Aim: A survey was conducted to establish the
state of workplace health promotion in companies
located in the south of Germany.
Methods: 390 companies situated in the area
around the cities of Ulm and Augsburg were
questioned by post by means of a two-page
standardized questionnaire. The response
rate was 40 %.
Results: Despite some awareness of health
promotion, there is a great deal of room for
improvement. A significant lack of ability to
analyze the psychosocial work environment
was observed. Furthermore, only a small proportion
of companies actually offer measures
to improve the psychosocial work environment
(conflict processing, training in coping
with stress, coaching). Especially in smaller
firms there is a need for more information.
Conclusions: Demographic change and increasing
competition are increasing the importance
of employee motivation and health.
This makes it necessary to include stress
prevention in programmes for occupational
health and safety.
