Balancing family and career is a question of future viability
Michael Kundel 
In recent years, family friendliness has become an increasingly important topic in business and politics. And rightly so - because family friendliness is becoming an essential factor for the future viability of companies and the entire business location.
The importance of family friendliness
Raising children, caring for relatives, living in a partnership - families are an incredibly important part of our lives. But the times when tasks and roles in families were clearly divided are thankfully over. Family life in 2024 is therefore not only more diverse, but also more demanding than it used to be.
This also has an impact on the world of work. Balancing family and career is a major challenge for many people. A challenge that often cannot be mastered.
Therefore, many people are unable to find a job - and many companies cannot find enough employees.
The economic consequences are enormous. The more children a family has, the higher the risk of poverty. At the same time, the entire economy suffers.
The economy and society are not well enough prepared for families
Unfortunately, the reason for this is obvious: as much as there has been talk about family friendliness in recent years, society and the economy are not actually geared towards families.
This starts with childcare and extends to questions of flexible working time models. The educational landscape in Germany is also still lagging behind in many areas. Pisa sends its regards.
My political demands for more family friendliness
Family friendliness is not just a question of money. Yes, we need to invest more in childcare and education. But it is also a question of structures - and as is so often the case, a question of bureaucracy.
A few examples:
- The bureaucratic effort involved in opening a daycare center prevents rapid expansion by private providers and the establishment of company daycare centers.
- The de facto abolition of trust-based working hours and other new working time regulations make it difficult for many employees to achieve a flexible work-life balance when working from home.
- The lack of pediatricians and midwives is part of everyday family life.
- Affordable housing for families is often completely lacking.
- The availability of all-day schools and afternoon care is still inadequate.
Family policy should focus specifically on making life easier and more flexible for families. It doesn't need more state benefits - it needs better framework conditions.
Employees with families can rely on RENOLIT!
I'm a father of three grown-up children myself and I know the many individual challenges that can arise within families.
This individuality is also the keyword for our efforts at RENOLIT. The one-size-fits-all times are long gone - today we design diverse programs for a diverse workforce with individually different needs.
It is also a great advantage that we are still a medium-sized company in our hearts - we know our colleagues and their life situations. It's important to me to offer families reliability - because I think that's what families need.
I am proud that family-friendliness is no longer just a buzzword at RENOLIT, but a lived reality and is increasingly being thought of in a more comprehensive way. Last year, for example, we were certified as a particularly family-friendly company by the Board of Trustees of berufundfamilie Service GmbH and were also recognized as an attractive employer in Rhineland-Palatinate by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
How I make RENOLIT even more family-friendly
The certificate and the award are a nice confirmation - and an incentive for us to become even better. As part of the current certification, we have adopted an initial catalog of measures that has already been implemented in the following areas:
- Appointment of an Equal Opportunities Officer
- Establishment of an advice hotline for all employees on all life issues
- Vacation program for employees' children
- Efficient organization of mobile working as part of the Digital Agenda strategy
- Flexible working time models
- Germany-wide bonus program for health promotion
- Foundation of a support association to help in personal emergencies
- Cost sharing for childcare
- Regulation on reconciling work and care responsibilities
- Introduction of a targeted pension scheme and a RENOLIT pension to prevent poverty in old age
- Medical advice (also for family members) and check-ups
These measures are innovative and forward-looking in many ways and make it easier for our employees to combine family, care and work in equal measure.
We will develop further measures together in the course of 2024 and start implementing them. Any suggestions and comments would be greatly appreciated.
RENOLIT is a real family business
As you know, RENOLIT is a real family business. This applies not only to the ownership structure. It is the character of our entire company. Families are incredibly important to me and to RENOLIT as a company. I hope that this will spread far beyond our company. Because family friendliness is a real location factor - and a question of securing the future of the company and society.
