Maintaining a healthy balance

years ago, Gabriele Kuchta, a Merck employee who holds a doctorate in chemistry, decided to take time off from her career to focus on looking after her three children. For nine years she spent her days changing diapers, wiping away tears and making sandwiches.

When she returned to her office in Darmstadt in 2010 after nearly a decade of parental leave, work seemed almost relaxing to her. “I relished being able to work independently and systematically again,” the 44-year-old says. Prior to her leave, she worked as a laboratory manager in Environmental Protection/Environmental Analysis.Today she has a part-time position as a process chain manager in Plant Management/Infrastructure. “I couldn’t have asked for more,” she says. “I hadn’t thought it would be possible for a professional with a university degree to resume work with a part-time position.”

What may look like a stroke of luck has become more and more common at Merck. The company not only facilitates a straightforward return to the workplace, it also offers comprehensive childcare advice, suggests childcare service providers and even offers places, as they become available, at Merck’s very own daycare center, which was established back in 1969. It also provides a back-up plan consisting of holiday games and special contingency childcare for the times when even the best-organized parents’ work-life system threatens to derail.

After all, when your children get sick, even the best-laid plans can get mixed up. Gabriele Kuchta is still very relaxed about it all: “If something urgent comes up, I’ll take care of it from my home office, and otherwise the work just has to wait for a bit.” She confirms that she has the full support of her supervisors. “There’s more of an appreciation of work-life balance nowadays,” she says. “Companies are more aware that their employees need to strike a healthy balance between a fulfilling job and a happy family life.” 

Contentment thanks to shared responsibilities

The laboratory manager Alexander Krah has also benefited from the company’s family-friendly policies. When he announced that he was taking four months off for parental leave in 2010, his supervisors welcomed his decision. For him personally, it turned out to be an extremely rewarding experience. “Thanks to the wonderful time we were able to spend together, I feel so much closer to my daughter now. I really got to know her well and I loved the experience of taking over the parenting responsibilities from my wife.” Today his wife has a part-time (80%) position, and when their daughter is sick they take turns staying at home to look after her. “Of course you’re always having to prioritize between who has the most important appointments when. But it hasn’t been a problem for us so far,” he says.

As companies compete for highly qualified employees, a sensible balance between the staff's personal well-being and family life on the one hand and the demands of the job on the other hand has become a major factor in securing qualified employees in the long term. In his book Die Zukunft der Work-Life-Balance (The Future of the Work-Life Balance), published in 2009, Michael Kastner advises companies not only to adopt sensible family-friendly policies but also to focus more on performance management and health management.

“What counts is not only the employees’ performance, but also their well-being,” says Kastner, a professor of organizational psychology at the Institute for Occupational Psychology and Occupational Medicine (IAPAM) in Herdecke. “Companies need fit, healthy and happy employees in order to meet the growing challenges of the modern workplace.” Among other activities, Kastner conducts seminars on the subject of work-life balance, and he has noticed over and over that many companies don’t fulfill the requirements of a modern workplace. “We live in an increasingly dynamic and complex world. Nowadays fewer people have to do more and more work, and only the best employees will be equipped to handle these increased workloads in the long term. It’s up to both employers and employees to create a healthy work-life balance,” he cautions. According to him, companies have to create the right conditions, but employees have to make use of them, too.

 

A joint declaration by Merck and the company’s Works Council takes into account the changing modern working conditions caused by globalization and increasing complexity. The goal of the declaration is to create a more attractive workplace. The planned implementation of measures that range from ways to avoid work overload to profit-sharing for employees is in line with many recommendations from the occupational expert.
Merck is pursuing several approaches to promote the health of its employees. At its locations in Darmstadt and Gernsheim, a special health management unit is responsible for these issues. The “fit@merck” program enables employees to participate in preventive health programs at numerous fitness centers or simply enjoy a healthy meal at their company canteen. Merck’s health insurance fund (BKK Merck) looks after the well-being of employees by offering a wide range of services. For example,the company offers a range of after-work sports activities, many of which take place in the company’s own gymnasium. To maintain their psychological well-being during times of personal difficulty, employees can turn to an in-house social counselling team.
In fact, Merck received the non-profit Hertie Foundation’s “Work and Family” certificate in 2005 and 2008 in recognition of its especially family-friendly policies. These include offering flexible working plans, various models of part-time work and support for employees when they need to take care of sick family members. Since the subject of work-life balance is still a top priority for Merck, the company is already planning its next “Work and Family” audit for 2011.

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