Quality of Life and Wellness
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), quality of life is an individual’s perception of his or her position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which he or she lives and in relation to his or her goals, expectations, standards, and concerns. Thus, work is an essential part of this context, since it is capable of establishing identity and offering meaning and significance to life.
Considering that people spend a large part of their days in the work environment, much of what happens inside and outside work life influences the professional’s behavior, as well as his or her performance and, especially, his or her physical and mental health.
Aware of its commitment to offer a healthy and safe work environment, besides physical and psycho-emotional health care, Copel maintains several programs aimed at quality of life and wellness in the workplace.
Quality of Life and Wellness Program
Copel’s Quality of Life and Well-being Program was instituted in 1998, and its main goal is to “awaken people’s constant interest in the search for continuous improvement in quality of life”. Together with the circular some internal actions were implemented in order to meet the pillars of the newly instituted program, which were: 1. Health Promotion; 2. Psychosociofunctional Relationships at Work and 3. Personal and Family Lifestyle.
Over time, many actions and practices were implemented and are part of a set of benefits that are institutionalized in such a way that they are part of the organizational culture, among which the benefits for people with disabilities and the pre-retirement program stand out. In this sense, some actions were overcome by the new interpretation of the concept, and new benefits were incorporated in order to meet these new demands.
Currently, Copel’s quality of life and well-being program has as a reference the concept of the World Health Organization (WHO), according to which “quality of life is an individual’s perception of his or her position in life, in the context of the culture and value systems in which he or she lives and in relation to his or her goals, expectations, standards, and concerns.
Thus, the program is structured in 4 pillars: physical health, psycho-emotional health, social well-being, and financial well-being. In this way, the Quality of Life and Well-Being Program seeks to promote a healthy and safe work environment for all employees and their families.
The program’s actions are also aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially to SDG 3 and SDG 8, goals 3.4 and 8.8, which advocate health and emotional well-being, as well as the promotion of a healthy working environment for all people.
Physical Health
At Copel, people’s health and safety is a fundamental factor for success and organizational longevity and, for this reason, it is considered by the top leadership as a Company strategy. The main performance goal of the objective of caring for people’s health, safety and quality of life is the severity rate of accidents involving employees and contractors. This goal is unfolded and monitored in the management commitment of all areas of the Company.
Psycho-emotional Health
A person’s mental health is related to the way they react to the demands of everyday life and the way they harmonize their desires, abilities, ideas and emotions. Enjoying mental health is knowing how to deal with different emotions (good or bad), managing stress and emotions, being at ease with yourself and others, and knowing how to recognize your limits – including seeking specialized help when necessary.
Social Welfare
Family Day Program
The integration between the family and the company is configured as an important tool to value the workforce, as it stimulates the recognition of the importance of the employee’s work by their families, providing conditions to strengthen the bond between the workforce and the company, by allowing family members to get to know better their work reality, their daily routine and the relevance of their labor activities in the development of the company as a whole.
The Family Day meeting takes place annually and allows the family members of our workforce to visit the company’s units, get to know the work routine and the importance of the activities developed by Copel, which have a direct impact on the state’s economic and social areas.
The program provides the opportunity for a moment of integration and relaxation in the Company, also bringing safety content, educational lectures and health care, becoming an allied action in accident prevention and promotion of integral health of Copel’s family. It also includes presentations on the Company’s business and ludic and practical activities adapted to everyday work tools, such as trucks with baskets, zip-lines on the transmission training towers, and guided tours in areas of restricted access and control.
With the experience of virtual activities in the pandemic, today the program is a hybrid, with activities in person – the visits to the workplaces; and virtual activities, with educational lectures aimed at the adult public, that is, fathers and mothers and other family members.
Home Office Program
Following the market trends and after a study on the work modalities, Copel instituted in 2022 the new remote work model (home office). The Home Office Program favors the employees’ well-being and life balance, available in two modalities:
- Hybrid home office: the model combines characteristics of face-to-face activity and remote work, enabling employees to fulfill their weekly work day in person and remotely (at home).
- Punctual Home Office: aims to meet a specific situation with a defined duration, at the request of the employee and agreed with his/her immediate manager.
The adhesion is voluntary by the employee and the distribution of the days in person or at a distance is defined by each wholly-owned subsidiary and with the employee’s area of assignment, according to the specificities of each area and work activity. Currently, 75% of the functions are eligible for the Program.
Combating Domestic Violence
Copel recognizes that the fight against domestic violence involves society as a whole and assumes its social responsibility in this matter, conducting permanent campaigns to combat and overcome domestic violence, be it against women, children or elderly people.
The company develops support actions for employees who are victims of violence, ranging from release for absence from work to transferring their place of work as part of protective measures, if the employee so wishes.
The actions are also aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN), especially in items that advocate gender equality, emotional health and well-being, and the promotion of a healthy working environment for all people.
Wellbeing in Pregnancy Program
The Bem-Gestar Program aims to provide special attention and support to mothers and fathers during the pregnancy process and after the birth of the child, having as main objectives
welcome the employees in this unique moment;
provide psychosocial well-being to pregnant and parenting women in the workplace, providing support and information;
encourage the practice of breastfeeding after returning to work, with the breastfeeding support rooms; and
promote an active and conscious paternity, which is an important foundation for the growth and development of the children and the family.
The actions developed include registration of pregnant women and fathers, encouragement of responsible fatherhood, virtual group for pregnant women, healthy pregnancy, and breastfeeding support rooms, in addition to incorporating existing practices and benefits.
Pregnant Women Group
It is aimed at employees, wives of employees, and contractors, in order to promote the dissemination and discussion of contents about pregnancy, legislation, childbirth, postpartum, care with the newborn, and breastfeeding.
Healthy pregnancy
It aims to promote the health of pregnant women, offering support and care during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum focusing on health promotion and the importance of prenatal exams and the first care with the baby, available to beneficiaries of Fundação Copel’s health plan at no additional cost to the plan.
Breastfeeding Rooms
Copel maintains breastfeeding rooms in some of its units so that employees returning from maternity leave have an appropriate environment for the removal and storage of milk to be offered to the infant.
The environments are part of the network “Mãe Paranaense” and are certified by the Ministry of Health, in recognition of the support provided to the women who are part of the Company’s staff.
Pre-retirement Program (PPA)
The dedication to working life by the employee tends to reduce the time dedicated to the concern of people with the transition moment experienced by retirement and, in addition to that, the reflexes of personal choices and the changes in the social security system motivated the institution of a program of preparation for retirement and for the future.
The Pre-retirement Program (PPA) is a practice of people management at Copel that aims to provide guidance on choices that provide tranquility and quality of life, having as assumption education, providing access to information and relevant knowledge in order to promote the autonomy to plan the worker’s future.
In this sense, Copel’s pre-retirement program foresees educational actions, by means of internal seminars on subjects that are relevant for the future, such as the preservation of physical and emotional health, the importance of building healthy relationships and financial education, as well as self-development actions, making content and tools available so that each employee can elaborate his/her “life project”, thus establishing a better connection with his/her future.
The action is also aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN), especially those that advocate emotional health and well-being and quality education, as well as the promotion of a healthy working environment for all people.
Financial Well-Being
Redefining Value$
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a US government agency, and referenced by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), financial well-being is the condition in which a person is able to meet his or her recurring financial obligations, feels secure and confident about his or her future, and is able to make choices that allow him or her to enjoy life.
The Redefinindo Valores Program proposes to work with financial education as a way to promote employees’ financial well-being and economic sustainability.
Financial education aims to encourage and promote the search for knowledge that allows financial planning and management in a conscious and intelligent way. Planning and financial organization allow you to learn how to manage your money, developing autonomy over decisions.
Together with the partnership with Fundação Copel for issues related to complementary pension plans, the program’s actions involve:
- Learning trail with tracks such as: basic concepts, getting out of the red, taking care of money, planning the future and my pension plan;
- Lecture on financial education;
- Workshop on complementary pension plans; and
- Mentoring groups with specific themes.
Benefits
The benefits package offered by Copel to its employees exceeds that defined by law, and is compatible with that of companies that are a reference in people management. This package is granted to all employees, regardless of their workload.
