CEMEX

Sustainable staff motivation by stress management CEMEX Austria AG with its 500 employees at 70 locations produces ready-mix concrete, gravel, crushed rock, sand, additives for concrete production and offers also solutions for recycling and earth work. In spite of the success in reduction of work accidents, the senior management retained with the “zero-accident”-vision. During the discussions of senior management, safety officers and occupational physicians with employees they could notice that employees regularly complain of stress and lacking motivation. Therefore the safety officers and the occupational physician were mandated to implement a stress management with the following goals: • objectification of the subjective stress perception • increase of the motivation of employees • accident prevention and accident reduction • amelioration and hastening of the operating schedule It was therefore chosen the “IMPULSE-Test” method, because it reveals stress and helps to establish resources. The stress management was inserted and implemented with the aid of the IMPULSE-TEST method in four steps: Step one was a survey in the course of the health and safety briefing amongst 326 employees in the year 2007/2008 (60% of the total employees). Step two was the statistical evaluation of the 326 questionnaires, relating to the particular business unit respectively section. Step three was the performance of employee attitude surveys in the course of the health and safety briefing in the years 2008/2009 in the particular business unit respectively section. A bigger part of the proposals refers to better internal and external collaboration, better information and more training. Step four was the implementation of the measures of the employee attitude survey by the supervisors of the particular business units respectively sections. A significant result of the use of the IMPLUSE-Test method for stress management was the intervention of the relation between work-related stress, potential stressors and resources. Thereby an objectification of the employees stress perception was achieved. The follow-up of the proposals by the supervisors in the framework of the stress management develops confidence and increases the motivation. The preoccupation with the item stress and motivation at all 70 locations of CEMEX Austria results in a significant reduction of the accident rate to 0,2% in the year 2008 (although not all measures in the business units and sections were realized yet). With such an accident rate CEMEX Austria AG is situated in the accident-prone building materials industry at world class level respectively at the level of mere office jobs. The amelioration of the operating schedule between the business units respectively sections results not only in hastening of the process but also in a remarkable gain in efficiency without large costs.