Evaluation of a stress management training
for managers in small and medium-sized companies

Stressed! A state that many people, especially managers, are familiar with. The KMU-GO project therefore offers stress management training for managers from small and medium-sized companies in all industries with up to 499 employees. Many (preventive) programs in the field of mental health in the workplace are mainly offered in larger companies, as implementation is usually easier for them for a variety of reasons. KMU-GO is helping to close this gap.

The implementation and evaluation of a complex stress management training for female and male managers of all hierarchy levels is planned. The training was already successfully evaluated for male participants in the previous MAN-GO project in a large metal-working company. The aim of the training is to improve perception and understanding of one's own stress levels as well as the development of skills to design one's own working conditions in the best possible way. This leads to increased resilience in dealing with stress at work and promotes the prevention of stress-related mental and physical illnesses. This is accompanied by a reduction in costs (e.g. through reduced incapacity for work). Ultimately, by achieving the above goals, the health of the manager's employees should also be improved.

The training consists of 1.5 days and two 180-minute refresher courses after three and six months. The training is based on psychodynamic, conflict-oriented and emotion-focused principles as well as techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy and is theoretically based on the gratification crisis model.

This BMBF-funded project started in July 2020 and will run for 3.5 years. If the evaluation is successful, the training can be included in the health services of the AOK Baden-Württemberg. The implementation is carried out either by AOK Baden-Württemberg's own specialists or by partners.

Project leadership:

• Prof. Dr. med. Harald Gündel (LPCU, University Medical Center Ulm)

• Prof. Dr. med. Peter Angerer (Institute of Occupational and Social Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf)

  Cooperation partners:

  • Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the University Medical Center Tübingen, Contact: PD Dr. Junne

  • Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II of the University Medical Center Ulm, Contact: Prof. Dr. Kilian

  • AOK Baden-Württemberg

  • IHK Ulm

  • IHK Reutlingen – Tübingen – Zollernalb

  • Offensive Mittelstand