On my many trips I have noticed again and again that women in other countries are often much better able to negotiate the split between work and family life than are women in Germany. Committed women in France, for example, have no doubt that working and family can be combined. Internationally, Germany is clearly behind in this aspect.
In the coming decades, a more successful combination of work and family is one of the great challenges for German society. We call upon economic and government policy to create better conditions for a successful work-life balance.89 Demographic changes and the increase in single households are part of today’s reality.90 On average in Germany, every third marriage ends in divorce, and in urban centers, it is every second marriage. Our birthrate stands at 1.35 children per woman—very few countries have so few children being born. Germany has the highest rate of couples without children. About a third of the population will not have children, and the number of women of childbearing age is at a steady decline. A family with several children is more and more becoming the exception to the rule. Every third child under five years old does not have any siblings. Last, the more educated the parents are, the fewer children they have.
For Germany as well as for Europe, this is an alarming development. We face not only the challenges of a childless society, but also a society that is aging. This demographic change is fully in effect, yet without children our society has no future. Combined with the effects of globalization, family-friendliness is an important location factor that is not to be underestimated for German and European businesses.
The desire for children, especially among men, is still steadily declining. But, in complete opposition to our demographic development, according to the Fifteenth Shell Youth Study undertaken in 2006, more than 70 percent of youth state that a family is necessary to live a happy life.91 And 85 percent of children in Germany have grown up within a family.92
There is no question: our society is marked by contradictions. We have not yet been able to dismantle these contradictions and find a direction that combines all our wishes and needs. But the examples of other countries may be a guide. Both France and the Scandinavian countries have proven that it is indeed possible to have a positive impact on demographic development. Systematic support for families and for combining work and family life leads to consistent or even growing birthrates. But no matter what the solutions we eventually adopt, examining the big picture from all sides is essential. A main focus will be to make concrete improvements in the lives of parents who are part of the modern workforce. We need to ask what the state can tangibly do for mothers, fathers, and children. It is also important to set up parameters within which government and business can help families. It is dearly important to me to set in motion ideas and initiatives that can direct us to a way out of Germany’s dilemma.
To this end, the Bertelsmann Foundation held a symposium in 2007 in Berlin that compared the work-life balances across Europe.93 We specifically looked across borders, highlighted some marked developments in European OECD countries, and presented the latest research results. Some very successful real-life examples were presented, demonstrating that a combination of work and daily life is certainly possible, as long as businesses have the courage to lead by example.
At Bertelsmann we are aware that family-oriented staff policies must be a part of our partnership-based corporate culture. It is unrealistic to believe that private and professional lives can be strictly separated. Employees bring their problems from home to the workplace, and conversely they take their work problems home to the family. Work-life balance is simply part of any partnership-based corporate culture. From its many studies, Bertelsmann has learned that women who have part-time jobs are sick less often than women who only take care of the home and family. The reconciliation of work and family can therefore also lead to greater self-confidence and is thus an excellent foundation for having healthy and motivated male and female workers.94 To support the reconciliation of family and work, we have introduced a number of incentives at our various company locations. These include:
• flexible working hours
• day care for children under three
• a family service for emergencies
• a parent-child room for emergencies
• vacation programs for children, to relieve the parents
We know that being successful at work leads to personal satisfaction. Conversely, family is a resource for professional strength. I am convinced that the corporate culture at Bertelsmann—with its freedoms, its delegation of responsibilities, the possibility of independently organized and self-determined tasks, as well as its project- and team-based management style—has created flexible solutions and family-friendly work models for many of our employees. Still, not all of life’s dreams can be fulfilled at the same time. Especially those in leadership positions will always be walking a fine line, and there will always be a demand for creative solutions. A constant presence will always be required of our executives. Working part-time in this capacity can become a dead end for ambitious women. Yet women still have to learn to view their career trajectory as a marathon.
Many women find it especially hard to accept setbacks and defeats. But herein lies the secret to success. Women, too, must learn from their mistakes, get back up after a defeat, and develop staying power during difficult phases. In my experience, having the courage to continue even after setbacks is one of the most important requirements for long-term professional success! And having satisfaction at work gives women self-confidence.
In order to have a career and a family life at the same time, you have to learn to let go. Many women find it difficult to hand over responsibility. But that is exactly what it takes to manage all our daily responsibilities. Women must learn to delegate without having a guilty conscience, because no matter how disciplined we are, we cannot do it all. Striving for perfection can make you sick. If you place high demands on yourself, you must watch your health and try to remain open to criticism. It is during my conversations with others that I learn the most about my own potential and my boundaries, and I am able to realistically assess myself.
Family is the most valuable thing we as human beings can experience. Qualities like trust, reliability, warmth, and security are priceless. Most people experience these things only within their families.
A society without children is doomed to failure. It will fail on a social level, because families and their values are what hold our society together. But it will also fail on an emotional level, because family is the place where care, love, and responsibility have their roots. Children create meaning and fulfillment, because they focus our attention onto those things in life that are truly important: to give love, to be there for someone, to live as a community, and to take personal responsibility. It is the duty of our society to create an environment where children and families can have a good life.
For much too long in Germany, economic and family interests were considered to be in opposition. A look at our neighboring countries shows that those with family-friendly infrastructures and family-sensitive working configurations have a considerable increase in financial opportunities. All of us—parents and children, government and society, businesses and the economy—can profit from a healthy balance of family and work.
In order to move one step closer to this goal, I created the Alliance for the Family in 2003 with the minster for family affairs, Renate Schmidt.95 The members of this alliance, the German Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women, and Youth, along with the Bertelsmann Foundation and other significant partners, worked to make family-friendliness a hallmark of the German economy. Trade associations and unions, large foundations and leading businesses, as well as government and economic decision makers, all gave their commitment to our goals, provided concrete, practical strategies, and showed us how the work-life balance in our society could be more successful.
I am certain that this path will change our daily lives, step by step. The time has come for a modern and long-term family policy, a policy that aligns its framework for a work-family balance to the realities of the twenty-first century, and that orients itself not along traditional family roles but along the wishes of the people.
Global competition has changed working conditions for many. We must take a hard look at our reality and create a sustainable equilibrium between the needs of the economy and a work-life balance for mothers and fathers. It will then become much easier for people to decide to have children again. The changing mentality in Germany can already be felt!
Many people are looking at the question of creating a work-life balance. In our Alliance for the Family, an international study showed that since 2003 in Germany interest in this subject has steadily increased in all media.96 The same goes for the Internet. And although the day-care spots for children in Germany cost less than they do in Scandinavia and France, almost everywhere in this country there are not enough. Germany still suffers from a lack of services that are both close to home and able to help relieve household obligations. The women to whom we spoke in our survey still rely on their own networks for child care and other services. And daily life with children is still mostly organized and managed by mothers alone. A work-life balance must become the standard in Germany without creating double burdens. Based on my own experience, it is important to me that women lead a self-determined life and at the same time live with a partner and have a family.
The desire for a family has been well documented in surveys and in the media. But we have a long way to go before making that wish a reality, for concrete actions are required to create the necessary structural change in society. Only lively and strong families and a competitive economy can secure the future of our society. The theme of family concerns us all. We must all contribute if Germany is to once again become a country with a sustainable future.