Work-Life-Balance in Germany
Encyclopedia
There are different approaches, to define the term Work-Life-Balance. At the one hand Work-Life-Balance (WLB) is seen as a popular, but also imprecise term that covers from a scientific perspective, not a single phenomenon, but rather an entire subject area. In the focus of this subject area, stand aspects of the relationship and interplay between work and private life. In this connection the work component refers to the paid work and the life component to the other areas of life such as family, friendships, social and cultural commitment, health behavior, and other things. Similarly is a further definition, in which the WLB is depicted as two scales, one for the life component and the other for the work component, which should be balanced. In the shell, which stands for life, hobbies, sports, travel, cultural interests, society, friends and family were put inside. In the shell, which stands for work is the job that is a serious block opposed to the more pleasurable experiences. Thus working gets back the negative meaning which the linguists attributed the term in its origins. But also outside of the family, needs and responsibilities are waiting to be fulfilled, therefore, also in this area it can be spoken of work.
After all, a non-existing balance
between work and private life has negative consequences. These consequences include, for example lower job performance
, higher absenteeism
, more mistakes and incorrect decisions, worse working atmosphere, depending on labor market situation more willingness of resignation, abdication of image benefits at the market and internal escape. A chief motive of companies is to maintain and, if possible, increase the competitiveness
of products and services and thus achieving the best overall business results. To achieve this result, enterprises need the appropriate employees. Since the talent of employees is seen as a competitive differentiation attribute in good, but also in bad economic times, companies need to think more creatively and strategically than ever before about how they can use WLB programs to their advantage.
hardly to imagine, a shortage of skilled workers will already be most likely in the medium term. In addition to that, the birth rate in Germany is for over three decades at a low level, so that the long-term population size can not be kept constant and thus a decline in population is almost inevitable. This leads to significant consequences in the social development. The population
would shrink, depending on the model, in Germany in 2050 to about 67-75 million people. These demographic changes will also lead to drastic effects on the structure and scope of employment potential, because in general the labor supply will decrease in future, while the average age of workers increases considerable. The economically active population aged 15 to 64 years will decrease by these projections, relatively and absolutely, more numerical than the total population. It follows that the demographic development also leads to an aging of the total society.
Since not only the average age of the workforce
is increasing, but at the same time barely enough young people move up, this demographic development will affect the labor market and the human resources policy in enterprises sustainable. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) has calculated that the decline in the supply of specialists and executives in 2015 will already be noticeable and in 2025 led to a gap of about 350,000 persons. By the year 2050, this gap is expected to have increased to a value of almost one million, that is a quarter more than in 2006. Due to the mass unemployment
in the recent years it came to a de-skilling of human capital
, in particular at the long-term unemployed. As a result, a lack of professional workers and executives is conceivable. It can be assumed that these developments in the future will continue. Especially the globalization
with the opening of the of world markets and ever-accelerating technological innovations increasingly require qualified personnel, which means for most employers only a good investment if it can be obligate to the company in the long run. Therefore it is extremely important for companies, being an attractive employer in order to hire the decreasing number of young specialists and executives and obligate them to the company.
As yet some female employees decide to have children, the following can be observed in the employment rate: while at the beginning of the working life the employment rate is still the same between men and women, the employment rate of women drops significantly in the family phase between 25–40 years. Many well-qualified mothers can not work, because of inadequate child care, or work only part-time. Here is considerable potential for employment of almost 3.3 million women who are not at all or are only (unwittingly) part-time employed. 70% of mothers who are at home would be better employed and one of three father wants to have more time for his family. Hence the positions of women or men who are forced, by lack of childcare, to get out for some time from work, need to be filled, substantial costs occur here for the company. As part of the national competition "The family-friendly company 2000: New Opportunities for Women and Men" the CEO of a company announced that the amount of costs for filling a vacant position belongs to about 75% to 150% of the respectively annual salary
. Would a cost-benefit analysis be prepared, whether the assistance in the field of child care would be worth as WLB measure, in this analysis the know-how loss necessarily should be included, which is connected to a long career break.
However, the complex of problems should not only be discussed in the reconciliation of family and work in terms of child care. In this case it is often thought of young people who have to combine their professional needs with the care and education of children, but the support of aid needed and high-maintenance people is included here only rarely. This ignores that 68% of the over two million care-needed people in Germany live in their own homes and were supported partly or entirely by family members and other members of the private network. Overall, about 92% of the high-maintenance and about 85% of the help needed people are usually cared by family members. From the changing age structure of society which is motivated by the demographic change, necessarily results an increase of people who need help and care services. Because the support and maintenance of the old generation is often done by the middle generation, this means up to today a considerable relief for the society and its social systems
and therefore for the economy
. With that not only the financial contribution of the labor force for the maintenance of the no longer in working life standing, in the society so-called "generation contract", is meant. Most notably it deals with the work performance, which is applied individually within the families, to care for sick, help- and care-needed elderly people. According to the Federal Ministry for Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, at least 45% of people who provide care services in their family have to reconcile this activity with the requirements of their employment, which can lead to a substantial limitation of the WLB. Since the task of maintenance today is still predominantly performed by women, their potential of skills and knowledge can not always benefit the economy, due to the family responsibilities.
Approximately 19% of all Germans are currently more than 65 years old. In 2050, almost one of three people will be older than 65. The age group of 0 - to 19-year-old now makes about 21% of the total population
; in 2050 the share will be decreased to only 15%. Based on these figures this will lead for significantly more families than before, to higher, if not double compatibility difficulties. Especially the family members in the middle age, the so-called "sandwich generation
", has to manage increasingly both, the task of education and care of the children, and support services related to the maintenance and care of older people.
. If companies support their employees in creating a WLB, the company can generate an economic benefit from it permanently. To this economic benefit counts in particular the reduction of stress levels of the employees, reducing absenteeism and sickness absence rate, the reduction of the fluctuation with the effects of human capital preservation, increasing employee loyalty and commitment to the company, increasing motivation
and satisfaction of the workforce, increasing the return rate and reducing the period of absence after maternity
and elderly care, reducing the effort needed to reoccupation, an improved recruitment marketing, performance improvement, marketing effects for product sales and an improved corporate image. Thus, companies can generate long-term competitive advantages, which is a major motive of WLB. Another motive for a family-friendly and WLB integrated personnel policy is to increase the job satisfaction of employees in order to achieve a higher overall productivity. In addition, the personnel policy is seen as a competitive factor in attracting and retaining qualified staff. But also the cost savings through lower absenteeism and lower fluctuation are of course motives of companies to support the WLB of their employees.
concepts, the permanent generation of economic benefits for the organization is reachable, which expresses itself for example through cost-saving potentials, such as reducing the effort needed for reoccupation, reducing absenteeism and sickness absence rate, by reducing the fluctuation with the effects of human capital maintenance and efficiency improvements or through marketing effects for the sale of products. Thus, the companies ensure their competitiveness and take social responsibility
. Thereby short-term and long-term effects were shown, which lead to an overall generation of competitive advantages and support sustainable social changes.
Discussion in Germany
More and more companies are thinking seriously about WLB concepts.After all, a non-existing balance
Balance
- Equipment :* Balance beam, a piece of gymnastics apparatus.* Balance board, a piece of training equipment.* Balancing machine, a machine that balances mechanical rotating parts to lessen vibration.* Balance wheel, a watch component....
between work and private life has negative consequences. These consequences include, for example lower job performance
Job performance
Job performance is a commonly used, yet poorly defined concept in industrial and organizational psychology, the branch of psychology that deals with the workplace. It's also part of Human Resources Management. It most commonly refers to whether a person performs their job well...
, higher absenteeism
Absenteeism
Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation. Traditionally, absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implicit contract between employee and employer; it was seen as a management problem, and framed in economic...
, more mistakes and incorrect decisions, worse working atmosphere, depending on labor market situation more willingness of resignation, abdication of image benefits at the market and internal escape. A chief motive of companies is to maintain and, if possible, increase the competitiveness
Competitiveness
Competitiveness is a comparative concept of the ability and performance of a firm, sub-sector or country to sell and supply goods and/or services in a given market...
of products and services and thus achieving the best overall business results. To achieve this result, enterprises need the appropriate employees. Since the talent of employees is seen as a competitive differentiation attribute in good, but also in bad economic times, companies need to think more creatively and strategically than ever before about how they can use WLB programs to their advantage.
Work-Life Balance and the Demographic Change in Germany
The topic of the WLB is in times of demographic change, especially topical, as the demographic changes lead to a drastic decline in the labor force potential. Unless there is not a significant migration of workers, what can not be considered under the current immigration policy as unlikely, the number of employed persons will be reduced from currently about 42 million to 25 to 35 million. This means, that in the long term the already, partial existing deficit of qualified specialists and executives will increase dramatically, and increasingly fewer and fewer labor force is available. The need for well-qualified staff will continue to grow. Even if it is currently, with about 4.5 million unemployed people in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
hardly to imagine, a shortage of skilled workers will already be most likely in the medium term. In addition to that, the birth rate in Germany is for over three decades at a low level, so that the long-term population size can not be kept constant and thus a decline in population is almost inevitable. This leads to significant consequences in the social development. The population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
would shrink, depending on the model, in Germany in 2050 to about 67-75 million people. These demographic changes will also lead to drastic effects on the structure and scope of employment potential, because in general the labor supply will decrease in future, while the average age of workers increases considerable. The economically active population aged 15 to 64 years will decrease by these projections, relatively and absolutely, more numerical than the total population. It follows that the demographic development also leads to an aging of the total society.
Since not only the average age of the workforce
Workforce
The workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...
is increasing, but at the same time barely enough young people move up, this demographic development will affect the labor market and the human resources policy in enterprises sustainable. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) has calculated that the decline in the supply of specialists and executives in 2015 will already be noticeable and in 2025 led to a gap of about 350,000 persons. By the year 2050, this gap is expected to have increased to a value of almost one million, that is a quarter more than in 2006. Due to the mass unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
in the recent years it came to a de-skilling of human capital
Human capital
Human capitalis the stock of competencies, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is the attributes gained by a worker through education and experience...
, in particular at the long-term unemployed. As a result, a lack of professional workers and executives is conceivable. It can be assumed that these developments in the future will continue. Especially the globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
with the opening of the of world markets and ever-accelerating technological innovations increasingly require qualified personnel, which means for most employers only a good investment if it can be obligate to the company in the long run. Therefore it is extremely important for companies, being an attractive employer in order to hire the decreasing number of young specialists and executives and obligate them to the company.
Combination Work-Life-Balance and Family
In particular, young, highly skilled workers want to have more and more often a career without waiving for children. The high level of childlessness by female academics, for example, is in most cases not voluntarily, but mostly structural. When companies adapt to the new needs of the compatibility of family and work and thus are considered as "family friendly" company, it can be assumed that this acts as an incentive system to the qualified staff and that family-friendliness in companies is increasingly seen as a locational advantage. In Germany it is the responsibility of the state and required by law to provide child care places. Unfortunately, the experiences of the past show that the family-policy benefits of the state are not enough to solve the problem of reconciling work and family satisfactorily. The unions have long time argued that company childcare facilities favor the private dependency of the employee to the employer. At this point, the initiative of the economy is required, to take a supporting role and particular responsibility. Only then can we succeed in enabling young people a work-life-balance, which authorizes them to exercise both their profession, as well as the desire for a family, which most couples still have as a life goal.As yet some female employees decide to have children, the following can be observed in the employment rate: while at the beginning of the working life the employment rate is still the same between men and women, the employment rate of women drops significantly in the family phase between 25–40 years. Many well-qualified mothers can not work, because of inadequate child care, or work only part-time. Here is considerable potential for employment of almost 3.3 million women who are not at all or are only (unwittingly) part-time employed. 70% of mothers who are at home would be better employed and one of three father wants to have more time for his family. Hence the positions of women or men who are forced, by lack of childcare, to get out for some time from work, need to be filled, substantial costs occur here for the company. As part of the national competition "The family-friendly company 2000: New Opportunities for Women and Men" the CEO of a company announced that the amount of costs for filling a vacant position belongs to about 75% to 150% of the respectively annual salary
Salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....
. Would a cost-benefit analysis be prepared, whether the assistance in the field of child care would be worth as WLB measure, in this analysis the know-how loss necessarily should be included, which is connected to a long career break.
However, the complex of problems should not only be discussed in the reconciliation of family and work in terms of child care. In this case it is often thought of young people who have to combine their professional needs with the care and education of children, but the support of aid needed and high-maintenance people is included here only rarely. This ignores that 68% of the over two million care-needed people in Germany live in their own homes and were supported partly or entirely by family members and other members of the private network. Overall, about 92% of the high-maintenance and about 85% of the help needed people are usually cared by family members. From the changing age structure of society which is motivated by the demographic change, necessarily results an increase of people who need help and care services. Because the support and maintenance of the old generation is often done by the middle generation, this means up to today a considerable relief for the society and its social systems
Social systems
Social system is a central term in sociological systems theory. The term draws a line to ecosystem, biological organisms, psychical systems and technical systems. They all form the environment of social systems. Minimum requirements for a social system is interaction of at least two personal...
and therefore for the economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
. With that not only the financial contribution of the labor force for the maintenance of the no longer in working life standing, in the society so-called "generation contract", is meant. Most notably it deals with the work performance, which is applied individually within the families, to care for sick, help- and care-needed elderly people. According to the Federal Ministry for Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, at least 45% of people who provide care services in their family have to reconcile this activity with the requirements of their employment, which can lead to a substantial limitation of the WLB. Since the task of maintenance today is still predominantly performed by women, their potential of skills and knowledge can not always benefit the economy, due to the family responsibilities.
Approximately 19% of all Germans are currently more than 65 years old. In 2050, almost one of three people will be older than 65. The age group of 0 - to 19-year-old now makes about 21% of the total population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
; in 2050 the share will be decreased to only 15%. Based on these figures this will lead for significantly more families than before, to higher, if not double compatibility difficulties. Especially the family members in the middle age, the so-called "sandwich generation
Sandwich generation
The Sandwich generation is a generation of people who care for their aging parents while supporting their own children.In the United States, Sandwich Generation Month is a month of awareness to commemorate and celebrate the dedication, patience and caring of adults who are part of the Sandwich...
", has to manage increasingly both, the task of education and care of the children, and support services related to the maintenance and care of older people.
Motives of Companies to integrate Work-Life-Balance measures
The demographic development is forcing every company to maintain and improve the employability of employees. Moreover companies must acquire new qualified employees and keep the skills of employees up to date through lifelong learningLifelong learning
Lifelong learning is the continuous building of skills and knowledge throughout the life of an individual. It occurs through experiences encountered in the course of a lifetime...
. If companies support their employees in creating a WLB, the company can generate an economic benefit from it permanently. To this economic benefit counts in particular the reduction of stress levels of the employees, reducing absenteeism and sickness absence rate, the reduction of the fluctuation with the effects of human capital preservation, increasing employee loyalty and commitment to the company, increasing motivation
Motivation
Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
and satisfaction of the workforce, increasing the return rate and reducing the period of absence after maternity
Maternity
Maternity or motherhood is the social and legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a mother and her child.It is specially related with the protection of the baby and the mother within and after the childbirth.-See also:...
and elderly care, reducing the effort needed to reoccupation, an improved recruitment marketing, performance improvement, marketing effects for product sales and an improved corporate image. Thus, companies can generate long-term competitive advantages, which is a major motive of WLB. Another motive for a family-friendly and WLB integrated personnel policy is to increase the job satisfaction of employees in order to achieve a higher overall productivity. In addition, the personnel policy is seen as a competitive factor in attracting and retaining qualified staff. But also the cost savings through lower absenteeism and lower fluctuation are of course motives of companies to support the WLB of their employees.
Benefits of Companies which support Work-Life-Balance measures
Through the implementation of appropriate human resource managementHuman resource management
Human Resource Management is the management of an organization's employees. While human resource management is sometimes referred to as a "soft" management skill, effective practice within an organization requires a strategic focus to ensure that people resources can facilitate the achievement of...
concepts, the permanent generation of economic benefits for the organization is reachable, which expresses itself for example through cost-saving potentials, such as reducing the effort needed for reoccupation, reducing absenteeism and sickness absence rate, by reducing the fluctuation with the effects of human capital maintenance and efficiency improvements or through marketing effects for the sale of products. Thus, the companies ensure their competitiveness and take social responsibility
Social responsibility
Social responsibility is an ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the...
. Thereby short-term and long-term effects were shown, which lead to an overall generation of competitive advantages and support sustainable social changes.