Promoting health

Are our workstations designed for maximum comfort and support for the user? How can we establish health-promoting ways of working, in sitting work postures, for example? And what to do in an emergency? ERGO's team of company doctors deal with these and other issues along with providing healthcare services such as checks, vaccinations and first aid. They are available to our employees in Germany to discuss all health issues, provide support for reintegration into the workplace and, of course, are bound to confidentiality in all cases. We complement this service with a range of company health promotion programmes at all our German locations, covering issues such as nutrition, exercise, tobacco/alcohol/caffeine consumption and stress management.

Our company doctors work with our health and safety specialists, who also provide advice to employers and employees, on a range of issues around occupational safety. Our health and safety specialists offer their support in matters such as choosing devices for employees to work with, ergonomics and creating the optimum working environment. They deal with issues such as escape routes from company buildings, adequate lighting and risk assessments to evaluate levels of physical and psychological strain for employees.

In addition to these tasks, they are involved in investigations when accidents happen at work, as well as focusing on accident prevention; a further part of their remit is to carry out safety checks of on-site systems, technical work equipment and work procedures in dry runs before they are introduced. Employees wanting to know more can visit the health and safety information portal in our company intranet.

Our environmental management complements the work of our health and safety departments. It lies in the hands of our knowledgeable environmental officers, who act as central points of coordination for our certified environmental management procedures, provide support to specialist de-partments in the planning and implementation of our environmental protection pro-grammes, review their implementation in annual eco-audits and organise the planned expansion of our environmental management system. In addition to these tasks, they document our environmental management, including our land registry pursuant to environmental legislation, and review our annual key figures, which serve to measure the effectiveness of the action taken on environmental issues within our company.

A comprehensive package of company health promotion is available at all German locations, for example relating to the issues of nutrition, physical exercise and relaxation. ERGO sports is one of Germany’s biggest company sporting associations. Sport is organised centrally under one roof and offers more than 50 different sporting disciplines and other activities at seven sites. All year round, colleagues from all our sites and divisions come together in running, football and beach volley ball tournaments, and international events like the ERGO Cup and the Sail Challenge. Apart from find-ing joy in physical exercise, all these activities help to promote health awareness and teambuilding skills. Musical and cultural interests are also part of the scene and they include the ERGO Bands, the ERGO choir, and a theatre group which enables employees to tread the boards.