(in German)

This report summarises the results of a project aiming at developing, testing and evaluating a vocational training course for both leaders and works councils in organisations. The course was developed based on research findings as regards the health and well-being impact of restructuring in order to support the two target groups for their role as change agents with responsibility for employees' health in the process of restructuring.

When developing the course we considered recent findings of various research fields, that is requirements of intervention research and the health and wellbeing impact of both restructuring and related psycho-social risks (see BAuA Projekt "Mental health in the Working World"). Specifically we conducted a comprehensive qualitative Interview-study, asking representatives of our target groups for problems, challenges and support needs in restructuring. The results of these comprehensive preliminary work packages formed the basis for our intervention and determined its design.

The resulting seminar was tested with a practice partner and went along with comprehensive evaluation modules. The evaluation process considered the participants' perception of the seminar's usefulness, the process of further implementation in the organisation and particularly the indirect impact on health and well-being. The participants' estimation as regards the seminar's contents and usefulness was very positive. However, the ongoing organisational process of further implementation was disruptive so that sustainable effects were thwarted. Despite the lack of sustainability we could find hints for the seminar's positive effects on health and well-being.

In accordance with other research findings our additional analyses demonstrated that leaders cannot support employees' health and wellbeing without consistent efforts on the other organisational levels - specifically the strategic level. Thus health and well-being have to be a concern of both management and operational leaders, which was also a vital finding of BAuA's project "mental health in the working world". This essential message is accordingly seized both in this report's recommendations and BAuA's ongoing research activities, which focus on the question in how far organisational frame conditions are associated with leaders working conditions their leadership behaviour and finally with employees' (and leaders') health and wellbeing.

Please download the complete report "Qualification tools for supervisors and works councils in organisational restructuring" (in German only).