At the beginning of the year we often make lots of good resolutions, such as doing more sport, eating more healthily, less stress. In most cases we only keep them for the first few weeks - if at all. The staff at the University of Magdeburg benefit from the perfect conditions for following through on the promises they make to themselves, and actually doing something for their health all year round.
Her work involves organizing the Health Days and courses as well as planning the in-house flu vaccination program. Some of us have no doubt promised ourselves to do more sport, eat more healthily and let less stress into our lives. And to help us keep our resolutions beyond the first few weeks of the year, today we have THE expert in this area as our guest: a very warm welcome to Silke Springer!
Silke Springer: Hello, it's great to be here. Silke Springer: Yes I have actually been at the university now for 10 years, was hired as Health Management Coordinator, or I think even officially Health Manager, and I take care of all the programs that are available in the context of health and health promotion.
That includes, for instance, organizing the Health Days that we have every year or every two years, different courses, health-related training, flu vaccination programs that we have here, employee massages, and the university relay that I organize every summer. Why do we have a Health Management post? After all, it isn't a statutory requirement. Occupational health management has actually been on the radar for 20 years now. If we actually look at the sickness levels, they really aren't that bad.
They are actually relatively low. But it has to be said that there was probably an under-recording of sickness levels, especially among the academic staff, who are not required to clock in and out every day, who naturally are here a lot during semester time, but who are not necessarily on campus during the semester breaks, because, perhaps, they are conducting research, are away at conferences somewhere or maybe because they might actually be ill.
