Management & facts

We take our obligation to ensure the health and safety of our employees very seriously. The Board of Management assumes overall responsibility for occupational health and safety, as well as for environmental protection. We combine and control our occupational health and safety programs at Group level; health and safety managers (H&S managers) are responsible for implementing these programs locally. The general responsibilities, duties and programs for health and safety management are outlined in the Management System Manual for Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental Protection. The handbook serves to harmonize and align our management systems with common targets across the Group.

Occupational health and safety is firmly anchored in our structures through certified management systems and through suitable policies and guidelines. We conform to the ISO 45001 standard in this connection. In 2018, we were one of the first DAX-listed companies to have our H&S management system certified according to the standard. Before that, we had been certified to OHSAS 18001  since 2011. In 2021, we successfully completed the audits for recertification pursuant to ISO 45001, ISO 14001. and ISO 9001. With this success, Deutsche Telekom AG's umbrella certificates for quality, occupational health and safety and environmental protection are valid for the next three years, and they cover both national and international Deutsche Telekom locations (ISO 9001: 18 locations; ISO 14001: 91 locations; ISO 45001: 83 locations). The certificates certify that we have systematic procedures and processes in place that provide, and continually improve, assured occupational health and safety, and environmental protection.

We support our employees in maintaining and promoting their health, with target-audience-specific measures and extensive programs. At the same time, safety in the workplace is our highest priority. We view legally mandated occupational health and safety standards as minimum requirements. Awareness-raising, prevention, and personal responsibility are of particular importance to us. Our international portfolio of occupational health and safety measures also includes many voluntary measures to promote health within the company. These include, for example:

• An annual, comprehensive health check by company doctors
• Vaccinations and hygiene measures
• Bowel cancer screening
• Exercise/fitness activities
• Programs for recovery and resilience, mindfulness, health-oriented leadership, and increasingly
• digital training exercises.

We systematically analyze and gauge the effectiveness of our measures. This includes reviewing the results of our employee survey, evaluating stress prevention measures under collective agreements, competitor analyses, and other indicators. We analyze this information on a yearly basis and use it to derive measures that promote the health and well-being of our employees.

Different indicators reflect the effectiveness of our corporate health management activities:

• At Deutsche Telekom in Germany, the health rate for 2021 (including long-term illnesses) was 95.3 percent (prior year: 95.0 percent). Excluding long-term illnesses, the health rate in 2021 stood at 96.7 percent (prior year: 96.5 percent). With these results, we have achieved our Group-wide goal, for 2021, of keeping our health rate at the high level seen in the previous year. The health rate is reported to the Board of Management at the end of each quarter.
• The total number of work-related accidents declined in the reporting year in comparison with the previous year. The accident rate in Germany for 2021 was 4.2 accidents (resulting in over three days of absence) per thousand employees, which is well below the industry average. This figure includes occupational accidents associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Without these COVID-19 cases, the accident rate in Germany was 3.7 and therefore once again down from the previous year (prior year: 3.8).
• The Group-wide health index – last calculated in 30 countries as part of the employee survey in 2021 – stood at 69 (on a scale from 0 to 100). This represents a slight increase of 4 points with respect to the last survey. In the employee survey of 2019, the health index was shown on a scale ranging from 1.0 to 5.0. The resulting average, 3.6, is equivalent to a value of 65 on the scale used in 2021, which has values ranging from 1 to 100. The next health index is slated for 2023.

Measures during the COVID-19 pandemic
To protect our employees during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we provided the opportunity to work from home whenever possible. Together with the Bonn Hygiene Institute, we also developed a comprehensive hygiene concept. It enabled employees to return to their offices – when the numbers of infections so permitted. Our Chief Human Resources Officer Birgit Bohle regularly informed employees about our extensive safety measures. Beginning in June 2021, the company's in-house medical service (B.A.D) administered COVID-19 vaccinations to Deutsche Telekom employees, and their families, at a total of 87 locations nationwide, of which 18 were locations solely of the company. At major German locations, suitable facilities were converted into temporary vaccination centers. In Germany, a full 24 200 Deutsche Telekom employees made use of the company's internal vaccination service and received their COVID-19 shots from the company's in-house medical professionals. In December, 2 700 employees received their third vaccination, i.e. a booster shot. We continued to offer this vaccination service in the first quarter of 2022.
Also, the company held its annual flu-vaccination campaign in fall 2021. That campaign was especially important in that a major wave of influenza would have only intensified the burdens and impacts of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of the end of December, some 9 700 employees in Germany had received their flu shots within the campaign.

In Romania, employees were given a free day off, in 2021, for the purpose of receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. Employees in Russia were given both their annual opportunity to get flu shots and the option of receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in special clinics. In Slovakia and Germany, employees and their families were also given access to psychological counseling, to help them deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Crnogorski Telekom, in cooperation with the Clinical Center of Montenegro, organized a counseling hotline where people from all over Montenegro received free psychosocial support. In Greece, we set up a medical hotline to answer questions related to COVID-19, and we offered special mental and emotional counseling services.

In addition, in 2021 our pulse survey again looked at the issue of how our employees are perceiving and handling the long-running COVID-19 pandemic. As in the previous year, the survey found that they strongly and widely approve of our approach in dealing with the pandemic.

The “My Health Journey” health program
In the year under review, we continued our “My Health Journey” company health program for emotional and mental fortitude. In addition to a series of workshops on developing mental resilience, it provides science-based mindfulness training for managers and executives. Its aims include promoting self-reflection and self-organization. In 2021, we expanded the program to include support in the area of self-management and self-leadership, meaning the ability to develop and grow, personally and professionally, irrespective of external influences. For example, participants in a 21-day “Mindset matters” challenge considered the topic of self-leadership during challenging times. Also, our “Mindfulness Week 2021” event offered a diverse range of workshops and presentations on mental health. One included offering, for example, was a series, entitled “Media climate,” on self-care in a digital environment.

Further awards
In the year under review, a number of national companies applied for awards for in-company health management. One such award, for example, went to T-Mobile Czech Republic. It won the “Health Promoting Company Award” of the Czech Republic's ministry of health. Makedonski Telekom won a second place in the 2021 National Awards for companies with the best safety and health practices in the workplace. The awards were given by the Council for occupational health and safety of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

Deutsche Telekom AG attaches great importance to the psychosocial support that the Employee and Executive Advisory Service (MFB) provides for various transformation processes Group-wide. The goal is to help affected employees, managers, and teams deal with professional and private changes, and to prevent psychosocial crises. Also, an experienced team of crisis-intervention and emergency-assistance experts stands ready to respond to cases in which an acute crisis occurs nonetheless. 

In Germany, we also offer free and anonymous individual counseling and consultation hours. After registering for the service, employees can receive personal counseling from professionals. Immediate telephone advice is available through the TALK TIME hotline from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. If necessary, employees seeking help are referred directly to local experts or specialist agencies. The counselors have a duty to maintain confidentiality and are familiar with the specifics of the company. Due to the immense changes in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have expanded the range of services: the TALK TIME team counsels on the impacts of reduced social contacts and of stress caused by the closure of care facilities and schools. In addition, a dedicated team of occupational physicians answers medical questions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the year under review, we further added to our offerings in this context. Our psychosocial experts provided counseling to employees who had been affected by the flood disasters of July 2021.

Also, for many years now we have provided special additional support to managers, in the form of presentations and workshops on healthy leadership, conflict management, mindfulness and self-leadership, as well as on strategies for dealing with changes and mental stress.

Courses on virtual leadership are also part of these offerings. Working in hybrid or distributed teams has long been part of everyday life for some segments of Deutsche Telekom. Nevertheless, the shift of workplaces to home offices due to COVID-19 – combined with severely limited personal contact – poses an additional challenge: Executives have to be sensitive to changes in teams and individuals and provide enough time for personal exchange, for instance, by planning regular video conferences.

In 2017, and in cooperation with one of our health partners, the BARMER health insurance company, we launched the “Digitalization and Health” model project, with the University of St. Gallen and IfOS in Cologne, among others, providing scientific support. In this effort, and in the context of digitalization, we have developed solutions that can improve employee health and enhance their motivation and performance. Also, we have introduced various measures in the cooperation project and tested them together with Deutsche Telekom staff. The model project is now being continued on a regular operational basis.

In 2019, the pilot project “Healthy and mindful leadership” was launched. This is a multimodal course designed to improve the digital health literacy of employees. The course was initially aimed at managers, who are important multipliers. In the course of the pilot project, we were able to scientifically demonstrate the positive training effects on health, stress perception, and mindfulness. For this reason, in 2020 we expanded the project to the national level, under the “My Health Journey” program. To date, the course has been proven to have additional positive effects that remain significant three months after the end of the training period. The effects for participants included improved performance, a better sense of well-being, and enhanced health competence. In light of these results, in 2021 we made the training course available to the managers of nearly all German entities.

Also, since 2020 our employees in Germany have access to the FITMIT5 training app (the “digital health coach for everyone”), which is also integrated within the annual "My Health Journey" program [LINK]. The training app includes an algorithm that puts together 5-minute workout/wellness/relaxation programs tailored to users' preferences and needs. In addition, it offers a wealth of exercise, relaxation and meditation resources, as well as a nutrition planner with over 800 recipes. To date, more than 10 000 employees are already using the app. The app has been extremely well received, and thus company use of the app is being continued in 2022.

In 2021, in the Netherlands, T-Systems introduced the “Virtual Gym” digital platform for its employees. The platform offers numerous work aids, training courses and information, all designed to help employees achieve a healthy work-life balance. The topics covered include (mental) health and well-being, working from home, (self-) leadership and good collaboration.

For our employees in Germany, we introduced a virtual 3D (“obstacle”) course in 2021 on the health topics “stress and digital balance,” “sleep,” and “nutrition.” Also, the T-Systems segment offered additional resources in this context, such as podcasts and workshops on the topic of “sleep” in connection with in-company health management. This took place within the “sleep campaign” #ausruhezeichen, which was launched in 2020, and was developed by the BARMER insurance company, Institut für Betriebliche Gesundheitsberatung (IFBG; Institute for in-company health counseling) and Deutsche Telekom. In addition, we invited our employees to take part in interactive presentations, on the topic of “power napping,” given by an IFBG sleep researcher. In the campaign framework, we are also developing a sleeping and resting room for our employees. A first prototype of this facility will be completed in 2022. 

With support from BARMER, we also continued to address the topic of nutrition in 2021. In the previous year, we sponsored a pilot project that offered virtual presentations by nutritionists and top athletes; team workshops; and additional offers such as Weight Watchers Online. In 2021, we rolled out the project throughout the Group and moved it forward with additional campaigns and offers. Via various media formats, our employees were invited to access useful information about healthy eating. Currently, we are planning to continue, and refine, the project in 2022.

Nationally, the health rate for the Deutsche Telekom Group in 2021 showed a slight improvement of 0.3 percent year-on-year, and stood at an average of 95.3 percent (including the long-term sick). Musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory diseases, and mental health problems account for the bulk of illness-related absenteeism at Deutsche Telekom AG.

The health rate is reported to the Board of Management at the end of each quarter. The 2021 health rate excluding the long-term sick is 96.7 percent. We have thus achieved our Group-wide target for 2021 of maintaining the health rate at the high level of the previous year.

Targeted health protection programs were implemented in the individual companies. Across all segments, management training courses on the topic of “healthy leadership” were either introduced or continued. The aim is to raise managers’ awareness of this issue and train them accordingly. Additionally, a structured absence management system will be put in place to ensure that employees and managers regularly communicate about illness-related absences so that appropriate action can be taken early on.

  Data assured by PwC. 

You can find further information in the HR Factbook.

In 2021, the accident rate remains at a low level overall. The accident rate is well below the average at comparable companies. The accident rate in Germany for 2021 was 4.2 accidents (resulting in over three days of absence) per thousand employees, which is well below the industry average. This figure includes occupational accidents associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Without these COVID-19 cases, the accident rate in Germany was 3.7 and therefore once again down from the previous year (prior year: 3.8).

Deutsche Telekom has a health and safety management system in place to reduce the number of work-related accidents. This certified system makes it possible to map the entire health and safety process and to develop sets of measures to further improve employee safety.

You can find further information in the HR Factbook.