Making the Most of Your Potential

It was a gut feeling that led Philipp Ellguth to pursue a training course to become a chemical laboratory assistant. And his instinct was right: to this day, he works in the lab with great motivation. Back in 2003, he was the first severely disabled trainee to be hired as part of an integration agreement at WACKER. This agreement means that every year, at least two young people with disabilities have the chance to train at Wacker Chemie.

“People with certain limitations don’t just have deficiencies, but also great potential.”

Philipp Ellguth, Laboratory Technician

Prior to that, he had attended a business school that did not focus on math, physics or chemistry. “The training was a difficult phase,” recalls Ellguth – not because of the deformities on both of his hands, but due to the gaps in his scientific knowledge. However, he had gotten used to persevering from an early age – he may have had to practice a bit more than other children, but then he mastered how to hold things as well as everybody else. He had to go the extra mile at the start of his training, but things got easier in the second year and, in the end, he graduated with flying colors. Ellguth later completed advanced training to qualify as a lab technician.

Prior to that, he had attended a business school that did not focus on math, physics or chemistry. “The training was a difficult phase,” recalls Ellguth

– not because of the deformities on both of his hands, but due to the gaps in his scientific knowledge.

However, he had gotten used to persevering from an early age – he may have had to practice a bit more than other children, but then he mastered how to hold things as well as everybody else. He had to go the extra mile at the start of his training, but things got easier in the second year and, in the end, he graduated with flying colors. Ellguth later completed advanced training to qualify as a lab technician.

Philipp Ellguth wishes people would trust more and not be so skeptical – and nobody should hide behind their disability.

Today, he works in Technical Marketing at WACKER SILICONES and is the deputy representative for severely disabled employees. Colleagues with disabilities find him easily accessible because he has an open and approachable demeanor, which makes them feel understood very quickly. During these encounters, Ellguth has repeatedly noticed that “people with certain limitations don’t just have deficiencies, but also great potential.” That is why he wishes that “people would trust more and not be so skeptical.” His advice to those concerned is to not hide behind their handicap. He himself is a good example of what someone can achieve despite a disability: “I have a safe job at a great company. It wasn’t an easy journey but my training and job have had a very positive effect on my life.”

Seemingly Minor Things Have a Great Effect

“Inclusion in Bavaria – We Work Together” is the name of the emblem that WACKER received from the Bavarian state government in early 2018. On presenting the award, Bavarian Undersecretary Johannes Hintersberger explained that “Wacker Chemie AG shows how an inclusive working environment operates, and is therefore a shining role model, which will hopefully encourage many other employers to follow suit.” But what is so special about the “inclusive working environment” at WACKER? In Ellguth’s eyes, what’s special is that there isn’t really anything special. Like himself, many colleagues with disabilities work without any special aids – and where aids are necessary, they are provided as naturally as a PC.

Mirjam Nagl knows that it is often small things that can make life difficult and that can likewise make life easier.

Mirjam Nagl is Group representative for people with severe disabilities. Together with her colleagues Philipp Ellguth, Stefan Kaiser and Wolfgang Baddack, she ensures that colleagues with disabilities get just the support they need to perform their individual jobs without the red tape. It is usually inconspicuous extras that make a difference. “It is often small things that can make life difficult,” explains Nagl. Someone who has just suffered from a slipped disc may need a desk chair with an adjustable neck support or an electrically adjustable desk. As representatives for people with severe disabilities, Nagl, Ellguth, Kaiser and Baddack are likewise the right people to contact at the Burghausen site when it comes to such seemingly minor things.

Mirjam Nagl is Group representative for people with severe disabilities. Together with her colleagues Philipp Ellguth, Stefan Kaiser and Wolfgang Baddack, she ensures that colleagues with disabilities get just the support they need to perform their individual jobs without the red tape. It is usually inconspicuous extras that make a difference. “It is often small things that can make life difficult,” explains Nagl.

“It is often small things that can make life difficult”

Mirjam Nagl, Group Disability Liaison Officer

Someone who has just suffered from a slipped disc may need a desk chair with an adjustable neck support or an electrically adjustable desk. As representatives for people with severe disabilities, Nagl, Ellguth, Kaiser and Baddack are likewise the right people to contact at the Burghausen site when it comes to such seemingly minor things.

“It is often small things that can make life difficult.”

Mirjam Nagl, Group Disability Liaison Officer

“My 10 Percent is My 100 Percent”

There is a highly dedicated contact person for people with impaired eyesight: Stefan Kaiser. He was born with a reduced visual aptitude of 10 percent. Anyone interested in understanding what this is like can perform a little experiment: “Take a pair of binoculars, turn them around, and then look through them. I see shapes and colors, but all very far away – that’s why I need various aids to help me in my work. What I see isn’t blurry – it’s normal. Put differently: my 10 percent is my 100 percent.”

It all started in 1990, when Kaiser began his commercial training at WACKER. Back then, there was something quite special about being the first visually impaired employee doing the training – using his own computer equipment. “At the time, the HR staff, employee representatives and representatives for employees with severe disabilities didn’t know what challenges someone like me would encounter in everyday office life. They embarked on the experiment,” remembers Kaiser. “Thanks to open communication, we always found a suitable solution.” His aids at the time were a 20-inch monitor and a PC that were paid for by the employment agency. Magnification programs did not exist yet; other aids were extremely expensive. “Anything customized for disabled individuals incurred a four-digit surcharge. Unfortunately, that remains true to this day,” states Kaiser regretfully. “This fact, along with my goal of improving my personal work situation and making the difficult path easier for colleagues in similar situations, were what motivated me to persevere,” says Kaiser.

It all started in 1990, when Kaiser began his commercial training at WACKER. Back then, there was something quite special about being the first visually impaired employee doing the training – using his own computer equipment. “At the time, the HR staff, employee representatives and representatives for employees with severe disabilities didn’t know what challenges someone like me would encounter in everyday office life. They embarked on the experiment,” remembers Kaiser. “Thanks to open communication, we always found a suitable solution.” His aids at the time were a 20-inch monitor and a PC that were paid for by the employment agency. Magnification programs did not exist yet; other aids were extremely expensive. “Anything customized for disabled individuals incurred a four-digit surcharge. Unfortunately, that remains true to this day,” states Kaiser regretfully.

“This fact, along with my goal of improving my personal work situation and making the difficult path easier for colleagues in similar situations, were what motivated me to persevere,” says Kaiser.

“Thanks to open communication, we always found a suitable solution.”

Stefan Kaiser, Systems Engineer

He was really able to get going on these goals after he moved from the commercial department to WACKER IT, where he has been working as a systems engineer since 1997. In this role, the 46-year-old was recently responsible for the groupwide rollout of Windows 10. In addition to many other tasks, he makes sure blind or visually impaired colleagues have optimally equipped workplaces. Kaiser’s aim is for them not to endure what he did: sitting bent forward over his desk for years in order to make out charts, images and words. “That was exhausting,” he recalls.

Stefan Kaiser uses a software that varies the size of the monitor image with a single click.

So he set about designing and implementing a system that makes computer work easier for people with low visual aptitude. This includes software that varies the size of the monitor image with a single click – while blue markings help locate the ever-evasive cursor. Additionally, a document camera projects printed documents onto the screen with a single click. The system is rounded out with a text-to-speech function that can be turned on or off as required.

Over the years, Kaiser put this system together with components available on the market and refined it. There were some setbacks, of course, but he was able to overcome them with the support of his supervisors. He completed the system in 2016 and has since been working with it himself. What is more, other WACKER employees with reduced visual aptitude use this innovation as well. WACKER is a supportive employer, handling disabilities in an open manner and keeping an eye on the aids available on the market, making the required work equipment available to each employee. “It’s not just that work has become simpler for me,” says Kaiser, “I now work much more efficiently.” He also uses his expertise to actively support Nagl and her colleagues as a representative for employees with severe disabilities as regards workplace inclusion.

Actively Involved Despite Acute Back Pain

Wolfgang Baddack joined these representatives in fall 2018. With over 32 years of professional experience, he works as a deputy shift leader for WACKER SILICONES at the Burghausen site. “I have to struggle with several disabilities myself. That’s how I came to talk with the representatives. Their work really impressed me and got me thinking,” he remembers. “The support provided by the representatives for employees with severe disabilities motivated me to become involved myself and stand for election as a deputy representative.” He has meanwhile attended several seminars to familiarize himself with the topics, so that he can competently advise employees with disabilities.

Wolfgang Baddack campaigns for healthy backs.

Based on his own painful experience, Baddack is an expert as regards back pain. Fifteen years ago, after several slipped discs, he experienced severe pain, especially in the cervical spine and shoulders. “Heavy physical work was part of my everyday working life for many years,” he reports. “Today, there is a lot of automation – but we still have to be careful to lift and carry things in an ergonomically correct and healthy way.” He instructs his 20-strong team in this as well. He managed to get his own suffering under control with acupuncture against disc pain and routine back exercises. He still regularly receives massage and osteopathy treatments as a preventive measure.

“The support provided by the representatives for employees with severe disabilities motivated me to become involved myself.”

Wolfgang Baddack, Deputy Shift Leader

His back pain was so serious that Baddack received what is legally referred to as “equivalent status” in Germany, ranking him equal with severely disabled people to a large degree. This means that the same regulations apply to him in the workplace, e.g. workplace-planning aids and special protection against dismissal. In Germany, decisions on equivalent status are made by the Federal Employment Agency (relevant webpage available in German only).

Overcoming Communication Barriers

Thomas Seitz, who works as a chemical laboratory technician at WACKER POLYMERS, largely gets by without aids specially designed for his disability. In the lab, he analyzes dispersible polymer powders and redispersions, for example; in the pilot plant, his tasks include conducting spray tests. “I enjoy my job,” he says, “because my work varies in the lab and in the pilot plant, and I am always on the move. My disability doesn’t pose any obstacle.”

What disability? You have to look twice to see Seitz’s hearing aid. He lost his hearing when he was six years old. He calls this a “fortunate” circumstance, because he was able to hear and learn to speak his native language up until starting elementary school. He can also recognize sounds such as traffic noise, birdsong and thunder. Thanks to this “late deafness” – which actually affects some 150,000 people in Germany – he can lipread very well, which is much more difficult for people born deaf. “I nevertheless come up against communication barriers, as I don’t understand everyone well,” explains Seitz. “Due to my good language skills, some people – probably unconsciously – unfortunately perceive me as just being hard of hearing, or even as someone with hearing, and just start to rattle on.”

Thomas Seitz likes to be on the move in his job and feels accepted as an equal.

Thomas Seitz likes to be on the move in his job and feels accepted as an equal.

Seitz wears the hearing aid because it helps him detect loud noises. However, it only allows him to interpret voices as sounds and not as language. That’s why he looked for a job that did not involve using the telephone. So an office job was not an option, but the chemical-technical sector proved to be ideal. In the lab, he can work just as well as any other technician. The only difference was that the pilot plant received a piece of special equipment for him: a flashing light comes on as soon as an acoustic alarm goes off – this happens time and again due to regular drills. His colleagues explain the accompanying announcements to him. There are no problems here, either – some colleagues even learned simple signs such as fingerspelling.

“It is very important to us to provide a working environment free of prejudice, in which all employees can contribute to the company’s success.”

Dr. Christian Hartel, Personnel Director and Member of WACKER’s Executive Board

A sign language interpreter comes to general employee meetings so that people like Seitz can follow the events. This kind of interpreter also signs at the annual meeting for severely disabled employees and at safety days and internal informational events. The interpreter’s work is quite demanding, as she has to correctly sign many technical terms specific to WACKER. Together, Seitz and Nagl arranged for the interpreter to get documents and presentations several days before an event, rather than just before it takes place. This allows her to familiarize herself with the content and be prepared for what will be said.

Open-Minded and on an Equal Footing

“It is very important to us to provide a working environment free of prejudice, in which all employees can contribute to the company’s success,” said WACKER Executive Board member and Personnel Director Dr. Christian Hartel during the presentation of the inclusion emblem. Ellguth, Kaiser, Baddack and Seitz can confirm that such a working environment is a matter of course at WACKER. More than 900 individuals with disabilities work for the WACKER Group. That’s equivalent to 8.8 percent of the workforce – yet the law in Germany requires only 5 percent. Seitz speaks for many, maybe even all, of these individuals when he states that “I feel accepted as an equal.”