HZB re-certified as a compatibility-friendly company again
The new audit logo for long-time certified companies © berufundfamilie Service GmbH
HZB has been certified as a family-friendly employer since 2011. Now the research centre has successfully completed the re-auditing process and developed further measures to promote a life phase conscious working culture. The certificate is considered a seal of quality for the company's compatibility policy and is awarded by the board of trustees of berufundfamilie Service GmbH.
In autumn 2020, HZB conducted an employee survey which showed that most employees are aware of and appreciate the numerous options HZB offers: flexible working hours, mobile working, part-time models, advice and practical help for employees with care responsibilities or small children.
At the same time, the survey made it clear that the needs of many employees in terms of compatibility have increased - not only, but also because of Corona. The need for support, especially for people with family responsibilities, has increased in the past year. Anja Seehrich, who heads the Office for Work and Life (OWL) at HZB, has also noticed this in her consultations. "Most are glad to work at HZB because they can count on a lot of understanding and practical support here."
Over the next three years, HZB will establish further measures that employees and managers worked out together. These include, among other things, reviewing the existing rules on home office, management guidelines and raising awareness of mental and physical diseases.
- Postdocs at HZB: Crucial for research, innovation and diversityAt HZB, 117 postdocs from 29 countries are employed. They play a crucial role in driving the main research activities, fostering creativity and innovation. To honor them, the Postdoc Appreciation Week was first organised in the USA in 2009 and has in the meantime become a regular event in Germany as well in the third week of September every year.
- Green hydrogen: MXenes shows talent as catalyst for oxygen evolutionThe MXene class of materials has many talents. An international team led by HZB chemist Michelle Browne has now demonstrated that MXenes, properly functionalised, are excellent catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in electrolytic water splitting. They are more stable and efficient than the best metal oxide catalysts currently available. The team is now extensively characterising these MXene catalysts for water splitting at the Berlin X-ray source BESSY II and Soleil Synchrotron in France.
- Green hydrogen: ‘Artificial leaf’ becomes better under pressureHydrogen can be produced via the electrolytic splitting of water. One option here is the use of photoelectrodes that convert sunlight into voltage for electrolysis in so called photoelectrochemical cells (PEC cells). A research team at HZB has now shown that the efficiency of PEC cells can be significantly increased under pressure.