How can we stay healthy and productive at work?

Daily well-being arises when people feel physically, mentally, and socially supported-whether in a team, in the cafeteria, or in the digital work environment. A people-centered work environment protects against burnout, supports healthy decisions in everyday life, and reduces stress through smart organization and technology, ensuring that health is maintained over the long term.

WORKING HEALTHILY AND CONNECTED

Good relationships within the team strengthen well-being, health, and productivity. Our research shows how friendship, participation, and cohesion can be specifically fostered.

PROMOTING WELL-BEING AND HEALTH

Healthy food options outside the home are key to daily well-being. We're researching how regionally sourced foods can be produced in a healthy and sustainable way so they can be served as appealing meals in the cafeteria.

DIGITAL BALANCE INSTEAD OF TECHNOSTRESS

Clear rules, training, and well-designed digital work environments reduce technostress. This way, digital tools can ease the burden, protect employees, and support their health.

1. AI for Stress Management

Our research examines how AI helps with stress management-and whether it supports people with strong social networks differently than those with little support. To this end, we are developing a customizable digital toolbox that can be used for training in virtual environments. The goal is not for AI to replace social relationships, but rather to complement them in targeted ways, thereby strengthening mental health and digital self-determination.

2. Friendship at Work

Our research builds on the often-romanticized concept of “friendship at work” to develop a practical management approach that improves the work environment, health, and productivity through a better understanding of social relationships.

3. New Work in Systemically Important Professions

In our research, we’re developing solutions to show how New Work can also function in professions that require on-site presence and are critical to the system. In this context, New Work doesn’t mean working from home or having complete freedom to manage one’s own time, but rather having more influence over how the work is done. This includes, for example, self-scheduled shifts, a say in decisions, respectful and appreciative leadership, and strong mutual support within the team.

4. Strategies for Coping with Technostress

Through our research, we help ensure that technostress prevention is effective and promotes health, accountability, and productivity. This is achieved through clear guidelines, training, and well-designed digital work environments that identify and reduce stress early on. Technostress can result, for example, from information overload, constant availability, or frequent changes to digital tools.

5. AI and Humans

We are transforming the fear of an “AI takeover” into a constructive vision of the future, in which technologies support people rather than replace them. In sensitive fields such as healthcare and legal services, AI can take over standardized routine tasks, allowing doctors and lawyers to spend more time with their patients and clients.

6. Healthy Dining Out

Our research brings more variety from regional producers to the cafeteria, such as more locally grown legumes. We are also developing plant-based meals for patients with dysphagia. Since 15–18 million people in Germany eat in cafeterias and student dining halls every day, we want to help improve their well-being even further.