Yvonne: About two years ago, I entered the workforce. When I tell my parents about dogs, limos, and sofas in the office, they are surprised. The working world has changed a lot, but I wonder: What will my work schedule look like in five, ten, or 20 years? What is your vision?
Prof. Dr. Jutta Rump: Well, I would wish for you to have a life-phase-oriented work schedule, which is designed based on your current professional goals and personal situation. This way, you can maintain a balance between your professional and private life, also considering the extension of working life. It will be 67 years in any case, and I would hope that you can achieve this through this balance and harmonize both aspects. It would be nice if, in the end, you could say: I am not burning out, but I am still passionate about what I do.
Yvonne: So, does this mean that, for example, if I am currently in the phase of starting a family, I will have more time in my personal life and work less. When the children are grown up, I will work more again.
Yes, exactly! You could also consider the development of a life work time account. This means that in times when you are spending a lot of time in the office, highly focused on work and aiming to achieve something, you deposit and save on this account. When your situation changes, for example, when you have children, want to take a break, have ill parents, or want to pursue further education privately, you would use this account. The great thing is that your salary wouldn't suffer as a result. That would be fantastic!
Jannis: Sounds good, but wouldn't you then have to stay with the same employer all the time?
The great thing about these accounts is that working time is converted into money. If you change employers, you take the account with you. If the new employer has the same system, you can seamlessly continue. If the new employer doesn't have the system, you can cash out the saved money. That would be a great solution! An alternative would be to talk to your employer: You could say that there are times when you would like to make your working hours more flexible. For instance, you could adjust start and end times. Maybe there are situations where you would like to reduce your working hours. You have the right to do so based on the part-time law. If the situation changes and you would like to increase your hours again, you can do that too - but it's not legally regulated, so you should discuss this with your employer in advance. That would be our wish for the future: Depending on the situation, working hours function like a breathing system that adapts to your needs.
Yvonne: There has been a discussion for some time now about whether it should still be called Work-Life Balance. Or is work perhaps more a part of life? What is your opinion on this?
I struggle with the term Work-Life Balance. I think that "Work" is a part of "Life." It's just a common term, but I believe it's more about finding a balance between different areas of life. Some already talk about the term "Life-Balance": It's about my life, which includes many different stages and areas that need to be balanced. Therefore, I find the term "Life-Balance" more appropriate.
Yvonne: Do you see any risks in this "Life-Balance" concept?
Yes, that's the case. We see a blurring of boundaries between work and leisure time. This is a clear trend. If I may be completely honest: In principle, it shouldn't be called 'blurring of work into leisure time,' but it should actually be fair to say 'blurring of work and leisure time.' So, there are situations where I take my work into my leisure time. In return, it should be possible to bring my private life into work as well. This would be more in line with a balance concept. This would be closer to a professional leadership and personnel management. Anything else would lead to squeezing you like a lemon. You wouldn't want that, and if I were a smart employer, I wouldn't want that either. If I want to be an attractive employer, then I have to enable the blurring of work and leisure time.
Yvonne: If we implement the described work time models and allow the blurring of work and leisure time: What, in your opinion, are the opportunities?
The opportunities are immense! I would then have employees who commit to me as an employer, who identify with the company and the work they do. They make a clear commitment to the culture and values of the company. I invest in the well-being and health of my employees. The concept of employability will be clearly played out. If we ask ourselves: What is a clear success factor for a company? It's motivated, healthy, and competent employees.
For the employee themselves, this is also a crucial question. Have you ever calculated how much you are worth economically? With an average gross annual income of €38,000 and a working life of 45 (!) years, the sum amounts to €1.7 million. This is the largest asset that most people have. And this is where everyone should ask themselves how they manage this central asset, their own ability for long-term employment. What you really have is what defines you: what is between your ears and from head to toe. Everyone needs to realize what that is worth and not rely on companies that can no longer offer long-term employment. This leads not only to employer responsibility but also to personal responsibility. I believe that in the future, we are all entrepreneurs in our own right. It's never too early to start, as it's a mindset!
Clever employers nurture the main success factor they have. Let's look at the types of employment we often have: knowledge workers or people in manufacturing, but all with a qualified vocational training. This means that the work we offer today or will offer in the future is always filled with people whom I must also invest in.
And then I ask myself: How professionally do I handle this investment? Because this is not just a machine I can put in the corner. It's not something I have to discuss with my bank. It's about a person.
This person has choices. And if this person is a professional who is currently in demand in a shortage market, then it's about how I professionally manage this success factor. How do I ensure that this person, whom I have invested in, whom I have trained, stays with me with high motivation, high productivity, and high commitment?
Jannis: This was no different 10 years ago. Even then, as an employer, you didn't have boundless choices. In my opinion, this hasn't changed extremely, just a little bit. There are job segments where you can still find many qualified employees. In other segments, it's different.
Yes, we need to differentiate here: In which labor market segment are we operating? Are we facing shortages of skilled workers? Then companies are also much more flexible. Let's not fool ourselves: Why are companies suddenly discovering this issue? Why are they suddenly investing in personnel management in a completely different way? Or suddenly have innovative concepts and an open ear for employees? Why are they doing this? I believe - and now I'm being provocative - it's due to exogenous factors that force me to do so. Otherwise, I will have massive problems in my market because my business model will reach its existential limit.
I believe there is one or more exogenous factors that make companies willing to change. And if this exogenous factor is not present, why should I change my model?
And I believe we need to take off the rose-colored glasses and speak frankly: Whenever the issue of labor shortages arises and a trend significantly influences me, I rethink my old patterns and set off for new horizons. Because I know: If I don't do that, it can have massive negative consequences.
Jannis: It's also this tension: My employees think long-term but have no problem just leaving. They want to have a perspective, to develop further. On the other hand, I have someone who needs to submit their report for this month and sees that they have too many hours on the clock.
The fact is: Then I have to adjust the control system. If we agree that we actually need this, but the reporting or the metrics are one-dimensional, then we need to talk about the control instruments and the cockpit of a company.
Jannis: Thank you very much for the insightful interview!
Yvonne: Yes, thank you very much, Prof. Rump!
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