Employee survey "Work and Health" 2026
Why is it worth taking part?
Our working conditions have a direct impact on motivation and health. Through this survey, we want to work together to identify what is going well at the University of Bremen and where improvements are needed – in offices, lecture halls, laboratories, workshops or libraries.
The link to the survey will be sent by email to your work email address.
What is being asked?
The survey focuses on the following topics:
- on job satisfaction, e.g. recognition, demands and workload,
- on job content, e.g. tasks and scope for initiative,
- on international cooperation,
- on leadership culture, such as how support from supervisors is perceived
- and, in particular, on the working climate and cooperation within departments and across the university as a whole
And, of course, we also want to know how our colleagues are doing health-wise. What is perceived as stressful, and what is seen as beneficial to health?
This can vary greatly depending on the sector and the type of work. In order to bring about change and empower employees in the process, it is important for us to gain as accurate a picture as possible of the specific working conditions.
Why are we conducting this survey?
Only those who understand the working environment can make targeted improvements to it. Our working conditions can help ensure that we remain healthy and motivated. However, they can also contribute to people falling ill. The way working conditions are structured is therefore crucial. We want to work together with staff to continue improving working conditions at the University of Bremen, because the health of our staff is important to our university.
The link to the survey will be sent by email to your work email address.
These contributions are valuable because they are the only way we can subsequently determine what is needed to address urgent priorities and improve working conditions. Furthermore, it is of course also important to us to identify the underlying causes of the findings. Following the evaluation of the results, there will be workshops in which we will work with staff to explore the reasons behind stress factors and, in particular, to identify strengths.
Discussing and implementing meaningful measures does not happen overnight. It will take some time, but it will be worth it. We will begin developing the measures following the presentation of the results in the autumn. Later, we will also check whether the measures have been implemented and whether the working situation has actually improved as a result.
We aim to achieve continuous development and optimisation.
Reliable evaluation and sustainable improvement are important to us. We will therefore conduct the survey every three years from now on. Our aim is to ensure that staff involvement and the development of measures are worthwhile, and that working conditions and the mental and physical health of all employees are continuously improved.
Participation in the survey
Participation in the survey is voluntary. The survey will take place during working hours.
Finally, we would like to emphasise once again that a high level of participation is crucial! We urge all colleagues to take a moment of their time. This is the only way we can gain a truly clear picture of the current working situation. If only a few people take part, the results will merely reflect the views of a few individuals. If many people get involved, we can make a real difference.
The survey is available in either German or English.
The link to the survey will be sent by email to your work email address.
For further information, please contact the Workplace Health Management team at bgm(at)uni-bremen.de.
Data protection and anonymity
The survey therefore covers many aspects. However, the analysis is designed in such a way that no conclusions can be drawn about individual respondents. All employees can answer the questions openly and honestly without worrying that critical responses might have negative consequences, as the survey is completely anonymous. It is not possible to identify individual respondents.
A survey tool developed by Bielefeld University will be used. The data will be analysed by the “Evidence-Based Public Health” working group at the IPP at the University of Bremen.
Further information on the implementation of data protection can be found here:
Link to the privacy policy (PDF)
Background
The University of Bremen’s Workplace Health Management (WHM) programme aims both to empower individuals to maintain and improve their own health (behavioural prevention) and to create working conditions that promote health (environmental prevention). Key objectives of the OHM include reducing working conditions that are detrimental to health and enhancing those that promote health. These objectives can only be achieved through a comprehensive analysis of current working conditions, with the participation of all staff. Against this background, an anonymous and voluntary online survey was conducted in February and March 2018.
Results
The results of the survey were communicated to the university community in a variety of ways. They were presented and discussed at information sessions on the survey results, at staff meetings and in various university management meetings.
On this page, you will find an online brochure on the intranet containing all relevant results for all staff categories, as well as the presentations from the information sessions for your reference. If you cannot see the files in the right-hand column, please log in.
Current status
The process of analysing the results was divided into two stages. In some cases, actions could be derived directly from the results. For certain areas of action, however, further information on the causes of the results was required in order to identify measures that were better tailored to needs. Therefore, in a second process, the results were evaluated by organisational unit and department, taking data protection into account. These results were intended to serve as the basis for further participatory processing of the findings.
Measures
- Production of an online brochure on the survey results
- Staff development programme “Leadership and Health”
- Procurement of ergonomic work equipment, simplification of application procedures
- Active breaks at the workplace
- Portable massage devices for self-treatment of shoulder and neck complaints
Further information on the measures can be found under BGM services.
Due to a variety of factors, the project could not be implemented as planned. A key factor is the COVID-19 pandemic, which presented – and continues to present – an enormous challenge to all members of the university community. For health-promoting organisational development processes to succeed, a stable framework is required, which is not available during this uncertain time of the pandemic.
The results of the survey provide guidance for the strategic direction of the WHM and thus for the healthy development of the university. The WHM will continue to analyse the stress situation in the various departments with the support of staff in order to improve working conditions for everyone in the long term.