Reconciling family and work life

How do you juggle work commitments and care responsibilities? The Max Planck Society and the mpilhlt offer various support options for employees with caring responsibilities for children or other relatives. For example, colleagues with care responsibilities are allowed to work from home for a higher percentage of their working time.

Such measures by employers cannot replace the societal rethinking of gender stereotypes that is necessary to achieve a more equitable distribution of unpaid care work. Nevertheless, they make an important contribution to equal opportunities – so that parents, especially mothers, do not have to choose between having children and having a career.

Working remotely

All mpilhlt employees whose tasks allow it can work up to 40% of their working hours from home. This can be increased to 60% for employees with care responsibilities for children or other relatives.

Day care places

Based on an agreement with other Max Planck Institutes in Frankfurt, Institute staff have the opportunity to take up places at Kairos day care on the Riedberg campus. More information is available here.

pme family service

The Max Planck Society has a contract with pme familyservice, which offers help with finding childcare for pre-school-age and school-age children up to the age of 14 – whether babysitters, au pairs or short-term emergency care. Advice and assistance regarding eldercare is also offered.

Dual Career Service

The mpilhlt is a member in the Dual Career Network Rhine-Main.
Read an interview with James Thompson, Editor at the mpilhlt, on the Dual Career Service (behind paywall).

mpilhlt parents' forum

Four times a year, the mpilhlt Gender Equality Officers organise an online meeting to provide employees with childcare responsibilities with the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences. The parents' forum is an important source of information, especially for parents-to-be and foreign colleagues. In addition to the meetings, a dedicated chat channel is available at all times.

Max Planck Society Family Office

Further information on the Max Planck Society’s centralised efforts to promote the compatibility of work and family life is available here.

The Max Planck Society’s policies in this area are audited by the audit berufundfamilie.