Pictured are swimmer Elena Semechin and podcast host Oliver Schmidt
Psyche
24.08.2026 Isabel Hempel 390

Episode 52: Elena Semechin on comebacks, mental strength, and gut instincts

After being diagnosed with a brain tumor and as a young mother with only 2 percent vision, Elena Semechin fought her way back to the top of the sporting world. In a conversation with Olli Schmidt, she discusses doubt, resilience, intuition, and everyday life as a top athlete—and why true inclusion is more than just applause.

In our new podcast, Olli Schmidt talks with Elena Semechin, a Paralympic, world, and European champion in swimming. Elena speaks candidly about her comeback after battling cancer, her daily training routine as a mother with a visual impairment, the importance of acceptance and mental training, and her experiences with the media.

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Elena Semechin offers practical tips: How do we even start a conversation? What words provide comfort—and when is listening more important than any solution?

From Lighthearted to Stormy—The Everyday Podcast with Olli Schmidt

Welcome to “Heiter bis stürmisch” — the everyday podcast. From the seventh heaven to the depths of despair: Life has its ups and downs. That’s exactly what we’re all about: the everyday crises, such as arguments with your partner, parenting issues, work-related stress, uncertainties, and anxiety.
​​​​​​​We talk to experts and provide you with practical tips to help you better cope with crises and challenges.

You can listen to our podcast on all major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Audible, etc.)! Questions, suggestions, feedback, or requests? Feel free to email us at: podcast@familienservice.de

 

zero pme and Generation Ü: From retirement to working life

Retiree partial retirement
Leadership & HR
14.03.2024 Christin Müller 14488

pme and Generation Ü: From retirement to working life

By 2030, over eight million people will be of working age. Only around 5.5 million workers will join the labor market. Many companies are already feeling the effects of this huge skills gap. In order to anticipate this development at an early stage, the pme Familienservice Group is deliberately focusing on new ways of recruiting through a partnership with the "Generation Ü" job agency.

For some time now, pme Familienservice has been committed to keeping team members in employment - at their own request - after they retire. At the beginning of March, pme Familienservice launched a partnership with the job placement agency "Generation Ü", which helps to recruit people with extensive work experience. In future, the focus will be on more than 90 childcare and educational institutions across Germany.

Silver worker: From retirement to working life

At the 30 pme locations throughout Germany, Generation Ü will search for and place suitable "Üs" as a job placement service for retirement. Üs are women and men, generally between their late 50s and early 70s, who want to remain active towards the end of their working life or in retirement.

"Through the partnership with Generation Ü, pme Familienservice wants to focus even more strongly than before on the experience and motivation of older generations. This is an important component of our diversity strategy and should also help to counter the increasing shortage of skilled workers," says Alexa Ahmad, CEO of the pme Familienservice Group.

Who is Generation Ü?

Ü founder and former State Secretary Christian Ege says: "Generation Ü brings companies and Üs into contact and organizes the cooperation, hand-mediated and with an internal IT platform in which over 1200 Üs are currently registered".

Generation Ü offers SMEs and public employers in particular many advantages and credibility in the search, placement and recruitment of skilled workers over 55. Whether in the office, childcare, classroom, accounting, as a driver, in sales, production, technology or a doctor's surgery: the Üs fulfill many tasks and important projects reliably, with knowledge, drive and many years of experience in a wide variety of professions and areas. Just in a slightly different way than in conventional working life.