One of the problems often described was that childcare is not always reliable due to the great shortage of skilled workers and that there can also be large gaps in childcare during holiday periods. This affects both nursery and primary school children. Among other things, those involved would therefore like to see more parent-child rooms as well as the expansion of emergency childcare services and transparent emergency management. The already planned expansion of holiday childcare could also be further developed. In addition, it was suggested that a solution be found to shorten journeys to the childcare centres.
The challenge of reconciling work and care was also discussed as a topic that has not yet been given much attention. One difficulty here is the unpredictable course of events or the unforeseeable duration of care. In this area in particular, university members are not yet sufficiently informed about support services, especially as many are not aware that they are already taking on care work (albeit to a lesser extent). Furthermore, those present advocated sharpening the concept and removing the taboo from the topic. This could be achieved by training managers, for example. - The topic of the "gender care gap" was raised several times, along with the request to shed more light on this aspect in the work context.
With regard to the scientific community, there is a desire for more relief from administrative tasks and new management models to ease the burden on employees. One example of how more people can become managers is shared leadership, as this not only relieves the burden on managers themselves, but also has a signalling effect. This status group can be further strengthened and empowered through leadership training. However, teachers are also not sufficiently aware of the needs of students.
The wish was also expressed that there should be regular staff appraisals for all academic staff in the faculties. With regard to more family-friendly management, both in academia and administration, there was a desire for more flexibility in the organisation of working hours and family-friendly scheduling, as well as the comment that fathers in particular still have difficulties addressing and asserting their family time with managers without being "pigeonholed". Good role models and examples of best practice could help to make the topic more visible.
All measures, the attendees agreed, could help the university to develop a stronger and more attractive employer brand and thus attract new specialists and managers. With regard to the international members of the university, it should not be forgotten to adopt an intercultural perspective. It is also important to provide all information in English. Another idea was to offer family-friendly flats and houses for visiting academics to make it easier for them to settle in.
In summary, it can be said that more childcare options, greater visibility of family responsibilities in everyday working life, more flexibility in work (time) organisation and raising awareness among managers are important measures/building blocks on the way to a family-friendly university.