Workplace Ordinance no longer fit for purpose

“We need to ask ourselves how to provide a space that is equally conducive to productivity, health and well-being,” says Andreas Wende, Chair of the ZIA Office Real Estate Committee. “There is certainly no one true answer here. Nevertheless, the increased use of new technologies, such as the Internet of Things or metering, can help adjust familiar stress factors like light, acoustics and air quality to ensure better health. We need an interdisciplinary interplay of multiple sectors, including human resources and IT, as good change management is not possible without having a diverse range of perspectives.” While the Workplace Ordinance is positive in its essence, the occupational health and safety of employees, it is a relic from times past. “Today, it has largely been replaced by the concept of well-being,” explains Wende.

Amendment of the ArbStättV: the real estate industry calls for inclusion

For large companies, the Workplace Ordinance constitutes a major obstacle to implementing modern “well-being strategies” for employees in their offices. Therefore, players in the real estate industry need to be involved in the amendment of the law. “The successful transformation of working environments requires up-to-date regulation, which takes into account technological possibilities and increasing flexibility,” says Brigitte Walter, Deputy Chair of the ZIA Office Real Estate Committee. “The fact that interior designers, consultants and the real estate industry are working together is already showing tangible results in the private sector. Politicians and public authorities, on the other hand, are not yet allowing this synergy effect to take shape, or have not recognized its necessity yet. But the real estate industry has already gathered a great deal of experience and offers a host of solutions regarding an increase in well-being, health protection and sustainability. We need to seriously consider how and with which demands we enter into political dialogue with the relevant parties here. The publication is intended to stimulate this discussion.”

The complete digital publication “Zeitgerechte Arbeitsstättenverordnung? Über Wohlbefinden, Produktivität und Change Management auf der Fläche” [German language only] is available from this LINK.