Freiburger Forschungsstelle für Arbeitswissenschaften GmbH

Freiburger Forschungsstelle für Arbeitswissenschaften GmbH (FFAW) is a private research and consulting company based in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Its name translates roughly as the 'Freiburg Research Centre for Labour Sciences'. The firm positions itself at the intersection of scientific research methods and everyday working-world practice, combining academic survey methodology with applied occupational-health consulting for employers. The central pillar of FFAW's work is the survey of companies regarding psychological working conditions. FFAW administers employee surveys using the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ), a standardised instrument that covers job demands, influence and development opportunities, social relationships at work, and the resulting strain on employees. According to the company, more than 800,000 employees across over 2,200 survey projects have completed the COPSOQ through FFAW. This accumulated dataset allows FFAW to generate anonymised benchmark values that help interpret a given client's survey results against a broader reference population. FFAW's services are closely tied to German occupational-safety law. The company supports employers in carrying out the legally required risk assessment of psychological stress (Gefährdungsbeurteilung psychischer Belastungen) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz, §§ 5 ff.). The COPSOQ is listed by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) as a suitable instrument for this purpose and is also consistent with the content recommendations of the Joint German Occupational Safety and Health Strategy (GDA). Beyond client surveys, FFAW describes itself as active in scientific work, contributing to research and participating in numerous professional associations and committees, including the German Society for Occupational and Environmental Medicine (DGAUM), the German Society for Medical Sociology (DGMS), and a steering group. The company also invites enquiries for research projects on occupational-science topics, indicating a role in commissioned and collaborative research as well as standard survey services. As a GmbH, FFAW is a privately held limited-liability company rather than a listed corporation. It operates primarily in the German market, serving companies of all sectors and sizes. Its brand identity rests on the credibility of a validated, internationally recognised questionnaire and on a large proprietary benchmark database, which together differentiate it from generic employee-survey providers.

Freiburger Forschungsstelle für Arbeitswissenschaften GmbH (FFAW) is a private research company located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Public information about the firm is limited, and its own website presents it primarily through its current service offering rather than a detailed corporate chronology. What is clear from the available evidence is that FFAW has built its identity around the scientific study of working conditions, with a particular emphasis on psychosocial factors. The company's development is closely tied to the rise of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) as a standard instrument for measuring psychological and social conditions at work. FFAW adopted COPSOQ as the backbone of its survey practice and has since conducted it at scale. According to the company, more than 800,000 employees have completed the questionnaire through FFAW across over 2,200 survey projects. This volume of data is itself a significant asset: it allows FFAW to derive anonymised comparison values that give context to any single client's results, a capability that smaller survey providers typically cannot match. A second strand of FFAW's history is its alignment with German occupational-safety regulation. The Occupational Health and Safety Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz) requires employers to assess risks to their employees, including psychological stress. FFAW supports companies in fulfilling this obligation using COPSOQ, an instrument listed by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) as suitable for the purpose and consistent with the recommendations of the Joint German Occupational Safety and Health Strategy (GDA). This regulatory fit has helped position FFAW's services within a mandatory compliance market rather than a purely discretionary one. Alongside its commercial survey work, FFAW describes itself as contributing to science and participating in professional bodies such as the German Society for Occupational and Environmental Medicine (DGAUM), the German Society for Medical Sociology (DGMS), and a steering group. The company also invites contact for research projects on occupational-science topics, suggesting ongoing involvement in commissioned and collaborative research. As a GmbH, the company is a privately held limited-liability entity. It operates chiefly in Germany and serves organisations of all sectors and sizes. The available sources do not provide a founding date, founder names, ownership details, or a dated list of milestones, so those elements remain undocumented here.

Scientific research consultancy linking academic survey methodology with workplace practice, specialising in legally compliant psychosocial risk assessment for German employers.

• COPSOQ survey service

  Employee surveys using the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, covering demands, influence and development opportunities, social relationships, and resulting strain.

• Psychosocial risk assessment support

  Support for employers implementing the legally required risk assessment of psychological stress under the German Occupational Health and Safety Act.

• Benchmark data

  Anonymised comparison values derived from more than 2,200 survey projects and over 800,000 completed questionnaires.

1. 1Willkommen » Freiburger Forschungsstelle für Arbeitswissenschaften GmbHffaw.de
2. 2Freiburger Forschungsstelle für Arbeitswissenschaften GmbH (Germany) – Wikidatawikidata.org