'Holy Water' - Faith Rooms for Staff at Thames Water

Religion is alive and well at Thames Water, as this report from 'The Source', Thames Water's in-house magazine shows:

In a company that can count around 800 Christians, 70 Muslims, 40 Hindus and 20 Sikhs – as well as other denominations – among those employees to have declared their faith, it’s no surprise that religion is being taken seriously at Thames Water.

At its Clearwater Court headquarters in Reading, as well as other key locations, plans are now in place to create ‘faith rooms’ to serve the spiritual needs of staff.

“We’ve taken the view that there is a demand from a number of religions for a space in our offices where people can take the time to pray or just have some quiet contemplation,” said  Sarah Gosiewska, the company’s HR diversity and inclusion manager.

Chris Beale, Area Facilities Manager, added: “we’re building new changing rooms at Clearwater Court and will then convert the existing space into a multi-faith room. This will have facilities suitable for all religions. We’re also planning to do the same at our other main offices at Kemble Court, Walnut Court and Rose Kiln.”

If there is a demand, other sites around Thames Water could also have their own faith rooms created.

The move comes in the wake of a resurgence of interest in religion at Thames Water, with diversity and inclusion a hot topic at the company-wide manager conferences in Ascot recently.

Dave Law, who works in the laboratory at Spencer House as a metals and radiochemistry analyst, and has co-ordinated the Christian fellowships within Thames Water for the past eight years, said: “Christians in Thames Water was set up 20 years ago for all Christians, regardless of denomination and for those interested in Christianity. We meet in multiple locations and currently meet to pray on Thursday lunchtimes and would welcome others to join us. We also have a Yammer Group for anyone who wants to find out more.”