Balancing work and family — is it possible?

Contrary to how it is portrayed in many media outlets, balancing work and family is not exclusively a problem for mothers and single parents. Just as women are under pressure to contribute to the family income and build a career, men are expected, as main earners, to participate equally in child-rearing and household duties.

Anyone who wants to balance work and family without stress must therefore first confront their own expectations: Which expectations have I in my job? What do I want for my children? What do I expect from my partner? Only when the priorities within the family are set can all family members in everyday life pull together.

Avoid everyday stress — tips for working parents

• Let go of perfectionism:

  Hardly anyone manages to excel at work, as a parent, as a partner and in running the household all at the same time.

• State your wishes clearly:

  If work and family are hard to reconcile, talk to your employer and also to your partner and your children about your expectations.

• Weigh up activities:

  Work, school and daycare are stressful enough. Try to arrange a few free afternoons during the week together with the children. That way your children have time to play and you save on travel and lots of organization.

• Free weekends:

  Those who work during the week want to enjoy the weekend. Planned activities every weekend can quickly turn into leisure stress. It is better to sometimes not plan anything at all.

• Clearly divide tasks:

  A family is like a mini-company and everyone should contribute to making it work. Assign tasks to the children and divide larger household chores between you and your partner according to availability, if necessary with a cleaning schedule.

• Enjoy your family:

  Don't forget why you accept the daily stress and take time now and then to enjoy your family — even if it's only a few minutes.

Family-friendly working hours — the big sticking point

The best professional qualifications are useless if the working hours do not match the daycare opening hours or the working hours of the partner. Especially for mothers returning to work, this represents a major challenge. It is not uncommon for a job offer to be declined because only the options full-time or part-time are available.

Companies are on the right track

Many companies have now recognized that more flexible working time models not only benefit families but also increase employees' willingness to perform. At the same time, family-friendly working hours are increasingly a criterion when choosing an employer. Because those who offer attractive models secure the best workers.

High demand for family-friendly working models

Nine out of ten mothers and fathers stated in a survey by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs that family-friendly working hours are as important to them when choosing an employer as the amount of their salary. This is not only because more and more families have both parents working, but also because awareness of a healthy work-life balance is growing. Parents want to be able to enjoy and use their time with the family more effectively.

What options are there for arranging working hours?

• The most widespread arrangement is flextime, where employees only have to be at the company during a core working period and otherwise set their own start and end times.

• Those working in project-based roles can often agree a functional time arrangement, where working hours are aligned with current workload. Similarly, choice-based working hours operate, e.g. in hospitality, where employees can indicate desired working times on the rota.

• With annual working-time models and lifetime working-time models, the workload is determined by order volume or by the employee's availability, but the monthly salary always remains the same.

• Working from home/home office is often offered as a complement to a flexible working-time model and requires a certain degree of trust from the employer in their employees.

Image credits:

Mother with children at the laptop © nataliealeb - stock.adobe.com

Wooden cubes © Stockwerk-Fotodesign - stock.adobe.com

Mother with sleeping child on the sofa © Degroote Stock - stock.adobe.com