Family friendliness in focus
More companies are encouraging male bosses to take parental leave
09/01/2023, 4:18 p.m
Balancing work and family life is often a challenge for managers. More and more companies are encouraging their management floors to take time off for their children. Unions are skeptical.
According to a survey, companies are increasingly attaching importance to family-friendly measures to keep employees. Accordingly, they are also increasingly encouraging men in management positions to take time off for their children or to work part-time. This is the result of the “Company Monitor Family Friendliness 2023” created by the German Economic Institute (IW) and funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs. It is a survey of HR managers in companies as well as of employees.
Three out of four companies stated in the survey that they had difficulties finding skilled workers (74 percent). The shortage of skilled workers is currently one of the key business risks, said Peter Adrian, President of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, when the results were presented in Berlin. Family friendliness is a mainstay of securing skilled workers. Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus from the Greens called the compatibility of family and career a tough competitive factor in the race for the brightest minds.
Around 86 percent of the HR managers surveyed stated that family-friendly measures in their company were important to them – an increase of around 3 percentage points compared to the previous survey in 2018 and an increase of 8 percentage points compared to the previous study from 2015. 88 percent of HR managers who said that family-friendly measures were important to them gave the reason for wanting to retain qualified employees in their company. Recruiting employees is another motive that ranks high.
Around 82 percent of the employees surveyed generally rated the compatibility of their working hours with family and social obligations as very good or good. Of those who are not satisfied, more than half (57 percent) are considering changing jobs in the next three to five years. Among those who are satisfied, it is only 26 percent.
Part-time for male executives possible
This year’s company monitor placed a special focus on the compatibility of work and family for fathers. Roughly every second HR manager believes that this topic will become even more important in the coming years. “Companies know that if they don’t take care of fathers’ wishes, they could lose them,” Paus said.
A third of the managers stated in the survey that they actively support male executives in taking time off for their children (parental leave) – double the figure for 2015. In addition, the proportion of companies in which male bosses explicitly accept the offer The number of people doing part-time work has almost quadrupled compared to 2015, although at 19 percent this is still an exception, the study says. Corresponding information on female managers was not requested, nor was it asked how many employees in management floors took advantage of the opportunities.
According to the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, each parent is entitled to up to three years of parental leave from their employer. The employment relationship therefore remains in place throughout the parental leave and there is a right to return to earlier working hours. Nevertheless, it can be important for employees when deciding whether or not to take time off, what a company’s attitude towards it is.
DGB is skeptical about poll numbers
Criticism came from the deputy chairwoman of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), Elke Hannack. “Operational measures that make an effective contribution to reconciling family and work with as little stress as possible are still more of a beacon than trend models,” she said. She called for more speed from employers on the subject of family friendliness.