After many companies decided to reduce temperatures to 19, 17 or even less degrees Celsius in order to save heating energy, harsh criticism was inevitable. It's clear that in times of exploding costs, it's not just private households that need to save. But companies need to evaluate savings opportunities not only from a financial perspective, but also in terms of occupational health and safety. This does not only apply to heating: Numerous solutions can make energy-saving potentials usable. However, these cannot be applied across the board, but must be adapted to the respective workplace conditions and possibilities of the employee and employer. It is not uncommon for the necessary savings requirements to collide with the employees' interest in protection. But is there a way out of this predicament? After all, experts believe that the energy shortage will persist in the coming months and years. Concrete and holistic concepts are needed to ensure that energy conservation does not come into conflict with occupational health and safety. Involving the works council or employee representatives at an early stage is always advisable. For all measures, possible effects on occupational health and safety must always be evaluated and assessed. But what does this mean in practice?

Holistic savings concepts: Possible effects must be evaluated

Switching off lighting outside opening hours and in areas that are not or only rarely used is certainly one of the simplest and most obvious measures that companies can take without much effort. However, it becomes problematic when it comes to safety-relevant lighting, such as the illumination of walkways or parking lots. It must also be taken into account that other safety concepts are not affected by this. The situation is even more complex when it comes to the aforementioned savings through climate control. Contrary to popular belief, there is currently no obligation to save heating energy in the private sector - the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnSikuMaV), which came into force in September, only applies to public companies and is limited until February 28, 2023. In addition, labor law specifies guideline values for minimum temperatures at the workplace (at least 20 degrees Celsius for light work while sitting, at least 17 degrees Celsius for medium-heavy work while standing or walking, and at least 12 degrees Celsius for heavier work). Although the savings potential here is enormous, the temperature at the workplace should always be adapted to the work performed there. If employees work mainly in a seated position with little physical activity, higher room temperatures are required than for physically strenuous work. It can therefore be more efficient to compress workplaces spatially in order to reduce the overall heating requirement while at the same time ensuring an appropriate room temperature.

Home office: a crisis-proven model?

Home office, already common from the Corona pandemic, can also help minimize potential adverse effects on workplace quality and thus work performance. But even here, labour regulations must be taken into account. After all, mandating home office is not permissible without further ado, but is tied to specific conditions. Nevertheless, companies can encourage employees to voluntarily switch to home office wherever possible. To create understanding for this and other necessary energy-saving measures and to encourage employees to take the initiative, awareness and training measures pay off. They help to deal transparently with the challenges posed by the energy crisis and remind people that the measures needed to address them can only be implemented together with the workforce.