Employee health and wellbeing
Employee wellbeing is an integral component of a safe and healthy working environment. We aim to build a culture where everyone can perform at their best so that together we can solve the energy challenges of today and tomorrow.
Our objective is to empower our employees to create balance and operate in a safe working environment through access to programmes and initiatives which promote mental, social, and physical health.
Our Global Mental Wellbeing Programme (GMWP) is key to delivering on this goal and it is designed to be delivered over the next five years in Shell.
Creating a culture that supports good mental health
In 2023, we signed the pledge, to further accelerate progress in workplace mental health by collaborating with a community of committed multinational organisations. By becoming a signatory, we have committed to make mental health a visible priority in every geography in which we operate.
The pledge aligns with our longstanding initiatives and commitments, and with our newly launched Global Mental Wellbeing Programme, which is now our key vehicle for operationalising the pledge action points.
"I am committed to ensuring a workplace culture that enables our greatest asset, our people, to thrive. To do this, we must break down all barriers when it comes to the enduring stigma surrounding mental health. We must promote awareness, offer the right support, and 鈥� as business leaders 鈥� we must lead by example through normalising mental health conversations. In joining the Global Business Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health, I make a personal commitment, along with my Executive Committee, to make positive workplace mental health a priority that is part of our DNA and an ongoing conversation, across the organisation."
Wael Sawan, CEO Shell
Global Mental Wellbeing Programme
Mental health is a key enabler of employee wellbeing. Shell鈥檚 evidence -based Global Mental Wellbeing Programme (GMWP) is a central component of Shell鈥檚 Health Strategy and aims to build a culture that:
1. promotes good mental health,
2. protects against mental ill health, and
3. provides timely access to quality support and care.
Employee involvement has been central to the development of the programme, which was piloted in 2021/22 with 6,500 participants. The voice, experience and feedback of these employees was recorded using qualitative and quantitative techniques as part of the pilot process, and informed improvements to programme design in advance of the launch of the global programme in November 2023.
The GMWP comprises a survey and toolkit designed to build mindsets and skillsets that reduce the risk of chronic stress and burnout and optimise mental health at work. The programme tools focus on building aspects of workplace culture that protect mental health, along with skills to proactively promote mental wellbeing.
Businesses are provided with tools that target the specific focus areas for improvement, which are identified through their survey data. This survey also enables our employees to voice their experience of wellbeing in Shell.
Professional mental health support services, including our global employee assistance programme (EAP) provision, are embedded into the programme to ensure timely access to quality care and support for those who need it. Shell鈥檚 EAP, available in most of our locations, offers professional counselling support to people with personal or work-related problems.
Our five-year goals are to attain a survey participation rate of over 80% and to achieve survey data that shows over 50% of our employees adopting behaviours that optimise mental health and wellbeing. The survey data will also inform our ongoing work and commitment to build a workplace culture that supports the mental wellbeing of employees.
Initial engagement data suggests we are moving towards the participation goal. In the first six months since its launch, 79% of Shell鈥檚 senior leaders registered their lines of business into the programme, facilitating access to the survey and toolkit for 51% of Shell鈥檚 employees.
To optimise programme participation and adoption of healthy behaviours, the survey and toolkit are rolled out and scaled in lines of business by Programme Leads. These employees act as champions for the programme and for mental wellbeing within their businesses and facilitate employee feedback into the programme鈥檚 continuous improvement cycle.
Line Managers and Programme Leads, whose teams are entering the programme, are offered two training modules in building psychological safety in their businesses and having conversations about mental health with their teams. This training aims to build a supportive workplace culture and reduce sigma around stress, burnout and mental ill health so that employees feel safe to ask for support and to access professional mental health services.
Dr Femi Oduneye, VP Health, who has strategic and operational responsibility for mental health in Shell, welcomed the rollout of the new programme saying, 鈥淓mployee mental health and wellbeing is integral to delivering our Powering Progress strategy. After a successful 18-month pilot, we have now started the rollout of the five-year Global Mental Wellbeing Programme, with the aim of optimising mental wellbeing across the organisation and tracking our progress as we do so.鈥�
Beating Burnout Together
To mark World Mental Health Day (WMHD) in 2023, Shell focused again on delivering a campaign to reduce the risk of burnout. Employee insight data from the previous year鈥檚 Beating Burnout Together campaign, was deployed to design materials that addressed the burnout risk- factors that are of most interest to our employees: demands; boundaries; stress; stigma and where to get support.
The campaign鈥檚 key video resources were created by a group of 21 employees from across Shell鈥檚 global population. Together they shared their experiences of stress and burnout to reduce the stigma and encourage colleagues to reach out for help early.
In total to date, over a quarter of Shell鈥檚 employees accessed at least one of the initiatives videos and discussion-based resources which are designed to be delivered in team settings.
Working together for a safer and healthier shipping industry
The shipping industry is vital for society, yet it has one of the poorest safety records of any industry in the world.
Since 2012, Shell introduced the Maritime Partners in Safety programme with the aim of improving safety across the sector by working with the world鈥檚 leading 500 shipping and maritime companies.
The programme shares best practice material in order to significantly improve our collective safety performance.
Shell also commissioned the 麻豆传媒-based Institute of Employment Studies to research the factors that influence psychological and physical health in the seafaring community, the difference well-being has on incidents and safety at sea, and what can be done to help seafarers at work.
This research informed the development of the Mental health and well-being resources that are available on for its contractors and the global shipping industry.
How technology is helping doctors to save lives in remote places
Keeping the people who work for us safe and well is our top priority. We have employees and contractors in some of the world鈥檚 remotest places. So what do we do in emergencies, when somebody falls ill in a remote location or suffers an injury offshore?
Teams are on standby to transport sick or injured colleagues to hospital from Shell鈥檚 platforms, vessels and remote bases anywhere on the planet within four hours. It can mean a long helicopter flight or turning a ship around.
Every minute counts in a medical emergency, and an accurate diagnosis is critical. Shell uses telemedicine technology to help doctors to reach better decisions in remote places, using systems that provide access to a wide range of expert medical expertise at any time through internet and satellite connections.
Care through COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic saw the introduction of new risk assessments beyond those that are normally conducted in our industry.
This means we are adopting extra measures to take care of the health of our employees and contractors, whether working on site or from home, as well as our customers and the communities we work with.
For more information on our approach to Covid-19 visit our website.
