Investing into the health of employees is always beneficial. This is because every euro that has been paid in eventually pays off: employees are less often sick, their motivation and productivity increase, the attachment to the employer deepens and also the working atmosphere improves,” says Stephan Jäger, advisor for securing skilled personnel at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Düsseldorf. “It isn’t easy to calculate the economic benefit it makes to the business straight away, but it is possible to do so over the medium- to long term.” CHM is no longer a ‘nice to have’ department, it is an important part of employer branding when searching for highly skilled workers, to whom a good work/life balance has been becoming more and more important – and that would have increased over the past one and a half years, too.

Just how much a corporation can dedicate to the health of its workforce, even in times of a pandemic, is impressively illustrated by one of the city’s largest employers, Henkel. Based at the plant in Holthausen, a team consisting of 30 general practitioners, physiotherapists and social workers set the minimum standards for corporate health management for this globally active corporation. They have been working together closely with other departments, for example corporate communication. “During the past years we have been experiencing a lower level of employee illness and this trend has continued even during the pandemic, including the area of mental health,” explains Dr Andreas Bauck, Director of Corporate Health at Henkel. Before this point of time (12th May, 2021, editor’s note) - which sees 90% of the 5,600 strong Düsseldorf-based Henkel workforce working from home - a digital hub had been installed, which was then used to coordinate the management of support measures during the pandemic. With regards to exercise for example, the already large virtual library was complemented by many hundreds of online on-demand-videos by an independent company. Via the internal Henkel-podcast the corporation’s doctors have been sharing helpful information and psychotherapists have been talking about how to improve one’s mental health. With regards to mindfulness, for example, Henkel offers different formats - from small learning units all the way to multi-level blended-learning offers. “We have the advantage that as an in-house service within a huge corporation we are already known to many of the employees. This makes it easier for them to make virtual appointments with our team and to talk about their current challenges,” says Bauck.

„It is a social event where we can connect, and during which the feeling of being part of a community, which is so important to us, is being strengthened“

Also at ARAG, Germany’s biggest family-owned insurance company, the move of the CHM department into the virtual world has obviously been very successful. This way the more than 2,000 staff based in Düsseldorf and the roughly 350 employees in Munich can be contacted independently from their location. For example: a work-out class with changing core elements, instructed by a personal trainer, takes place a couple of times per week – and has hundreds of fans. “This is not just about sport. It is a social event where we can connect, and during which the feeling of being part of a community, which is so important to us, is being strengthened,” explains Thomas Schmidt, head of HR Development. The corporate health management department has always been part of ARAGcare, a large framework that supports a good work/life balance. Therefore it is well established within the insurance company based in Düsseldorf and it is, moreover, an important part of the leadership training programme. In order to support their workforce psychologically ARAG developed an easily accessible ‘Covid-Aid’ bundle, consisting of a combination of short keynotes and more in-depth webinars. “Topics were, for example, healthy leadership in the home-office, resilience or the balancing of work commitments and family needs. With just this offer we reached more than 450 people,” says Katharina Kamps, Specialist Human Resource Development. Through an independent cooperation partner the corporation offers their employees services such as virtual childcare or an expert-hotline for anonymous advice. Looking into the future, Thomas Schmidt says: “Through a corporate agreement with regards to mobile working we have already, in the broadest sense, defined the shape work will take in the future. As a family business a good mixture of working from home and being present and available is important to us. This way we can, on one hand, incorporate the concept of flexibility whilst, on the other hand, maintaining the feeling of being a part of a group within the corporation.”

„Mindfulness in particular is an important topic amongst management.”

The apoBank headquarters in Düsseldorf-Lörick

As the “Bank of health” the apoBank is not only a financial services provider for doctors, pharmacists and dentists. They aim to implement this concept amongst their roughly 2,500 staff, of which 700 are based at the Düsseldorf headquarters. “During this time in particular it is important to raise awareness of the CHM department amongst our colleagues, which is why, for example, we post our offers increasingly on our intranet,” says Birgit Müller, Special Human Resources Development. The e-lessons, which are available through the virtual apoCampus stretch from ‘Stress-what you can do right now’ to ‘Dealing with anxiety’ or ‘Self-motivation’ and ‘Burnout Prevention’ all the way to ‘Mindfulness’. Every year all apoBank employees also receive a voucher worth 120 euros to be spent on prevention courses. “Mindfulness in particular is an important topic amongst management. Only if they look after their own health and model this behaviour, they are able to look after their employees in the long term and motivate them to live healthier,” Dr Joachim Goldbeck, Head of HR, explains. In the spring of 2020 the selection available through the CHM was extended by topics with regards to mobile working and online meetings. Moreover, department leaders are being supported through the hotline as they can receive help when they notice psychological irregularities amongst staff members. Looking into the future beyond the times of the pandemic Dr Goldbeck says: “There will be a hybrid model consisting of working from home and being physically present, which will suit the requirements of the individual employee and will take into account the legal framework. There will be no more ‘one size fits all’.” •

Services zur Mitarbeitergesundheit

The IHK Düsseldorf informs and supports businesses with regards to corporate health management (CHM) by promoting exchange at events and in existing networks. Frequently practical examples are being introduced, from which other businesses can learn. A popular programme in aid of increasing the level of exercise is for example ’10,000 steps Düsseldorf’.

The IHK-Forum runs the accredited course ‘Practitioner in Corporate Health Management’. People taking part will be able to develop corporate health management for companies and introduce it successfully. Moreover, the IHK supports the advice and information portal ‘BGF-Koordinierungsstelle NRW’, which is run by the statutory health insurances.

www.duesseldorf.ihk.de

Words: Tom Corrinth
Pictures: iStock, Henkel, ARAG, apoBank