Good practice: How can care and work be combined?

The family-run company Bornemann-Etiketten from Wuppertal has long placed great emphasis on reconciling family and career. Caring for and looking after family members is a matter of course. An interview with HR Manager Heidi Volkmann.

What characterizes the care of relatives in contrast to childcare?

A care case often occurs quite suddenly, for example as a result of a stroke or other serious illness. The affected employee has to react immediately - as does the company. No one can predict how long the situation will last. There is also a big psychological difference: a child means a new start and a new beginning, an elderly mother in need of care means farewell and death. Many employees find it difficult to talk about this openly. Because these are private worries and emotions, being overwhelmed by the necessary bureaucracy and fear of the future.

How does your company support employees who are caring for relatives in need of care?

Bornemann-Etiketten is a family business now in its third generation. For us, "family comes before work" - and that means that we support our employees as much as possible in carrying out their family duties, be it childcare or caring for parents in need.

For employees in administration, tried-and-tested measures such as flexitime and working from home are the main options. But we also find individual solutions for employees in production. This means being flexible, organizing good representation and sticking together. The whole thing is a give and take. We get a lot of gratitude in return.

In the sensitive area of care and work, it is also helpful to exchange ideas in person. Personal conversations during online lunch breaks prompted me to launch a call for a kind of "self-help group" in our internal newsletter. We use our good contacts and always find good advice in our network. Up to four employees currently meet to look after their elderly mothers or fathers and exchange information and tips or just have a chat. This is often more useful than flyers and websites.

What advice would you give to other companies?

Over the years, my attitude has changed. Whereas I used to mainly ask how the parent in need of care or assistance was doing, I now ask first: "How are you?" My attention is primarily focused on the person who is providing care and support and who has to manage this stressful task in their normal everyday life. My advice: take a close look. It is important to talk so that we can find out how we can best support the person and take the pressure off. It certainly helps that, as a family business with 55 employees, we have a personal relationship with our staff - we know each other.

The interview was conducted in 2022.