It's all about the right work-life balance!

Work-Life Balance: How can I balance my studies, career, family, and personal life? This is an increasingly important question, even at universities, one that regularly concerns not only staff members but, above all, students.

This is also the case at HSZG. Over the past few months, various surveys have been completed and several discussions held to assess the current state of family-friendliness—both in terms of supporting families and caring for relatives: in other words, what support is currently available for students and employees, and where do we need to significantly step up our efforts to make HSZG a more attractive employer and to attract new students and employees. We’ve been working with the service provider “berufundfamilie, ” which is providing advice and support as we pursue certification as a “family-friendly university” for the next three years and is collaborating with us to carry out the certification process based on eight areas of action.

Ms. Arnold, the auditor from berufundfamilie, accompanied us throughout this process from the very beginning and also led the two workshops that took place on September 28, 2023, and October 25, 2023. In the first workshop—the so-called strategy workshop—all participants shared their wishes and goals, and specific terms such as “family” and “leadership” at the HSZG were defined. In the second workshop—the audit workshop—we developed goals and measures for the eight areas of action for a family-friendly university. An extremely engaging exchange took place, particularly during the audit workshop, between students and staff from faculties, divisions, administrative offices, and officers at the HSZG, demonstrating that even simple changes in communication can lead to a good understanding on all sides.

In the next step, all goals and measures will be finalized with the participants in what is known as the “Goal Agreement” for the university before they are presented to the University Executive Board and the Senate. Once approved by the University Executive Board and the service provider berufundfamilie, the certificate will be issued for a period of three years, and implementation of the goals will begin. To this end, we have already formed a team drawn from various groups that is actively working on implementation under the leadership of Ms. Schwarze as project manager. If you have any further questions about the certification or suggestions regarding family-friendliness, please feel free to contact Ms. Schwarze at any time.