Health Programs

Health Services launches a groupwide campaign on relevant health topics every two years. Following the successful “Go for the Check-Up” campaign of 2018-2019, the focus since 2020 has been on “Eat Well, Feel Better.” This campaign conducted by Health Services seeks not only to provide information for employees but also to make them aware of the need to find a healthy diet that is appropriate for them. A poor diet can have major health implications, such as loss of physical and mental capacity, digestive problems, metabolic illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.

We encourage employees at our German sites to participate in a diverse range of sports and we support them, for example, in running events. On “Back Health” day in 2019, we held workshops at our Burghausen site and Munich headquarters on how to strengthen the back muscles.

WACKER promotes substance-abuse prevention. Alcohol is not permitted in the workplace. All managerial employees must complete training courses on substance-abuse prevention so that they can recognize employees who are addicted or at risk of addiction and get them proper treatment. We also provide managers with courses on detecting employees suffering from mental stress and on alleviating the problem.

WACKER collaborates with external partners to offer health weeks for employees over 35 years of age. These residential stays feature practical exercises and workshops on health topics, such as movement, diet, relaxation, and stress management.

The “Fit for Work” (formerly “Fit for Your Shift”) project targets stress and strain specific to shift work, skilled manual workers, work in logistics or certified industrial forepersons. The participants are taught habits that can help them deal better with the pressures of shift work or manual labor in the long term. The program consists of four modules:

• A one-week stay at a rehabilitation clinic
• A three-month program of training at the workplace
• A six-month period during which workers continue the training on their own
• A final refresher weekend

Post-program evaluations show a significant reduction in risk factors such as blood pressure and blood lipids, but also body weight and body mass index (BMI). The participants’ level of stamina and quality of sleep improve, too. By the end of 2020, over 650 employees had taken part in “Fit for Work” since the program began in 2013.

Since 2020, Health Services has been running the “Vital Energy” prevention program that focuses on psychosomatic issues to

• Boost ways of dealing with psychological tension
• Increase capacity to deal with stress and conflict in the workplace
• Build up psychosocial protection and resilience factors

“Vital Energy” starts with a five-day residential week involving health seminars, consultations with specialists and psychologists, and a gentle program of exercise. In the subsequent three-month outpatient phase, participants consolidate what they have learned and are in contact with medical experts via an app or telephone. After a six-month self-guidance phase, the participants meet for a two-day residential stay to share their experiences and to set their own personal goals. WACKER grants paid leave to employees in Germany attending the “Vital Energy” program. The bulk of the program’s costs are borne by the German statutory pension insurance system.

The number of recognized occupational diseases at WACKER’s sites in Germany is at a very low level. In the past, respiratory diseases and cancer were the most frequent causes of illness; there are some isolated cases where previous exposure to asbestos has caused occupational diseases. There was no recognized case of occupational disease at the Burghausen site during the reporting period.

So far, WACKER has not evaluated groupwide figures concerning occupational diseases of its employees because the criteria for the recognition of diseases as occupational vary from country to country. We annually survey indicators of healthcare provision to log incidences of occupational disease at production sites across the Group. No cases of occupational disease were recorded during the reporting period.