Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT) was honored for its family-friendly and life-phase-conscious human resources policy at the 25th berufundfamilie certificate award ceremony in Berlin on June 13, 2023. Prof. Dr. Ute Neugebauer, Deputy Scientific Director of Leibniz IPHT, received the berufundfamilie audit certificate from Lisa Paus, Federal Minister for Family Affairs, and Oliver Schmitz, Managing Director of berufundfamilie Service GmbH.
 
The certificate for the successfully completed audit berufundfamilie attests to the excellent working conditions at Leibniz IPHT with regard to the compatibility of work, family and private life, from which the total of 420 employees of the renowned research institute in Jena benefit. For the institute, this is the first certificate for the audit berufundfamilie. The certification was preceded by a structured auditing process lasting several months, in which solutions to improve the compatibility of work, family and private life were recorded and further developed, and the family- and life-phase-conscious orientation was anchored in the culture of the organization.
 
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Popp, scientific director of Leibniz IPHT, is very pleased about the certificate: “We see ourselves as a family-conscious organization and attach great importance to the compatibility of work and family. This is reflected in very flexible working conditions, open communication about work and family, consideration of the topic in the work and management organization, and offers of support for childcare and care of relatives. Certification by the audit berufundfamilie is an award for our measures to date and an incentive for future efforts in this area.”
 
Oliver Schmitz, Managing Director of berufundfamilie Service GmbH, underscored the associated opportunities on the occasion of the audit’s 25th anniversary, which was celebrated at this year’s certification ceremony: “A large majority of certified employers – namely 85 percent – confirm that transformation is successful with the audit. In this context, there are tailor-made answers for every organization to the changes in the world of work resulting, for example, from advancing digitization as well as from demographic developments and the megatrend of individualization.”
 
Leibniz IPHT is one of 30 organizations that have successfully completed the audit berufundfamilie or audit familiengerechte hochschule procedure for the first time. This means that the institute is one of a total of 323 organizations – 140 companies, 148 institutions and 35 universities – that were awarded the certificate this year, which is regarded as a seal of quality for a sustainably designed corporate compatibility policy.
 
About the audit berufundfamilie
 
Applicable in all sectors and different company sizes, the audit records the status quo of the family- and life-phase-conscious measures already offered, systematically develops the company’s individual potential and ensures that family awareness is anchored in the organizational culture. Once this process has been successfully completed, an independent board of trustees made up of prominent representatives from business, science, politics and associations awards the audit certificate. Since the introduction of the audit in 1998, over 1,900 employers have been awarded the certificate. Currently, a total of 997 organizations are certified under the audit berufundfamilie or audit familiengerechte hochschule, including 443 companies, 449 institutions and 105 universities. This benefits 2.1 million employees and around 1.4 million students.
 
About berufundfamilie Service GmbH
 
berufundfamilie Service GmbH is a service provider and think tank in the field of work-life balance. It successfully accompanies companies, institutions and universities in the implementation of a sustainable family- and life-phase-conscious personnel policy and the design of family-friendly research and study conditions. Since 1998, over 1,900 employers have been awarded the audit certificate. www.berufundfamilie.de

In the picture:
Prof. Dr. Ute Neugebauer (center) at the certificate award ceremony in Berlin, together with Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus (right) and Oliver Schmitz, Managing Director of berufundfamilie Service GmbH (left), as well as other representatives of organizations certified for the first time. 

©Berlin/Juri Reetz