Reconciling care and work

Balancing caregiving and a career is a crucial prerequisite for ensuring that, in our aging society, providing good care for those in need does not conflict with the recruitment of skilled workers for the economy. This topic is addressed as part of the degree program in Social Gerontology from the perspectives of family caregivers, people in need of care, and professional caregivers, and explains the social policy measures aimed at successfully balancing caregiving and work.

With the passage of the Family Care Leave Act in 2015, the federal government also established the independent Advisory Board on the Compatibility of Caregiving and Work, which critically monitors relevant legislation and makes recommendations for its improvement. Thus, with the submission of the advisory board’s second report to the Federal Minister for Family Affairs in July 2023, the introduction of a new family care allowance was called for, intended to compensate for the financial loss resulting from reduced working hours due to caregiving.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoff, program director of Social Gerontology and director of the GAT Institute, has served as vice chair of the advisory board since 2015. In this capacity, he was invited on June 14, 2023, to present the advisory board’s recommendations on the further development of family care leave and the establishment of a family care allowance to the Committee on Family, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth of the German Bundestag.