On 16 October 2018 in Marseille, the regional health agency for south-west France, ARS PACA, teamed up with ARACT, the regional association for improving working conditions, and CARSAT, the region’s pension fund, to organise events to promote good practices for Quality of Life at Work (QLW) trialled at health and social care facilities in the region.
One of the events was a round table entitled “Quality of Life at Work: presentation and personal experiences. How can we apply it to our own workplace?” which was attended by Nadège Plou, Chief Human Resources Officer France, Roch Valles, UNSA trade union representative and director of the Le Baou and Escale du Baou homes in Marseille, and Raphaël Berhaiel, CFDT union representative. The discussion was facilitated by Yves-Michel Nalbandian, head of the regional association for improving working conditions for the Provence- Alpes-Côte d’Azur region (ARACT PACA). At Korian, employees’ quality of life, health and safety are priority axes of the Human Resources policy.
Proud and engaged employees
Every two years since 2015, the group has performed in-house satisfaction surveys among employees, called “Kommunity”. The extremely positive survey results show that our teams take pride in their work and are constantly more engaged, but also reveal areas that could improve their well-being and quality of life at work. So, in 2017, special efforts were made at our facilities to improve resting areas and break rooms for our employees. In total, 2,500 action plans will be rolled out across Europe in 2018.
Korian, first in the industry to sign a Quality of Life at Work agreement in France
In October 2017, Korian France signed a Quality of Life at Work agreement with most of the trade unions represented at the company. The agreement addresses five matters: community life; work environment; health and safety in the workplace; work-life balance; and work organisation.
To prevent and reduce psychosocial risks among employees, Korian has set up a confidential telephone helpline manned by qualified and experienced clinical psychologists, which is available to all employees 24/7.
Social workers provide specific support for caregiver employees, who have to care for someone dependent at home, with solutions including financial support to pay for home care or respite options, and a top-up payment to compensate towards a loss of earnings due to compassionate care leave. The agreement also means that the scheme allowing employees to donate days off to a colleague with a sick child can be extended to include partners and elderly parents. A healthcare assistance fund has been set up to help struggling staff meet healthcare costs. The company’s care facilities will continue to invest as required in equipment to reduce physical exertion, and special provisions to accommodate disability will be added to the agreement in the future.
Meanwhile, an emergency childcare scheme is being trialled, with nursery places being made available on an ongoing basis.
