Despite the challenging economic climate, businesses in Germany remain committed to family-friendly policies. The 2026 Family-Friendly Business Monitor (only available in German), commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and created by the Institute of the German Economy (IW) Cologne, confirms this. The findings presented at the annual Company Day of the "Success Factor Family" network reveal that achieving work-family balance is now a strategic factor for securing skilled workers and enhancing employer attractiveness.

Family Friendliness Remains Highly Relevant 

For 88% of businesses, measures such as flexible working hours or reliable childcare options remain important even in 2026. By comparison, the 2023 survey showed 86% prioritised these measures. Family-friendliness in companies not only endures during crises but is increasing in importance. Additionally, the number of businesses with a distinctly family-friendly culture has grown. Moreover, employees report better access to work-life balance offerings and feel better informed compared to three years ago.

Attracting and Retaining Talent

Approximately 85% of companies see work-family compatibility as a cornerstone of securing skilled labour. Family-friendly measures help recruit and retain qualified employees, allowing workers with family obligations to maintain or increase their employment. Caregivers are now a significant focus: Eight out of ten businesses consider it important to support employees caring for family members. This marks an increase of nearly 15 percentage points compared to 2023. Furthermore, 77% of businesses anticipate that the importance of work-family compatibility for securing skilled workers will continue to grow, regardless of the challenging economic environment.

New Demands of the Younger Generation

Family-friendly working conditions are especially crucial for younger employees. Around 58% of businesses report that flexible working hours and home office options are more important to this group now than before. The equitable distribution of care responsibilities is also becoming more significant. Nearly half of the businesses note that younger employees now place more value on paternity leave and part-time work for fathers. Consequently, family-friendliness is increasingly seen as a hallmark of an attractive employer, even among employees without caregiving responsibilities.

Flexibility Requires Predictability

Flexible working hours are often seen as the ultimate solution for better compatibility. However, the survey paints a more nuanced picture: While half of the workforce prefers flexibility, the other half values reliable working hours more. Successful management of work-life compatibility must address both needs. Businesses can achieve this through forward-looking staff and scheduling plans that provide employees with planning reliability while enabling individual adjustments.

What Companies Can Do Now

Recommendations derived from the study include:

• Embed family-friendliness as a core part of HR strategy
• Regularly survey employees about their work-life balance needs
• Raise awareness among managers about fostering a family-friendly work culture
• Combine flexible working hours with sufficient predictability
• Consider younger employees' expectations for flexibility and remote working
• Offer shift workers greater influence over scheduling
• Adapt offerings for employees with on-site or field roles
• Communicate and promote existing benefits and programs more transparently
• Learn from the experiences of other businesses, for instance, by joining the "Success Factor Family" network

Good Framework Conditions Are Crucial

Corporate measures can only be fully effective under reliable framework conditions. From the perspective of companies, a sufficient, high-quality, and flexible childcare system is particularly important. Both nursery and school-age childcare must align with families' actual work and life needs. Flexible options and extended hours are particularly essential for shift or non-standard working schedules, enabling these parents to work reliably. Only when childcare meets family requirements can businesses fully tap into their potential workforce.

Additionally, companies and employees need greater flexibility in working hours to accommodate different business needs and individual life situations. As proposed within the coalition agreement, a shift to a weekly rather than daily maximum working hour limit would provide businesses with more organisational freedom while enabling employees to adapt their hours to family obligations more easily.