In its anniversary year

“KarenzAktiv” gets an update after ten years

Bernhard Heinzle, Eva Fischer-Schweigkofler, Marco Tittler and Daniela Schallert (from left)

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

Cooperation model of the AK, ABZ Austria and the state is adapted to the new family models and the state of the art. Advice and tips on returning to work will be available in future under "Family!Works!".

How can parents best plan parental leave? What does returning to work look like? And how can working hours and childcare be organized? All of these questions have been addressed over the past ten years by those responsible at the Vorarlberg Chamber of Labor, ABZ Austria and the state as part of the "KarenzAktiv" project.

On the tenth anniversary of the cooperation, those responsible not only looked back on the past years. A lot has changed in ten years - it is not just young people who have shifted their media use enormously towards digital channels. Even the younger digital natives, starting with those born around 1980 and younger, are now in a phase of life in which more and more questions revolve around gainful employment and parenthood.

A quick return to work after parental leave is the most important prerequisite for parents, and especially for women, for a continuous employment history, career opportunities and financial security.

Bernhard Heinzle, Präsident der AK Vorarlberg

So it's time to give the cooperation project a new look. The aim of the new appearance - "KarenzAktiv" becomes "Family!Works!" - is to increase the communicative impact, further improve perception in the digital media and appeal to new and younger target groups.

Traditional and outdated role models are also to be broken down: Fathers should take on more responsibility for childcare, mothers should hand over more responsibility and both together should form a new understanding of shared responsibility.

The "Family!Works!" project makes an important contribution to returning to work. This is also of central importance for Vorarlberg as a business location in view of the continuing need for skilled workers.

Marco Tittler, Wirtschaftslandesrat (ÖVP)

Parents have the opportunity to plan and implement parenthood as partners - also in order to safeguard the career opportunities of both. One goal is therefore also a better and faster return to working life. "For parents and women in particular, this is the most important prerequisite for a continuous employment history, career opportunities and financial security," emphasized AK President Bernhard Heinzle at the presentation of "Family!Works!".

The focus is therefore also on childcare. If this is well organized, more women can return to work more quickly - at best even with longer working hours. "This means that more workers are available and the know-how that parents have already acquired in a company is retained," explained Marco Tittler, State Councillor for Economic Affairs. In view of the continuing need for skilled workers, these measures are also of central importance for Vorarlberg as a business location.

Not only parents benefit from "Family! Works!"
The offers of the "Family! Works!" cooperation model are not only available to parents, but are also aimed at entrepreneurs and HR managers in companies. In talks and workshops, they are informed about returning to work, parental leave management, company childcare, working from home and much more. The four cooperation partners are convinced that "Family!Works!" will help companies to learn what parental leave management means and the advantages of becoming attractive employers for parents.