Health and wellbeing

The physical safety, mental health and wellbeing of our people remain at the core of our values and the way we work.  

We believe that mental and physical wellbeing are vital to both good health and performance at work. We want to ensure that we help drive positive health outcomes for everyone who works for us.

Our health and wellbeing standard

Our health and wellbeing standard sets out the roles, legal responsibilities and actions required for the effective risk assessment and management of mental and physical health. This standard helps support our organisation, teams and individual colleagues to deal with any pressures and challenges they face.  

Our metrics relate both to colleagues and contractors and key metrics are reported bi-monthly to the Group Executive Safety, Health and Sustainability Committee and three times a year to the Board Safety and Sustainability Committee.
 

The 'Thriving Together' ambition

The ‘Thriving Together’ ambition launched in 2023. This provides the framework to create a thriving work environment across the organisation. Thriving employees have the energy, commitment, ability and drive to help the organisation achieve our global, community and customer objectives.  

We believe a career at National Grid should be a positive contributor to employees' wellbeing, as this underpins our future success. Our overall objective is ensuring that employees feel engaged and empowered to prioritise health, wellbeing and experience optimal physical and mental wellness and performance. 

Thriving Together is characterised by:  

• Colleagues prioritising wellbeing and utilising our support resources.  
• Managers adopting a compassionate management style with emphasis on colleague physical and mental wellbeing, focusing on the people doing the work, not just the work the people do.  
• The organisation promoting inclusivity and taking a preventive approach to identify and mitigate health risks.  

To align our efforts with best practices, we work closely with external organisations such as Business in the Community (BiTC), the Mental Health at Work Leadership Council (MIND), and Wellness Council of America (WELCOA). Our leading role with BiTC has provided valuable information on the economic value of health and wellbeing in organisations. 

We are a beacon member of the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) and have created dedicated resources and tools for all employees, provided specialist domestic abuse training and developed comprehensive domestic abuse guidance for managers.  

A proactive approach

Within the ‘Thriving Together’ framework, we’re shifting from a reactive Health & Wellness (HW) approach to a preventative, risk and science-based approach. We monitor key performance indicator data related to the elements that have the most impact on our journey to a thriving workforce. These elements include:  

• An individual’s healthy lifestyle and positive mental outlook
• A team’s supportive culture and compassionate management
• The organisation’s efforts to drive inclusivity and belonging within the data-led strategy

We aim to have colleagues prioritise their wellbeing through healthy habits and by seeking assistance when needed. To accomplish this, we conducted enhanced promotion of health & wellbeing services and resources via intranet, print communications and presentations. With information about available services, colleagues are more likely to seek early intervention for themselves and members of their teams.