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Participants: Employees with children
Approach
More and more large organizations are offering in-house childcare. In addition to lower costs, the short distance between the workplace and the childcare facility is a major advantage. Smaller companies can support their employees by covering part of the childcare expenses, creating flexible working conditions in terms of space and time, and/or providing a workplace (e.g. in a co-working space) close to a childcare center.
Besides external daycare centers, daycare parents in the residential area or privately employed au pairs also provide part of the childcare. Especially in the context of the increasing practice of working from home, such solutions can complement or even replace professional services.
Effect
By supporting their employees financially and/or by offering specific childcare options, organizations make a significant contribution to reconciling family life with demanding professional activities. This not only promotes the satisfaction, health, and well-being of employees but also enables them to maintain a relatively high workload over the long term, as is often required in the field of research & innovation.
In combination with other measures such as parental leave or job sharing, childcare solutions contribute to the sustainable integration of working parents into the labor force and enable couples to share everyday tasks in an egalitarian way, independent of traditional gender roles.