Shaping compatibility for everyone

Responsibility for the family: men provide the financial security and earn most of the money, women in turn are responsible for the success and organization of family life and the household.

At first glance, the role models seem outdated, but a closer look reveals that the "classic" distribution of family responsibilities is still frequently practiced. Although more and more women are now also working as mothers, they are often also the ones who manage the family and household on the side. Young fathers today want to have more time for the family, but after two months of parental leave, most men return to their full-time jobs. After starting a family, they often work even more.

While the classic family model mentioned at the beginning was hardly ever questioned in the past, today there is a contradiction between desire and reality in many families. Most couples strive for a partnership-based division of family responsibilities and career development. However, the actual implementation often proves to be very difficult.

As a company, you have the opportunity to create conditions for your employees that support the compatibility of family and career. The associated investments are always a gain for the company. Higher motivation, less absenteeism and a good image also contribute to the company's success in the long term.

However, when introducing and implementing family-friendly measures, it is important to focus equally on men and women. In principle, the topic plays a central role for everyone. In a recent survey (2015) by management consultants A.T.Kearney, 93% of employees - whether men or women - consider work-life balance to be important. At the same time, men often do not really feel addressed by family-friendly offers. Here, it is important to consider the different needs of men and women as well as mothers and fathers.

What can companies actively do?

The measures and offers presented on this portal should of course always be aimed at all employees. If you offer flexible working time models, this can be just as interesting for fathers and mothers as for employees with caring responsibilities in the family. However, employees without family obligations may also want to work flexibly, for example to pursue voluntary work. If everyone has the same opportunities, there is little room for skepticism and envy among colleagues.

However, not everyone has the same needs and feels equally addressed by the reconciliation measures on offer. It should be checked again and again - e.g. through employee surveys or in staff appraisals - whether the offers are really received and accepted by the workforce. For example, according to recent studies (Unternehmensmonitor 2013, Allensbach), fathers feel little supported by their employer, even if companies offer a variety of work-life balance options.

Communication as the key

The communication of family-friendly measures and offers in your company should focus on the different target groups. In most cases, women are still the primary target group when it comes to childcare or part-time employment, for example. This is reflected in the imagery and choice of words used when communicating offers. If fathers are also the target group of family-friendly measures, they should also be explicitly addressed in the communication. To achieve this, it can be useful to involve men in the development of communication materials, for example.

With all offers that support childcare as well as the care of relatives, it should always be emphasized that they are aimed at both women and men. A father should be made aware of this and encouraged to bring his child into the company when "the need arises".  

Corporate culture and role models

A supportive corporate culture contributes to the success and acceptance of family-friendly offers by fathers and mothers as well as women and men. While it is almost taken for granted that women will reduce their working hours when they have a child, men tend to be viewed critically in many places if they express a similar wish or even put it into practice. Accordingly, many fathers fear that reducing their working hours will damage their image and have a negative impact on their career progression.

Fathers should be encouraged to take on family responsibilities and take advantage of company offers to improve their work-life balance. Employee magazines, the intranet or regular newsletters can be used to introduce fathers who have already taken the step and reduced their working hours, e.g. following the birth of a child. The public presentation shows appreciation for fathers on the part of the company and perhaps also encourages others to address their desire for more flexible working hours.

A manager who naturally leaves the office early twice a week to pick up the children from nursery is sure to encourage other employees to talk to their line manager about their own family commitments.

While men in many places face real or perceived barriers when it comes to wanting to be there more for the family, women often have the opposite problem. When they become mothers, it is usually taken for granted that they will now work less in order to take on most of the family work. Other models are hardly known or even envisaged. However, women today often want both success at work and a family. This means that many would like to work more, but are unable to do so due to various obstacles.

Here too, a supportive corporate culture with appropriate reconciliation measures can help. Women should be encouraged to work according to their needs and wishes. If women feel that their needs are taken seriously and are supported, e.g. by the company's childcare services, in working full-time, they will certainly be motivated and committed to fulfilling their professional duties.

Parental allowance plus for more partnership

Parental Allowance Plus, which has been available since summer 2015 instead of or in combination with the "classic" parental allowance, is intended to provide support towards more partnership and a more equal division of childcare time between young mothers and fathers.

It is intended to be an attractive option for a quicker return to work. On the one hand, this is intended to support mothers who have always taken longer off work after the birth of a child. On the other hand, fathers should be motivated to take more than the usual two months of parental leave.

This is to be achieved by making it more attractive to work part-time while receiving parental allowance with Parental Allowance Plus. While the "classic" parental allowance ends after 14 months of the child's life at the latest, Parental Allowance Plus can be extended by working part-time. The partnership bonus enables both parents to gain four additional months of Parental Allowance Plus each. The prerequisite for this is that the father and mother share the care of the child and work between 25 and 30 hours per week for four months at the same time.

The Ministry of Family Affairs' support model addresses the needs of young parents for a more equal division of responsibilities. How successful it is in practice will also depend on how well fathers and mothers can implement this division of tasks in their specific work and business context.

Flexibility of measures and offers

To ensure that measures and offers for reconciling work and family life are attractive and helpful for all employees of a company, they should be kept flexible and adapted to the respective needs.

Part-time does not automatically mean 50 percent of regular working hours. Part-time can also mean working just a few hours less per week. This can give the individual enough flexibility to look after the children on two afternoons. Or it helps to cover unforeseen childcare emergencies by being able to flexibly postpone a working day.

The so-called "long part-time" from 30 hours per week may make it easier for men to reduce their working hours. For many women, it offers the opportunity to work more than just half-time, even if a full-time position is currently out of the question due to family commitments. This helps them to take on more responsible tasks.

Mobile working from home can be another option to enable both men and women to achieve a better balance between professional and family responsibilities. Work culture is still very much characterized by a culture of presence. In surveys, however, many employees say that being able to work from home occasionally would help them to achieve a successful work-life balance. When evaluating work performance, it should be the result rather than the presence in the office that counts. Men in particular are still very much influenced by the culture of presence.

There are many ways to help your employees achieve a good work-life balance. This can often be achieved without much effort. Talk to your employees to develop solutions together that are beneficial for all sides.