The European Business Excellence Model, which is the basis for the European Award for Total Quality Management, also served as the basis for the evaluation model for corporate health promotion which Germany developed for its statutory health insurance system. Concurrently, in the context of the discussion on occupational safety and health management systems, members of Germany's occupational safety and health community have produced an important document for the evaluation of these systems which addresses the most relevant issues in corporate health promotion
Corporate health promotion in German companies: Case studies
No. of employees: 210,000 in Europe, 170,000 in Germany
Products/Services: Food, non-food and services
Locations: 12,000 branches in Europe, 9,500 in Germany
Miscellaneous: 76% women, 60% part-time workers
REWE regards the health protection of its employees as a social obligation and an economic necessity. Matters of occupational health and safety are viewed as management tasks and are regularly dealt with in seminars and training courses.
Broad alliance and thorough planning
At REWE, a national working group on health controls all health-related measures. This group comprises 25-30 members from the REWE companies, its branches and headquarters. They include the head of the social department of the central organisation, the leading occupational safety and health officer, members of works councils, human resources branch managers, representatives of the employers' liability insurance association and the company health insurance fund, as well as external consultants from research institutes and from the Federal Association of Company Health Insurance Funds.
Since 1993 health reports have been prepared every year to help detect any irregularities in the sickness profile of the company. With industrial accident statistics and data from stress analyses, they serve as a basis for planning health promotion.
REWE has participated in several research projects. In the "KOPAG" project on the prevention of work-related illnesses, health risks were surveyed in the warehouse, in sales, at the cash registers, and in the transport sector. The organisation of work improved accordingly. Another project was geared to pooling all activities relating to occupational health and safety and workplace health promotion and integrating them into the company processes.
In order to improve ergonomically work at the cash register, new till stools and tables were developed. Health circles have been set up in work areas where job stress has been identified as a serious factor affecting employee health. Many measures for reducing stress have been introduced through improved workplace design and organisation of work. Employees who frequently transport heavy loads are trained in good posture, and the executive team attends seminars on promoting health through staff leadership.
Thanks to the wide variety of health-related activities, REWE has been able to substantially reduce work stress for its employees. As a result, the working atmosphere and staff satisfaction have improved considerably, leading to greater customer satisfaction.
