Reconciling work and care: New guide published

Caregiving often doesn’t start with a single incisive moment, but slowly creeps into everyday life. Suddenly there’s an extra phone call, a doctor’s appointment in the morning, growing worries about your mother, father or partner – and at the same time your own professional life continues as normal. It is precisely in situations like these that it becomes clear how challenging it can be to reconcile care and work.

In Austria, this is where the work of Familie & Beruf Management GmbH comes in. It provides support with information, networking, certifications and now also with a new practical guide, which is intended to provide orientation for companies and those affected. The non-profit organization was founded in 2006 as part of an EU project during the International Year of the Family under the Austrian Council Presidency. Its aim is to bundle compatibility measures in Austria and to integrate companies, institutions and municipalities into a network that strengthens family friendliness and the compatibility of family and career. The berufundfamilie certification and the Companies for Families network are important instruments in this regard.

The new guide now shows very specifically which ideas and measures can be used to respond to the issue of care. It is aimed at employers, family caregivers and anyone who wants to better understand care situations and provide people with good support during this phase.

Why care and work have become such a big issue

In Austria and Germany, the majority of care is still provided by relatives. People in the so-called sandwich generation are particularly often affected: they are in the middle of their working lives, simultaneously looking after their children and bearing additional responsibility for elderly parents or loved ones.

What this means in everyday life often only becomes apparent when the workload is already very high: too little rest, constant tiredness, worries in the background, organizational pressure and the feeling of having to cope with everything at the same time. This often has an impact on concentration, health and professional stability – in the worst case, even leading to withdrawal from working life. With all the consequences for poverty in old age and a shortage of skilled workers.

This is precisely why family caregivers should no longer be seen as an exception at work. For companies, this is not only a question of social responsibility, but also an issue that is closely linked to employee retention, corporate culture and securing skilled workers.

The new guide is a helpful aid here because it does not remain abstract, but provides concrete suggestions for practical application. It shows which measures can help in everyday company life – from flexible working time models, information and awareness-raising to internal contact points, a supportive management culture and open communication. After all, compatibility is rarely achieved through a single measure, but where attitude, information and flexible solutions work together.

It is important that this guide is being published right now. For many people, the challenge of reconciling care and work has long been part of everyday life – even if it is still not talked about enough in many companies. This makes it all the more valuable to have offers that make the topic visible and provide concrete support for those affected in their working lives.

Click here for the guide (only in German): https://www.unternehmen-fuer-familien.at/uploads/knowledgebase/pflegeleitfaden/Pflegeleitfaden.pdf

Click here for the homepage: https://www.familieundberuf.at