The book:
Carsten Wilhelm, Familie und Beruf. Wege zur Vereinbarkeit, Saarbruecken: VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller 2007, ISBN 978-3-8364-1160-0, 118p


Over the past years, even managers in very demanding positions, are looking not only for work-life integration into their career management, but with a growing value of family ethics against a purely consumer oriented single life mentality, they are searching how to preserve or even enhance time for family, partner and children while at the same time being able to perform in business. Books, such as Brad Harrington/T. Hall (Boston University) on "Career Management & Work-Life Integration. Using Self-Assessment to Navigate Contemporary Careers" (Sage Publications 2007) are coming to the market, while authors such as Jody Heymann (Forgotten Families: Ending the Growing Crisis Confronting Children and Working Parents in the Global Economy, OUP 2006) are warning against a decline of family structures in a highly competitive globalised career market. Hence, it is a good addition to have a book now that looks at the (rather conservative) German background but also broadens out to other European countries (Sweden, Finland, France, The Netherlands - one would have liked to see also newly entered European countries, of course with their specific challenges).
The book has 7 main chapters, covering demographic and other influences (change in spare time habits, globalisation ...), family-friendly initiatives in various companies (flexible working hours, job-sharing ...), work organisation, child care at work, HR and work-family balance. Three more or less independent chapters cover work-family balance in the other, named European countries, the effects of work-family balance on a company's p&o and a chapter on PEUGEOT Deutschland GmbH as a case in point.
The author can clearly demonstrate that not only in Germany there is a direct relation between career - work-family policy and the number of children being born. The more both parents embark on a career path in an environment where work-family and work-life balance is underdeveloped fewer children are born. As a result, in Germany, we have got a drastic decline in procreation which in the meantime (2004) has reached 1,36 children per woman, which is far below 2,1, the necessary average for keeping up a society (13f.). This contrasts with the experience in countries like Sweden, Finland or The Netherlands. Studies have shown that the opposite statement can be made: "The more women participate in the workforce, the more children are born within that country. Whereas in countries with only slightly more than 50% women at the age between 15 and 54 working, provide the lowest birthrate, fertility is growing with a growing participation of women in the workforce." (Kroehner/van Olst/Klingholz, 2005; 58). Being a rather conservative country when it comes to role models, even in Germany, the role of fathers is changing and more and more men are opting for family time when it comes to crucial decisions whether to opt for a career development or to spend more time with wife and children (22).
Hence, societies and companies have no other options than to engage into more work-life balance strategies to gain and retain its skilled workforce (various options: 30-45), although one of the biggest needs seems to be the lacking child care places for children under 3 (40). In addition, the author can indicate that investments into a work-family policy does not only sustain a society, but also pays out for a company (80). Peugeot Deutschland serves as an example with (France driven) developed family policy and, as a result, for example falling illness related off days of the workforce (83).
Despite its character of a study that derived from a "Diplomarbeit", a thesis which was originally written for Prof. Dr. Uwe Leprich (HTW des Saarlandes), obviously without too many changes, the book is a welcomed contribution to a topic that will be discussed further over the next years. With its comparative character that focusses not only on Germany, but looks at other countries, particularly France (using a Saarland based French/German company), it highlights the specific need for Germany to catch up with policy developments in other European countries. For this purpose, it calls for further, in-depth and forward looking studies, to provide more hard facts on long-term effects for a European and national economy, but also for companies. More specifically one is looking for further studies that highlight the specific perspectives of fathers or mothers as regards work-life balance, and the existing industry around it (coaching, consulting ...).