zero

Father sits in front of laptop with child on his lap
Leadership & HR
21.10.2025 Ifenna Ekezie 242

Shaping work-life balance: Impulses for HR

The latest results of the future study on the compatibility of work and family (2025) show: Working mothers and, increasingly, fathers are experiencing high mental double burdens and therefore expect specific support from their employers and a proactive management culture that exemplifies and enables compatibility.  

In order to strengthen the motivation, health and loyalty of your employees in the long term and remain competitive, it is therefore not enough to simply offer a few support services to improve the work-life balance.

"What is needed is a clear corporate strategy that firmly anchors the issue of reconciliation in the corporate culture and supports managers in developing individual solutions with their team members, thus ensuring the active participation of employees in the selection of measures and offers." - Dr. Daniel Erler, Head of Corporate Communications pme Familienservice Group 

What you can expect in this article

Key facts from the Future Study on Compatibility 2025 

In summer 2025, together with Väter gGmbH, the VereinbarkeitsIndex and the Bundesverband Vereinbarkeit, we surveyed more than 1,000 working mothers and fathers from companies with over 1,000 employees as part of a representative FORSA study. The aim of the study was to make their different perspectives and needs visible and to derive concrete recommendations for action for companies, politics and society. 

The core results: 

  • 76% of parents mainly share childcare - a clear change in society. 
  • 51% of mothers and 41% of fathers still feel a heavy mental burden - the decisive factor here is the support they receive from their employer: only 35% of the parents surveyed who felt supported by their employer stated that they were mentally burdened. 
  • 42% of parents consider childcare services to be particularly relevant, but only 21% of employers offer them. 
  • 78% of women and 70% of men see the role of the manager as decisive for the actual use of family-friendly measures. 
  • 45% of the mothers surveyed stated that they did not aspire to a leadership role due to family demands and social expectations. 

To the future compatibility study

From study to action: How HR can actively support cultural change

Companies must see compatibility as an integral part of their corporate culture. HR plays a central role in this.  

Through regular, transparent communication and the targeted involvement of managers, they can ensure that health and support services are made known and visible within the company so that employees are informed and actively make use of them. 

"Reconciling family and career presents parents with a variety of challenges. We therefore recommend that employers provide their employees with a wide range of tailored support services for parents and children. It is particularly important that companies communicate their offers continuously and take the needs of employees into account." - Dr. Daniel Erler, Head of Corporate Communications pme Familienservice Group 

1. transform leadership culture - establish compatibility as a leadership issue 

Managers play a key role in determining whether a family-conscious corporate culture is practiced. They must actively promote flexible working models and support for family challenges. As our study on work-life balance shows, 78% of parents see the behavior of their managers as decisive for the use of family-friendly offers. 

However, managers often do not feel sufficiently supported by their companies in promoting their employees' work-life balance. According to our survey, 61% of female managers and 51% of male managers see an urgent need to catch up in this area. 


 

Practical recommendation: Managers can receive targeted support through training and seminars that promote empathetic communication, flexible workplace design and dealing with individual needs. In addition, regular workshops, coaching and collegial advice are useful to strengthen managers in their role and make everyday life family-friendly. 

2. recognize mental stress and relieve employees in a targeted manner

Mental health is a key factor for sustainable employee performance. The study shows a clear difference: only 35% of parents who experience support from their employer feel mentally stressed. Without support, the figure is 62%. 

Practical recommendation: As part of holistic health management, preventative measures such as mindfulness training and health checks as well as confidential advice and coaching services can be provided. Training for mental first aiders also enables early support in the event of mental stress. 

3. needs-oriented family services at the heart of reconciliation 

In addition to an active corporate culture, flexible and quality-assured childcare options are needed. The survey revealed a large discrepancy between the needs of parents and the support options actually provided: Although most companies now offer flexible working time models, part-time and mobile working, many employees feel that these measures are not sufficient. 

In the study, 42% of parents cite high-quality childcare as a decisive factor in reconciling family and career. 


 

Practical recommendation: The options for needs-oriented family services are diverse and can range from one-off support services such as vacation or emergency care to booking places to comprehensive childcare concepts. Individual advice services for parents as well as networking and information platforms can provide additional relief. 

Practical help for parents in everyday working life 

In addition to a family-friendly corporate culture, specific support services for employees with children are crucial. Our wide range of parent & child services - from childcare to parenting advice - provide effective relief for families in their everyday lives.

 

Practical examples from our cooperation partners: 

Company day care: At Orthomolinis, Orthomol employees have a total of nine childcare places available for toddlers aged between six months and three years. Pedagogically trained specialists look after the children from 7:00 am to 3:30 pm. The company's day care service is offered in cooperation with pme Familienservice . 

In-house vacation programs:Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and the Bertelsmann Stiftung, in cooperation with pme Familienservice , offer in-house vacation programs to relieve parents during the vacation season. Depending on requirements, the duration of the vacation care can be arranged flexibly. A varied program of creative and application activities is put together that is tailored to the different needs of children and young people. 

Thinking about compatibility when advertising jobs - how companies can score points in job offers

The latest analysis by the Bertelsmann Stiftung has shown that Family friendliness is too rarely communicated in job advertisements. Only around 16% of job offers contain family-friendly information. Although flexible working hours are advertised more frequently (approx. 38%), family-friendly offers are missing or not visible, especially in male-dominated professions. 

This means for companies: Family-friendly offers must not only be created, but also actively and visibly communicated in recruiting . In this way, new skilled workers can be recruited in a targeted manner and traditional role models can be broken down at the same time. 

Recommendations for successfully anchoring reconciliation measures in the company 

The following practical and proven measures are recommended to anchor reconcilability in the company sustainably and effectively: 

  • Actively involve parents: Systematically survey needs in order to design targeted offers. 
  • Align services to needs: Select, measure and adapt measures to the actual needs of parents - and children. 
  • Train managers and raise awareness of compatibility issues and offers within the company. 
  • Communicate continuously: Make offers visible both internally (e.g. intranet, notices, information stands) and externally (e.g. on LinkedIn, in job advertisements). 
  • Share experiences: Use authentic reports from parents, because personal stories are more convincing than pure product advertising. 

"Reconciling work and family life is a key success factor for companies today. Only those who practise family-conscious management and have tailor-made offers can retain and motivate employees in the long term." - Dr. Daniel Erler, Head of Corporate Communications pme Familienservice Group

 

Picture by Dr. Daniel Erler

Daniel Erler

Head of Corporate Communications (CCO)

Dr. Erler is an expert on company employee assisstance - Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) - and completed his doctorate in 2005 on the subject of work-life balance in Germany and Italy. In 2006, he began working as a strategic consultant and project manager for pme Familienservice GmbH.

Since 2012, Dr. Erler, as Head of Corporate Communications, has been responsible for the content and conceptual development of the pme Familienservice website, ensures communication between the editorial team and technology and coordinates the company-wide press and public relations work. Key aspects of this work include the design and implementation of the central company portals, the implementation of digital marketing campaigns and the introduction of a systematic multi-channel communication strategy.

As Managing Director of pme Familienholding GmbH, Dr. Erler also represents the founding shareholders in the group of shareholders of pme Familienservice GmbH.

Contact:

daniel.erler@familienservice.de