How do employees endure this fate?

“Without employees who enjoy coming to work, everything else is of no value,” summarizes Nadine Grau at the end of the interview. Corporate healthcare management (BGM) assistant at Swiss Paraplegic Group explains what Health Promotion Switzerland’s “Friendly Workspace” label means. The company has been certified since 2011 and has been reassessed three times in the last eleven years. “Healthy and motivated employees are our most valuable resource. They are the foundation of a successful company”, the trained social worker sums up the label’s most important points.

Together with her supervisor, Manuela Schär and her HR team, Nadine Grau is concerned with the well-being and health of 2,000 employees. For this purpose, a wide variety of measures are available to strengthen physical and mental health for personnel. For example, regular health checkups, seminars on how to deal with stress and tension, extensive sports offers, coaching or team building.

Nadine Grau was clear when the Swiss Paraplegic Center was founded: “People with a severe stroke of fate can only be supported by healthy staff”, says Nadine Grau. You have to take care of the employees as well as the patients.

Equality is part of the Friendly Workspace

The BGM team invests a large part of their work in case management for prolonged absences. “This allows us to reintegrate many employees into the work process after a long illness. Ideally in the usual workplaces, but sometimes there are solutions within the group as well. In doing so, we always act in an area of ​​tension between economic efficiency and social responsibility.”

Grau says the Swiss paraplegic group wants to reach all workers in every occupation with preventive measures. “But women’s 72 percent share is mandatory.” Because structures and working conditions are an important part of the “Friendly Workspace” label, and gender equality issues are also part of it.

“We are looking for good development opportunities for our female specialists. There are many women in leadership positions. Many are in part-time jobs or co-management.” There is also a nursery that takes shift work into account. There are currently about 100 children being cared for there.

physical and mental stress

The Swiss paraplegic group on the shores of Lake Sempach includes not only doctors and nurses, but also those working in the hotel, housekeeping and kitchen industries. The requirements, and therefore the loads, are accordingly varied. “Very different topics are brought to us because of the large number of professional groups,” explains Grau.

On the one hand, the WHM expert says working with patients who have suffered a serious blow of fate is emotionally challenging. On the other hand, caring for people with reduced mobility is physically demanding. “We get in the back and realize this in part with the associated diseases. We rely heavily on systematic training in kinesthetics and invest in tools for employees.”

health for healthcare workers

In the office area, the speed of business processes that increase excessively as a result of work intensification or new technologies can trigger stress. Grau says there are physical challenges in the hotel industry, housekeeping and logistics. Therefore, occupational health management is necessary.

It doesn’t matter that many employees are actually healthcare professionals because of their professional background.
-they are experts. “In the health sector, we have to pay special attention to the fact that health is important not only for the patient, but also for the health of the employees.”

On the other hand, they have a great advantage as a company operating in the healthcare sector: “Expertise and infrastructure are available in-house.” Gyms, fitness centers and indoor pools are open to the use of not only patients but also employees. Experts such as occupational therapists, psychologists, nutritionists and doctors are consulted for OHM proposals. “We organize a very comprehensive health check-up for our employees every year,” Grau says, giving an example.

“We see it as an important duty to train our managers on healthy leadership. WHM will only work if all managers come together accordingly, because we cannot alone take responsibility for the health of 2,000 employees in two part-time jobs,” stresses Nadine Grau.

Supervisors should recognize warning signals and stress as early as possible and take appropriate action. The Swiss paraplegic group also relies on well-used 1:1 coaching.

Fix WHM in company

For a good anchor, it is essential that the company’s health management is integrated in the long term and that it is sustainable in the corporate strategy. “Thus, we orient ourselves in WHM planning according to departmental and group goals as well as company goals.”

It is also important that preventive measures are not applied haphazardly, but planned and implemented according to the target group and the needs of the workforce. “Employees often come to us with good ideas,” says Nadine Grau.

As a large training company in the canton of Lucerne, it also has tasks in the field of education. In addition to the classic OHM offerings, more than 200 employees in education also benefit from mental training or special input on “coping with mental stress” in preparation for the final exam. trainees

“I want to remain as the ‘Top Employer'”

This shows that the “Friendly Workspace” label is already having a positive impact: employee satisfaction is very high. Also, of course, the success of BGM is measured. «Factors such as commitment, work environment, satisfaction and well-being play a very important role in measuring success. This can be considered qualitatively,” explains Nadine Grau.

“As the ‘Best Employer’, we are not content with our achievements, we want to stay that way. For this purpose, BGM team works in close cooperation with HR Development and Employer Brand. We are constantly committed to providing our employees with good working conditions and development opportunities.»