Managing health, disability & chronic illness as an employee

The University' s Inclusion Representative offers information and personal advice to employees with severe disabilities or equivalent status and their managers on aspects such as recruitment, working hours, workplace arrangements, special benefits, onboarding processes, and team integration.

The Representatives for Employees with Disabilities  are your point of contact for further advice and the representation of your interests.

Whenever a new person joins the team, it is important for all team members to get to know each other's personalities, skills and ways of working in order to work effectively as a team. This is particularly true when team members with severe disabilities or equivalent status have special needs that other team members need to be aware of in order to adapt and respond to these needs.

Our coaching services help to promote inclusive teams by providing a forum for information, advice, and moderated dialogues during onboarding processes or whenever you their advice. If you are interested in coaching, please contact the University’s Inclusion Representative.

Employees who are continuously or repeatedly incapable to work for more than six weeks within one year are offered individual counselling as part of our occupational integration management (betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement, BEM). The aim is to overcome or prevent a renewed incapacity to work by taking appropriate measures that allow employees to keep their job. Employees can take advantage of this service on a voluntary basis.

(oMental health problems can have just as strong an impact on our lives as physical illnesses. Yet, emotional pain is often given less attention than physical pain. The University of Jena offers an overview of contact points in Jena and nationwide helplines to help you deal with your condition hereExternal link.

The University of Jena's Mental Health First Aid Team  offers first aid in an acute mental health crisis. Have you been feeling depressed and emotionally vulnerable for a very long time? Have you suffered from persistent stress or burn out syndroms? The Mental Health First Aid Team is trained to offer help and first aid in several languages and can arrange for further, easily accessible help.

The nationwide helpline Telefonseelsorge External link will always lend an ear to your worries and troubles. They will offer advice, direct you to further contact points, and allow you to share your problems anonymously around the clock.

Members of the Faculty of Theology offer counselling as well as pastoral care and guidance to all university members. Please contact their counsellors by sending an email to seelsorge@uni-jena.de.

Muslim members can confide in the Muslim pastoral care helpline (MuTeS)External link where trained volunteers offer anonymous and confidential counselling services in difficult circumstances and emergencies. This service is funded by Islamic Relief Deutschland.

The Outpatient Clinic for Psychotherapy  de at the University of Jena offers psychotherapeutic treatment for adults and a wide range of psychological and psychosomatic conditions. Therapy costs are usually covered by statutory health insurances.

Should you find yourself in the midst of a crisis or exceptional circumstances, you can ask for professional (emergency) help from one of the agencies listed here External link.

If you are in great emotional distress and have suicidal thoughts, please confide in someone close to you and/or contact an agency with experienced counsellors who will provide you with professional help on a confidential basis. The website of NEST—Network for suicide prevention in Thuringia External link lists offers for round-the-clock help in Jena and the surrounding area.

The Division for Human Resources offers a range of services for mental health and the prevention of acute stress disorders:

• personal information and advisory services;
• workshops and coaching for employees on how to prevent and deal with stressful situations;
• information materials and workshops for managers on health-conscious leadership;
• an online course on stress prevention offered by the AOK health insurance provider.

Workplace conditions and environments can have an impact on employee health and wellbeing. They include aspects such as the workplace's infrastructure, working hours, and processes as well as the work environment, teamwork, and project management.

The Section for Staff Development offers information, training, and advice for employees and their managers on creating a healthy workplace at the University.

Information and support services for the recruitment of employees with disabilities and equivalent status

Information and services offered by the University

• Information and support from the University’s Representatives for Employees with Disabilities (Schwerbehindertenvertretung, SBV). SBV members take part in job interviews whenever severely disabled persons and persons with equivalent status apply for a job. They offer qualified advice on special requirements, support, and potential solutions for employment.
• Information and advice on inclusive leadership and workplace arrangements from the University's Inclusion Representative.
• Onboarding support and other advisory services: ‘Coaching for inclusive teams’ — a service offered by the University's Inclusion Representative.

Information and services offered by the Federal Employment Agency

• Employing persons with disabilitiesExternal link information portal
• Employment services for academics with disabilities External link
• Integration GrantExternal link (Eingliederungszuschuss) for longer integration periods

Information and services for health-driven leadership at the University

Self-organization at the University

Friedrich Schiller University Jena is happy to provide organizational support for employees with disabilities or chronic illnesses who want to set up an (online) network for exchanging experiences on everyday student and work life at the University.

If you are planning such an initiative, please contact the Diversity Office.

Nationwide offers

‘iXNet—Network with and for academics with disabilities’

The iXNet—Network with and for academics with disabilities is a nationwide inclusion network of experts that provides:

• online information with a focus on finding a career and employment;
• advice from a team of staff with project experience in the area of ‘inclusion in academia‘ and from external experts with and without disabilities;
• peer support by internally trained peer counsellors;
• an online forum for targeted networking and peer exchange;
• mentoring to support reintegration into working life; and
• information for managers.

More information (in German)External link

The Post-COVID Outpatient Clinics at University Hospital provides help for people who contracted the Corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) at least 3 months ago and are still currently experiencing symptoms.

The MZEB is part of Jena University Hospital, which, as a maximum-care medical facility, also offers optimal conditions for the treatment of adults with disabilities. The focus is always on the individuality of those seeking advice. The aim is to develop customized therapies and solutions for a life that is as self-determined and independent as possible.