores as a “friendly workspace” when hiring new employees. This makes SBB attractive as an employer, says Roland Gantenbein. When the eastern regional manager searches for engineers for the construction and planning department, he is competing with numerous competitors in the job market. “The overall package makes SBB interesting for job seekers.”
Commonalities foster resilient teams
The SBB strategy also includes the “people to people” dimension, which takes into account the health of employees. The focus right now is on the team’s resilience. Thomas Grahmann explains that there must be commonalities that bind teams together. “This is of little use if individuals are particularly resilient. There needs to be a common foundation of trust that builds the resilience of the entire team.”
The proposal to strengthen team resilience gives managers and their teams strategies to cope with stressful situations. The proposal, developed together with the University of Applied Sciences of Northwest Switzerland, was tested in pilot courses. Roland Gantenbein took part with his team.
«First we carried out a self-assessment of the resilience dimensions. The topics were then studied in workshops,” explains Gantenbein. The so-called resilience wheel covers five topics: 1. “Being committed as a team”, 2. Giving importance, 3. Boundaries between work and private life, 4. Coping with change, 5. Dealing with mistakes.
This was very valuable when Gantenbein looked back. “At first I was skeptical about whether this would be picked up by engineers. But the feedback was very positive throughout; because we were able to take time for ourselves and it wasn’t just about processes and work-related issues.”
“Detect, react, act”
Karin Mahler says the team’s resilience is part of the mental health campaign that SBB has been running for more than five years. “With this campaign, we got employees to talk about psychological stress.” For example, staff members print the following message on napkins in their restaurants: “I’m hurt. This may also be the case with napkins. “And with people.” The address of the internal contact point for social counseling and mental health has been added to the statement. Mahler emphasizes that acceptance is wonderful. Brief consultations have increased significantly in recent years.
“Many managers find it difficult to address employees directly when anomalies occur because they do not know what they are doing to those affected,” says Grahmann. For this reason, SBB provided training to managers on “First Aid in Mental Health” within the scope of the Ensa program run by Pro Mente Sana Foundation. In the courses, participants learn to recognize stressful situations and have the courage to approach those affected in an open and supportive way.
The three steps identified in SBB are: “Detect, react, act and get support”. The last point is particularly important, says Karin Mahler: “We also need to support the managers. “We give them the necessary tools, but we also emphasize that they should turn to in-house professionals if necessary.”
Early detection factor
SBB’s WHM measures are based on several key figures: work-related resources and early indicators of stress, health and motivation aspects, and numbers on absence and accident days. Karin Mahler emphasizes that a lot can be learned from the days of absence if analyzed carefully.
SBB also conducts an annual staff survey. This allows us to interpret where action is needed within organizational units or for specific groups of people, such as young employees.
Special attention is given to apprentices and young professionals. “Stress, especially in the psychological field, begins in youth,” says Karin Mahler. “The transition to professional life is a critical life stage that can increase these stresses.” For example, with the module “Being active with personal responsibility” you learn how to cope with stressful situations. “We want to ensure that our students complete their education in a motivated and healthy manner and make a successful transition to professional life.”
“At BGM we do not use a watering can, but we work very target group specific,” says Thomas Grahmann, outlining SBB’s health promotion and prevention measures. For this purpose, performance indicators and personnel survey results are analyzed. Based on this, Thomas Grahmann’s working team and organizational psychologists can develop and implement appropriate measures together with the affected units or groups of people.
These experiences extend to Health Promotion Switzerland. SBB, together with other well-known companies, is also on the economic advisory board of the “Friendly Workplace” label for its further development.
Source : Blick
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
