At Tallink Silja, blood donation during working hours is an established practice
Communications Director Marika Nöjd and Communications Specialist Armi Laine both donate blood regularly. Tallink Silja employees have been allowed to donate blood during working hours for 11 years.
Cruise ferry company Tallink Silja operates in Helsinki, Turku and Mariehamn, and employs just under 1,000 people.
Responsibility plays an important role at the company. Tallink Silja collaborates with e.g. Hope Ry to carry out charity work, but the opportunity to donate blood during working hours is the longest-standing form of charity in the company.
“Donating blood during working hours is an established practice for us; we have been doing it for 11 years,” says Marika Nöjd.
Tallink Silja encourages employees to organise group blood donation trips, for example on the intranet and in daily encounters.
“We have an active group of about 20 people who donate together, as long as work allows. We donate at the Sanomatalo donation point,” says Marika.
“It’s great that our employer makes it possible for us to donate blood during working hours. I feel like it creates a sense of community. Donating blood is a very quick way to help someone, and we appreciate that it has been made so easy for us to help,” says Armi Laine.
There is a suitable amount of peer pressure involved when donating blood as part of a group. Plus, there is time to catch up with colleagues during the donation.
“This has encouraged people to become first-time donors, as it is easier for people to join in as part of a group if they are a little nervous about donating blood, for example. Working together also brings together employees from different parts of the company. It’s a nice, shared moment where we can talk about work or something else,” explains Marika.
