"We are building on a good range of services"
One thing I have to say is that I am in a very fortunate position. Every morning I enjoy leaving home in Senden to make my way to work in Münster. I enjoy talking to my staff just as much, and I have stimulating – sometimes difficult – talks, meeting interesting people in the process. In brief, I like working in the Schloss for my employer, the University of Münster. But I also have to say that in the evening I am no less happy to leave the Schloss, get in my car and drive home to my family. Because my wife and my children are my home, in the best sense of the word.
Many of you will identify with what I say. Career and family are important for you, too. And you too do your utmost to achieve the best possible balance between professional and private aspects of your life. Sometimes we manage this well, at other times not so well, and this has something to do with our individual situation, of course. But I know from my own personal experience as a family man, and as Chancellor, that the attitude of one’s employer to the question of a work-family balance plays a key role. How much understanding can a single mother count on at her place of work? What concessions does an employer make to an employee who has to provide nursing care for a member of the family? In view of these questions, which are so important for many employees, I am very glad to have the opportunity to assure you that the subject of work-family balance is high on the list of priorities at Münster University.
It is for this reason that I am also delighted at the decision by the University’s Press Office to take a detailed look for the next six months at different aspects of the subject of work-family balance. It is exactly the right approach – on the one hand to increase awareness among staff for this field of activities and, on the other, to inform the public of as many facilities as possible which Münster University offers.
Indeed, the University already offers quite a lot in connection with work-family balance. Since 2008 – and as one of 41 German universities – we have had the “Family-Friendly University” Seal of Quality. This seal is not an end in itself, and this can be seen in the increasing quality of jobs at Münster University and in the perception of the University as a modern employer. At the awards ceremony in 2015 one of the speakers said, “The top managers in companies are sending an unmistakeable message to their employees that they, the managers, are doing all they can to create for staff and students a world with a work-family balance.” This is precisely the philosophy of the Rectorate at Münster University.
But, as the saying goes, only the best is good enough. We need to ask ourselves, for example, how we can provide even better support for students with children, and what offers of help the University can provide for its staff who have special challenges in the family. We all know that there is room for improvement. This is related, on the one hand, to developments in society as a whole and to the trend towards ever more heterogeneous family models; and on the other to the fact that the so-called soft factors are becoming increasingly important when people choose jobs. We are happy to face this challenge and the opportunities it offers. Please help us to embed the idea of work-family balance even more strongly at Münster University!
Matthias Schwarte is Head of Administration of the University of Münster
Source: "wissen|leben" No. 6, 12 October 2016