Over the past two years (since fall 2022), Görlitzer Werkstätten has worked with Prof. Maja Dshemuchadse on the initiative of Jeannette Kirst to promote the participation of its employees in determining the future development of the workshops as part of the "Participatory goal development" project. Two scientific-empirical bachelor theses were carried out and valuable impulses for target development were derived from them.

Participation is a key concern for people with disabilities, who are still excluded in many areas despite the 2008 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This makes it all the more important for Görlitzer Werkstätten to involve its employees more closely in the development and direction of the workshops. As part of her bachelor's thesis, Carla Wagner first conducted open discussions with selected groups to identify issues of importance to the employees. Based on the results of these discussions, Fanny Maxime Müller developed a questionnaire in plain language as part of her bachelor's thesis, which was completed by 225 of the 273 employees. Many conclusions could be drawn from the employees' answers. For example, the respondents stated on average that pay and recognition of their work were equally important to them. Co-determination was also important to many respondents (60%), whereby the opportunities for co-determination in the Görlitz workshops were rated positively by a large proportion (70%).

In addition to employee participation, the skilled workers were also involved in the development of the Görlitz workshops during a training day. Fanny Maxime Müller and Carla Wagner used the Open Space method for this purpose. The specialists reflected on the employees' concerns and contributed their own perspectives.

Overall, the collaboration between the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and the Görlitzer Werkstätten not only provided a lot of impetus for employee participation and the further development of the Görlitzer Werkstätten, but also resulted in two bachelor theses in the field of communication psychology. Carla Wagner's thesis was also awarded the prize of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences support association. The fruitful cooperation is to be transferred to other workshops for people with disabilities in the region in the future.

Author: Prof. Maja Dshemuchadse
Communication Psychology course, Faculty of Social Sciences