A positive approach to indirect control
New challenges in operational health management: dealing with indirect control and self-endangerment
It is a familiar concept with freelancers and the self-employed, especially founders of new businesses: when customers jump ship and sales start to collapse, when your company’s very existence hangs in the balance, you often end up working without regard to your own health.
Employees too can sometimes disregard their own health in this way. New forms of management are bringing self-employed working dynamics into companies. Traditional forms of health provision are of no use here, since anyone who ignores the risks to their own health out of fear of failure or in the hope of success will not want others interfering.
Performance management can be modified in such a way as to minimise the risks and highlight the benefits (e.g. assuming responsibility, autonomy). At the same time, employees as well as managers must be made aware of these new issues and shown potential ways of dealing with the problem.
In partner companies, we start by investigating the two phenomena of “indirect management” and “self-endangerment” along with the associated processes: we now know what working conditions reduce or increase self-endangerment. The second stage looks at how to deal successfully with indirect management in a way that promotes health.
Project Dates
| Lead and Team |
Prof. Dr. Andreas Krause, Marcel Baumgartner, Dr. Martial Berset, Cosima Dorsemagen, Dr. Michaela Knecht, Samuel Zäch | |
| Founding | several german and swiss companies |
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Collaboration |
Cogito – Institut für Autonomieforschung (Berlin) Universität Hamburg, Medical School Hamburg, VBG (Berufsgenossenschaft, Hamburg) |
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| Duration | January 2008 until January 2021 | |
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Publications |
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