Reconciliation of Family and Work

The reconciliation of family and work is one of the most important challenges facing Austrian family policy makers. Family is a primary concern for young people but being successful in an occupation is also important to them.

The right family-work balance is one of the most significant challenges Austrian family policy is currently faced with. It is a priority for young people to have a family whilst at the same time, it is also important for them to advance in their careers. Studies have shown that there is a clear gap between the wish to have children and the actual number of children that are born. Much has been done and achieved in family policies in the past few years to make it easier for couples to make their wishes for children materialise.

The Federal Chancellery – Division Family and Youth funds a number of measures that help to improve the reconciliation of family and work. It established the “Companies for Families” network to make family friendliness a trademark of Austria. By joining this network, companies and communities make concrete contributions to family-friendly work and living environments. A centrepiece of the initiative is the online platform. It reports on success stories and offers a perfect place for exchanging views, networking and collaborating. Visit www.unternehmen-fuer-familien.at/wege-zum-ziel-englisch.

The increased use of modern management tools is another vital way to reconcile family and work more effectively. These tools include audit services from Familie & Beruf Management GmbH. Qualified auditors are in charge of the audit process and assist companies, regular universities, institutions of higher education as well as healthcare and nursing-care institutions in implementing family-friendly measures.

The work-and-family audit is a tailor-made tool for companies regardless of sector, size or legal and organisational form. In the audit process, companies are assisted in achieving business advantages based on family-friendly measures. The work-and-family audit for healthcare and nursing-care institutions is tailored specifically to meet the reconciliation demands faced by these institutions. The university-and-family audit supports universities and institutions of higher education in making everyday university life more family-friendly.

A more family-friendly living environment also has a positive effect on the reconciliation of family and work. The family-friendly-community audit is a community policy process for Austrian cities and municipalities. The object of the audit is to identify family-friendly measures already in place in communities and to determine what further measures might be needed.

All completed audit procedures are awarded a state certificate from the Federal Chancellery – Division Family and Youth. The Austrian state award “Family & Work” is granted to companies taking innovative steps to enable their employees to achieve optimum reconciliation of family and work. For more detailed information on the Austrian state award “Family & Work”, please visit www.familienfreundlichsterbetrieb.at (in German only).

The work-and-family index is a scientific instrument employers can use to check the strengths and developmental potentials of their personnel policy as it pertains to family awareness and the reconciliation of family and work. Companies can run this check in a matter of minutes and free of charge.

Familie & Beruf Management GmbH is responsible for handling these reconciliation measures. For more detailed information, please visit www.familieundberuf.at.