Managing health

Taking responsibility for the health of our employees is not just a statutory obligation at ALTANA; it’s in our own best interest. We believe our employees’ wellness is a fundamental precondition for their commitment, their performance, their creativity, and their agility.

Three challenges are the primary drivers of a company’s active health policy:

  • Growing shortage of skilled and management personnel;
  • Demographic changes; and
  • High cost of lost time by sickness.

According to the Luxembourg Declaration on Workplace Health Promotion (WHP), which ALTANA has signed, traditional occupational safety – such as wearing the right protective gear – contributes substantially to improving workplace health by decreasing accidents and preventing occupational disease. But these types of measures are simply not enough. That’s why WHP aims to prevent occupational disease (which includes work-related illnesses and on-the-job accidents, occupational disease and stress), to enhance the capacity for good health, and improve wellness at work.

It has been proven that companies that comprehensively promote health in the workplace not only reduce sickness-related costs and improve productivity. They also enjoy healthier employees with greater motivation, better morale, and a better atmosphere on the job.

Starting points for promoting workplace health or health management include healthy working conditions (such as ergonomic workspaces), guidelines governing working hours, and career opportunities. At the same time, promoting healthy personal habits such as healthy diet, workplace sports, and prevention of drug and alcohol abuse are also part of a comprehensive program.

ALTANA has instituted a wide range of initiatives to promote workplace health management. ECKART, for example, has consolidated and improved health and social support within the company under the rubric of WHP. The focus here is on reintegration support, drug and alcohol addiction counseling, and general promotion of healthy practices. WHP comprises modules that are understood as a single process aimed at achieving a healthy organization of work and healthy behavior on the job.

This includes ergonomics as well. Each employee’s well-being is significantly impacted by workplace ergonomics, which has a major influence on muscular / skeletal problems such as back pain, one of the most widespread health problems in Europe. ALTANA strives consistently to educate all our employees and provide comprehensive information about healthy living.
At ELANTAS Beck, influenza vaccinations and dermatological consultations are integral components of WHP, along with the treatment and prevention of addiction. In 2009, BYK set a goal of instituting company-wide health management. A comparison clearly reveals why: In 2009, with 673 employees, 7,400 days were missed due to sickness, or 10.9 days per employee, while absences due to accidents on the job accounted for only 307 days (0.4 days per employee). Clearly, health is a much more significant component in reducing absences. Today, promoting health at BYK includes yoga classes, fitness programs, nutrition awareness, massage, qigong, and running clubs. And at BYK USA, workplace health management is known as iHealth.

 

Dependence and addiction prevention

Workplace health management also addresses prevention of addictions. It’s not only nicotine, alcohol, and drugs that can fuel addiction. Prescription drugs and food, gambling and shopping can all be culprits, setting off a vicious cycle that few of us can break out of with sheer willpower or self-control alone. In principle, anyone can develop an addiction. Since addiction or dependency is not limited to certain substances, any form of human behavior can become addictive, including widespread eating disorders and workaholism. It is still too often the case, however, that issues of dependency and addiction are treated like taboos. That’s why ECKART integrated them into its health management program four years ago.
Issues involving psychological and psychosomatic illnesses, such as burn-out, have also been integrated into the ECKART health management program. As in the case of addiction prevention, the company starts with management training, which covers training to recognize symptoms in the workplace and analysis of the work situation and risk factors.

Occupational diseases

Occupational diseases comprise those that are recognized by the relevant national organizations and result in disability payments. These diseases have not been appeared to date at ALTANA. We are confident that, with constantly improving health protection initiatives, we will be able to maintain this outstanding record. Other occupationally-related illnesses are not as easy to identify, however, and often difficult to distinguish from non-occupational illnesses, with general analysis further barred by patient / doctor confidentiality. That’s why some of our companies have worked with insurance providers to analyze causes of disease, and incorporated the results of this analysis in their health promotion programs, since the employee absentee figures can’t distinguish between occupational and other diseases.