An increasing diversity of the workforce, dynamic changes due to digitalization in production and control, demographic change, and HR data and analytics are topics that are pertinent to SBB. Occupational health management (OHM) contributes to addressing these challenges within the framework of the health strategy. OHM takes the diversity of SBB into account through a targeted approach when it comes to designing working conditions for specific employee groups.

SBB relies on preventive measures to strengthen the health and employability of its employees. It invests in health-promoting leadership and teamwork, as well as in strengthening individual health competencies of its employees.

Employee health is not a luxury but is based on legal obligations and standards that are implemented in health protection, transport- and occupational medicine, as well as in the area of social insurance to protect employees from risks.

In case of illness or accidents, or if professional changes are necessary, SBB sustainably supports its employees with the aim of reintegrating them back into the workforce as quickly as possible.

In doing so, SBB takes a data-driven, interconnected, and evidence-based approach. It analyzes information on absenteeism trends and anonymized data from employee surveys and selected projects holistically. The insights gained serve as a basis to develop and implement effective measures in collaboration with SBB divisions. OHM works in a network with other HR solution centres, the divisions, and external partners from science and business.

SBB takes its social responsibility seriously and introduced corporate case management as early as 2007. Since 2010, SBB has been implementing an integrated health strategy. This now includes, among other things, presence management, a social counselling contact point, models for early retirement (“Zukunftsmodelle”), as well as campaigns and measures for mental health. Similarly, SBB promotes the health and employability of its employees e.g., by offering them pit stops (“Boxenstopps”) to assess and reflect their life situation or independent medical counselling sessions (“Gesundheitsgespräche”).

The health strategy and its current focus areas are anchored in the HR strategy and aligned with the SBB Strategy 2030. The HR board and the SBB board of directors regularly review key figures and insights on the topic of health at SBB. Social responsibility and cost-conscious action go hand-in-hand at SBB: The measures of health management prevent unnecessary suffering and high follow-up costs for SBB. This is made possible by the closely coordinated collaboration between managers and specialists from different fields, external health & medical services, and social insurance.

For its long-standing commitment to occupational health, SBB has been awarded the "Friendly Work Space" label since 2014. SBB was the first organization to be assessed with the top score of 5.0 and has been regularly reassessed at this level ever since. SBB meets the criteria for systematic and effective health management (friendlyworkspace.chLink opens in new window.), addressing current topics in work design, work organization, development of health competencies, risk prevention, and impact evaluation of the measures taken. This recognition encourages SBB to continue addressing the challenges of health and performance in its diverse job profiles and to implement effective measures.