Workplace health, well-being and safety

Just as we aim to be a ‘force for good’ in society, we are also committed to enhancing the health, well-being and safety of our employees.

We recognize that employee health is critical to a successful business – healthier people tend to be happier, more engaged and more productive. We work hard to understand the health risks of our employees in order to build strategic, targeted and evidence-based interventions. Ultimately, we want to inspire our people and their families to choose a healthier future for themselves.

Taking steps toward a healthier future

Providing a healthy working environment

Our vision for employee health and well-being provides the means to monitor the evolving risks we face and measure progress against them, with specific programs to encourage physical activity, active breaks, healthy eating and good mental health.

Employees can access training and digital content focused on mental health, as well as telemedicine and employee assistance programs. We encourage employees to monitor their own body mass index, blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol on an ongoing basis, and to collaborate with workers’ representatives to ensure their needs are met.

Our employee health strategy

We aim to inspire and empower our people to choose a healthier future for themselves, their families and our business.

Our approach involves:

• Protecting our people through anticipation and management of workplace health risks
• Promoting health and well-being by offering programs and solutions that encourage our people to take responsibility and adopt an approach of ‘learn, feel and choose’
• Supporting our people during and after injuries and/or illnesses, helping to create optimum health outcomes
• Fostering an environment where employees experience caring leadership

This approach is underpinned by the principles of respecting privacy and personal choices, enabling informed decision-making and supporting a healthy working environment and working conditions.

Living healthier lives

Our vision for employee health and well-being is a key component of our overall business strategy and is laid out in our Roadmap for Employee Health. It provides targets related to physical activity, healthy eating and mental health, and for how those objectives should be monitored to measure progress and deliver improvements. #HealthyLives, our global training program, is available in 16 languages and includes guidance and interactive exercises across four pillars: physical activity, sleep, nutrition and mental health.

A strengthened focus on mental health

Remote working can contribute to reduced physical activity and social contact, which in turn can impact mental health.

Our focus on mental health includes online training in topics covering physical activity, active breaks, sleep, relationships and parenting. We also mark World Mental Health Day with an entire week dedicated to the topic.

Safety as a core principle

Our zero-harm vision puts people at the center of everything we do. We are committed and determined to prevent serious accidents by continually eliminating risks and by enabling employees and contractors to adopt safe behaviors and work to a risk-anticipation mindset. We strive to ensure that the highest safety standards are applied to all our sites, operations and projects. We expect life-saving rules to be applied with zero tolerance to prevent fatal and serious injuries, and we empower employees to stop work and speak up if they recognize a situation as unsafe, without fear of consequences. We use digital innovation and behavioral science to help us understand what drives at-risk behaviors and address root causes.

These structures and policies help to reduce the number of health and safety incidents, eliminate serious accidents and make a positive contribution to society.

Recognizing worker safety as a human right

Safety and health at work is one of 10 priority human rights areas that we address across our business.

Our Human Rights Framework (pdf, 11Mb) summarizes our approach to safety and health. The framework covers our own offices, factories and distribution centers, as well as the businesses of partners that supply us with raw materials and the communities that serve them.