Worklife balance

O2 is committed to high standards of health and safety for employees - and we also want to enable people to manage their own general health and wellbeing.

In the UK we run an online 'personal fitness trainer' programme. Employees subscribing to the programme get an online pedometer to track the number of steps they take each day. In its first three months, over 600 people joined the scheme.

Following this success we plan to launch a new partnership with Vie Life in our call centres in 2007. This service will, for example, provide an online 'health coach' to assess people's lifestyles, eating habits and sleep patterns. Such initiatives are voluntary and entirely confidential. Employees who use them can do so from home. These services are for personal use only but will help inform our future initiatives to best support our employees' wellbeing.

• In the UK, we are now supplying chiropractic clinics, stress awareness workshops, stop-smoking programmes, and subsidised mobile massages.
  
• In Germany, we operate a subsidised on-site gym - StudiO2 - at our Munich headquarters and offer a wide range of sports and health activities at all locations, as well as massage, advice on health issues, preventive medical check-ups, and free flu vaccinations.
  
• O2 Germany also provides stop-smoking information to employees, with assistance from the German TÜV Süd (Technical Supervisory Association). In 2006 we equipped all offices with defibrillators to enable staff to react quickly in case of heart attack.
  
• In 2006 O2 Germany received a special award for health management from the Great Place to Work Institute.
  
• In Ireland, where we first launched coordinated wellbeing projects, we expanded the Perfect Balance programme to include free membership to Weight-Watchers, a gym next door to our headquarters, and first-aid refresher training, as well as access to yoga and massage at discounted rates. The first-ever 'Perfect Balance' Health and Wellbeing Fair took place at O2 headquarters in Dublin, where employees could get advice on nutrition, exercise and many alternative therapies.

We are open to ideas that enable our employees to manage their personal commitments and work, including flexible and part-time work and paid time off to pursue community roles such as school governorship, mentoring and other volunteering opportunities:

• O2 Confidential, our UK Employee Assistance Programme, available to O2 Ireland employees also, offers a range of free personal services such as counselling, legal and financial advice and useful contacts for people with, for example, depression, marital problems, caring commitments and disability.
  
• In Germany we offer up to 10 consultations for employees suffering from stress, depression or emotional difficulties at work or at home. An external party provides the service which is subsidised by the Company.
  
• In Ireland new work/life balance initiatives include mortgage clinics, wine-tasting evenings and our annual Family Day at Work for employees and their families.