Company social work in Germany

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Company social work in Germany (also company social counseling, BSA, health counseling, individual employee and executive counseling or the employee assistance program ) is a voluntary measure by companies. It is a branch of social work and social educationand aims to support professionals and businesses and organizations. There is no legal basis for company social work. It is carried out by social workers or social pedagogues, who usually have a university degree and additional specialist training. Private companies, public administrations, universities and other organizations can make use of offers from internal and external BSA. The respective social responsibility and value orientation of the company management is a decisive factor in whether an appropriate offer is made.

The professional and interest group is the Bundesfachverband Betriebliche Sozialarbeit e. V. (bbs), founded in 1994.

history

Company social work in Germany began around 100 years ago. In 1900 a nurse was placed for the first time at a textile factory in Gummersbach, which was operated by the Evangelical Diakonieverein e. V. had been trained in Berlin. More nurses, also known as factory attendants, were hired, especially in large companies, up until the beginning of the First World War. They provided advice on nutritional issues, childcare and workers' accommodation. In addition to advice, they also provided material help, for example for working mothers and in the event of illness.

Degussa AG and its predecessor companies were exemplary . The designation was "Werkfürsorgerin" and "Betriebsfürsorgerin" during the National Socialism . Their number fluctuated from around 800 before the First World War to 100 thereafter up to 3000 during the Third Reich and a few active workers after the Second World War, increasing to an estimated 1300 company social workers today.

During the Nazi era, company social work was used for political interests. This gave rise to their bad reputation and collapse after the end of the war. Company social work almost came to a standstill and only developed through help in material emergencies in the 1950s. Works welfare has now been renamed social counseling.

Only with the adoption of new methods of social work from the USA did a new development spurt take place. It was connected with the establishment of company addiction support and addiction prevention as well as with the awareness of human rights , promoted by the human rights movement in the USA. The offers, initially limited to company addiction support, quickly expanded to other areas in the USA. The social work known there under the name Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is now offered in more than 80% of all companies with more than 50 employees. In the GDR , care for the working population was an essential part of social and health policy and largely followed state-political interests.

With the training of social workers in technical colleges since 1971 and through supplementary training, findings from work and organizational psychology , clinical psychology , sociology and social work science were increasingly taken into account.

Legal basis

There are still no binding legal bases for corporate social work in Germany.

However, the obligation to maintain confidentiality and the right to refuse to give evidence are relevant for people working in corporate social work. For state-recognized social workers, social pedagogues and professional psychologists, Section 203 (1) No. 1, 2 and 5 of the Criminal Code expressly applies . If they belong to the appropriate professional group, this also applies to those active in corporate social work.

In relation to Section 203, Paragraph 1, No. 4, 4a and 6, the question arises as to what extent the company advice center is functionally publicly recognized or not. Fleck basically denies this. In practice, however, for example, social reports for medical rehabilitation measures in the case of addiction disorders by appropriately qualified company addiction advisors are recognized by the pension insurance institutions . In terms of legal confidentiality, it is - according to the Fleck report - clearer when the assignment to the company medical service takes place. There, however, the social counselors would “only” be assistants under Section 203 (3) sentence 2 of the Criminal Code and would lose their independence. There is no automatic obligation to maintain confidentiality if you are involved in the personnel department or if you perform psychosocial counseling tasks independently. On the one hand, however, professional ethical standards apply here; on the other hand, experience has shown that confidentiality is recognized and lived, since compliance is essential for corporate social work.

The Works Constitution Act (BetrVG) is legally relevant for corporate social work , since corporate social work is understood as part of the company's efforts to integrate and avoid conflicts in the company, for which in turn corresponding regulations in the Works Constitution Act are to be applied.

Range of services and practice

Social workers in the company can be the contact person in the event of mental stress and illnesses of company members. Direct relatives of the person concerned, employees of external companies or customers can be included in the practical advisory work. The focus is on advice on conflicts at work and on psychosocial, health, personal, family, financial or legal problems. The involvement of the social workers in health management , personnel and organizational issues in the company are also part of the tasks. Training courses are offered on topics such as bullying , sexual harassment in the workplace, health promotion or the compatibility of family and work. The aim is to promote the well-being of everyone involved and the perception of social responsibility and to bring this in line with business needs.

Today, corporate social work is performed by both specialized service providers and individuals with different qualifications. They are mainly used within companies by large companies and corporations, but now also increasingly as external service providers or as freelancers in small or medium-sized companies. This external corporate social counseling (also external employee counseling or Employee Assistance Program ) can provide a network of experts and provide a wide variety of forms of advice (from personal to telephone to online advice). With regard to company health management, addiction counseling and prevention, debt counseling and conflict counseling , a specialization can be observed that can be rated as problematic under the claim of company social work to be holistic and integrative.

tasks
  1. Advice for employees, trainees, next of kin or retirees on personal, family, economic and health issues including addiction advice
  2. Conflict counseling, moderation, mediation
  3. Expert advice from trainers and executives on communication behavior, key qualifications, addiction prevention
  4. Crisis intervention and emergency assistance in the event of decompensation (here: failure of regular psychological functional mechanisms) at work, death, professional crises
  5. Case management within the framework of operational integration management, operational addiction support
  6. Information, education, seminars, training sessions on prevention issues such as addictions, debt, burnout - prevention
  7. Internal and external networking with other providers, cooperation partners, specialist departments
  8. Measures for team development, especially in conflict-prone contexts
  9. Advice on restructuring, support in change processes
  10. Participation in socially relevant, internal and cooperative external projects such as company agreements, childcare, etc. a.
  11. Advising the management on social issues such as dealing with psycho-mental stress (stresses affecting mind and soul)
  12. Support in the professional reintegration ( operational integration management ) of employees
  13. public relation

The tasks are adapted to the specific operational conditions in each case and must correspond to specific assignments and qualifications:

Economy and benefits

Corporate social work demonstrably promotes:

  • socially responsible corporate practice, especially with regard to a humane working environment,
  • the social developments in companies with regard to corporate social responsibility,
  • the solution of problems in interpersonal relationships and personal problems in the work context,
  • enables both employees and executives to freely decide their (working) life in the best possible harmony with personal needs, economic processes, economic necessities and corporate goals.

In some cases, savings through individual programs in the context of company social work and health promotion of more than four times the amount invested are reported. As a result, corporate social work, confirmed by diverse practical experience, makes a contribution to:

  • Increase in the loyalty of specialists and managers, job satisfaction and the attractiveness of companies,
  • Reduction of absenteeism and downtime costs,
  • Lowering the number of accidents,
  • Increase in productivity as well as for
  • Coping with the demands of demographic development.

literature

  • Appelt, HJ (2008): Company social work. In: Dictionary of Social Work. ISBN 978-3-7799-2060-1
  • Baumgartner, E. (2010): Company social work in Germany - status and perspectives. In: Practical handbook for corporate social work. Klein / Appelt (ed.), Asanger Verlag, Kröning 2010, pp. 19–29. ISBN 978-3-89334-531-1
  • Blandow, J. (1993): Company social work - From factory maintenance on the way to where? In: Theory and Practice of Social Work. Vol. 44, No. 8; Pp. 312-319. ISSN  0342-2275
  • Bremmer, M. (2010): 100 years of corporate social work. In: Praxishandbuch Betriebliche Sozialarbeit. Klein, S. / Appelt, H.-J. (Ed.), Asanger Verlag, Kröning 2010, pp. 9-18. ISBN 978-3-89334-531-1
  • DGUV (2011): Common understanding of the design of the prevention field “Health in the company” by the statutory accident insurance carriers and the German statutory accident insurance (as of May 17, 2014) www.dguv.de/medien/inhalt/praevention/themen_a_z/gesundheit_betrieb/ documents /gem_verst_gib.pdf
  • Fürstenberg, W. (2010): Innovative Concepts in Workplace Health Promotion. Bertelsmann Stiftung (as of May 17, 2014) www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/bst/de/media/xcms_bst_dms_24954__2.pdf
  • Klein, S. / Appelt, H.-J. (Ed.) (2010): Practical Guide to Company Social Work. Asanger Verlag, Kröning. ISBN 978-3-89334-531-1
  • Lau-Villinger, D. (1994): Company social counseling as a management task. GAFB Verlag, Frankfurt am Main. ISBN 3-925070-09-5
  • Reinicke, P. (1988): Social work in the company: From factory maintenance to company social work. In: Soziale Arbeit 6/7, 37th year, pp. 202–213. ISSN  0490-1606
  • Schulze, W. (2014a): Modern corporate social work and systemic organizational development. In: Krieger, W. (ed.) (2014): Systemic Perspectives for Company Social Work. Ibidem Verlag, Hanover, pp. 255-272. ISSN  2191-1835
  • Staub-Bernasconi, S. (2006): Social Work. Service or human rights profession? On the self-image of social work in Germany with a sideways glance at the international discussion. (Status: January 18, 2013) www.zpsa.de/pdf/artikel_vortraege/StaubBEthiklexikonUTB.pdf
  • Stoll, B. (2001): Company social work - tasks and significance, practical implementation. Walhalla, Regensburg. ISBN 3-8029-7444-1
  • Wachter, K. (2010): Proof of effectiveness of corporate social work - possibilities and limits. In: Praxishandbuch Betriebliche Sozialarbeit. Klein, S. / Appelt, H.-J. (Ed.), Asanger Verlag, Kröning 2010, pp. 31–43. ISBN 978-3-89334-531-1

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The article is based on the following original article: Effective support for socially responsible and value-oriented corporate management - corporate social work in Germany . In: Journal for interdisciplinary economic research (ZIF), ISSN  2196-4688 , edited by the European Society of interdisciplinary Research (ESIER). Edition 1/2014.
  2. ↑ Stoll 2001, p. 26
  3. ↑ Evangelischer Diakonieverein eV, 2013
  4. ↑ Reinicke 1988, p. 202
  5. ^ D. Lau-Villinger: Company social counseling as a management task. GAFB Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1994. ISBN 3-925070-09-5 , pp. 168f.
  6. ↑ Stoll 2001, p. 27
  7. ↑ Blandow 1993, p. 316
  8. ↑ Schulze 2014
  9. ↑ Blandow 1993, p. 317
  10. ^ D. Lau-Villinger: Company social counseling as a management task. GAFB Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1994. ISBN 3-925070-09-5 , pp. 25ff.
  11. ^ US Department of Health and Human Services: Prevention makes common "cents" . Ed .: US Government Printing Office. Washington 2003.
  12. ↑ Kreft / Mielenz 2008, p. 783
  13. ↑ Fleck 2006, p. 3
  14. ↑ Fleck 2006, p. 3f
  15. ↑ Following Blemenschitz 2010, p 10, Baumgartner 2010, p 23 and Schulze 2014a
  16. ↑ Wachter 2010
  17. ↑ Sachs 1995, Stoll 2001, Baumgartner 2003, Fürstenberg 2008, Schulze 2009, iga 2011
  18. ↑ What use is an EAP? | zieringerconsulting. Retrieved June 17, 2020 .