Further successes in the audit for family-friendly universities and for the Corporate Health Award

The University of Stuttgart is continuing to expand its position as an attractive employer. In late 2018, it was once again awarded the certificate for a “family-friendly university” and received – for the second time – the “Special Prize for Healthy Universities, Workplace Health Management” of the Corporate Health Award. Both awards show the university's commitment to creating an attractive working environment. Every university employee with family-related responsibilities benefits from a family-friendly university structure. Health advocation is another important goal of the university. “As an employer, healthy employees are our greatest asset,” says Jan Gerken, Dean of the University of Stuttgart.

In December 2018, the university again received permission to display the European “family-friendly university” certification logo for at least another three years. This confirms a personnel policy that is strategically oriented towards families and life phases. The university was first certified as a “family-friendly university” by berufundfamilie Service GmbH in 2012; this was followed by the first successful re-audit in 2015. Breastfeeding and diaper-changing rooms, parent-child rooms, various forms of child care and flexible working possibilities have been created, for example. Jan Gerken, Dean of the University, says: “We have already achieved many things with regard to family friendliness and want to continue to move forward on this path. To ensure that family friendliness becomes normal, we want to integrate the issue of ‘career, studies and family’ even more into everyday university life and to firmly anchor family friendliness in our mission statement.” The University of Stuttgart defines a family as any familial unit in which long-term social responsibility is assumed. This includes parents and children, life partners, siblings, grandparents, and other dependents.

The University of Stuttgart was also awarded the Special Prize for Healthy Universities, Workplace Health Management of the Corporate Health Award. The first time it received this award was in 2015. Thus, the University of Stuttgart is now the only university in Germany that has received this award for the area of Corporate Health Management. Between 2011 and 2018, the University took part in benchmarking as part of the award. The focus of the university’s health management work is to recognize the needs of the employees and to develop targeted offers in order to design a health-conscious work environment and to assist them in acute situations. In addition to classic health issues such as exercise, nutrition, and health care, psychosocial issues and advisory services – such as after a long illness or in the case of mental stress – are to be made visible. The Corporate Health Award is a joint initiative of EuPD Research Sustainable Management, the Handelsblatt newspaper and the ias-Gruppe. The seal of approval is awarded to universities and companies whose commitment to the health of their employees has been proven to be above average and that pursue a forward-looking, sustainable human resources strategy.