Work-life Balance

Work-life balance

For many people, balancing work and family is a daily balancing act. A lot of flexibility and organizational effort are necessary to find a balance between work and family obligations. Your own needs shouldn't be neglected either.

In Austria, around 40 percent of those in work have family responsibilities in addition to their job. According to Statistics Austria, women in particular are still faced with the challenge of reconciling work and family, while men’s professional commitment is hardly influenced by the birth of a child.

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• Family-friendly working conditions in the company
• Benefits for companies and employees
• Family-conscious personnel policy: tested & awarded

A balanced interplay of work, family and personal needs is feasible and for many an enrichment of life. However, certain requirements must be met for this. It is important that the daily tasks at work and in the family area can be mastered and multiple burdens do not lead to excessive demands. Family-friendly working conditions and corresponding socio-political framework conditions and legal regulations make a significant contribution to health-promoting conditions in the professional world.

Family-friendly working conditions in the company

Companies in particular are called upon to develop family-friendly working conditions. The aim is to harmonize the requirements of the company with the family situation of the employees as well as possible.

Important factors for family-friendly working relationships are:

Working time regulations: Flexible regulations such as flexitime with working time credit or annual working time agreements bring advantages to the company and enable employees to flexibly adapt their working hours to their own needs. A (temporary) reduction of working time to part-time with different hours makes it possible to provide the necessary time for the family. In addition to statutory parental leave or part-time parental leave, time-limited exemptions can also be agreed

Work location and work organization: Working at home in the “home office” increases flexibility in terms of time and saves travel time. In teams with part-time employees, the exchange of information is important, for example in order to coordinate work processes

Supporting offers in childcare: They range from our own company kindergartens to arranging offers, e.g. child minders, to financial support for the commitment of carers. Such support can significantly reduce the stress level of employees with children and minimize staff turnover

Continuing education and training: Full-time and part-time employees should be treated equally with regard to continuing education and training

Return to work after parental leave: The timely coordination of the planned parental leave or parental leave between employees and the company is an important basis for a successful return to work. The options for employment after parental leave will also be clarified during a planning meeting. Both employees and companies should regularly exchange information and stay in contact during a care-related break. You can work in marginal employment or as a vacation replacement for the company while you are on parental leave. Further training measures are also possible during this time

Additional Information:

• Work-life balance (Federal Ministry for Women, Family and Youth)
• Parental leave and return to work (health portal)

Benefits for companies and employees

A family-friendly corporate culture brings advantages for both companies and employees. These include, for example:

• Improvement of motivation and satisfaction,
• higher motivation on the part of employees,
• Decrease in absenteeism and turnover rates or
• Increasing competitiveness.

Family-conscious personnel policy: tested & awarded

Companies are supported by the public in creating family-friendly working conditions. The “beruf und familie” audit is a further development of the original auditing process, adapted to Austrian conditions, to better reconcile family and work, which was developed on the initiative and on behalf of the non-profit HERTIE Foundation in Germany. As a consulting and management tool for companies, organizations and public service institutions, it helps to develop family orientation in a targeted manner and to use the economic advantages.