Family-friendly work

A woman is sitting at her laptop in her home office, while in the background, the father is in the kitchen with his daughter.
Photo: BMLUK / Rene Hemerka

For more than ten years, promoting a family-friendly culture has been an essential part of our corporate policy. The successful completion of the re-audit in September 2026 once again underscored our long-term commitment.

Quality label family-friendly employer

Our commitment to a family-friendly workplace culture has once again been confirmed: On 15 September 2026, the Ministry was once again awarded the state quality seal “Audit berufundfamilie” in recognition of a convincing and sustainably oriented package of measures.

In the coming years, the following areas will be given particular attention:

  • Establishment of a cross-departmental mentoring programme – particularly to support new employees, parents and people with disabilities in their professional and personal development.

  • Introduction of networking formats for managers, such as a management platform and peer consultation opportunities, to facilitate regular exchange, networking and joint learning.

  • Information brochure on conflict and bullying prevention for the central office and other departments, providing information on support and counselling options in cases of workplace conflicts or suspected bullying, for both employees and managers.

  • Employer branding: The Ministry’s benefits – including our commitment to family-friendliness – will also be communicated externally.

Key measures already in place and continuing to be implemented

  • External occupational psychological counselling service for employees facing stressful situations.

  • Flexible arrangements for teleworking/home office for parents, single parents and people with caring responsibilities.

  • Women’s Health Day, supporting women’s health by providing employees with practical information and tips on health promotion.

  • Onboarding solution to support the pre-onboarding and onboarding process.

  • Further development of the parental leave management process, including information on parental leave and returning to work, as well as proactive communication during periods of absence and reintegration.

  • Support for employees caring for older relatives: care-sensitive working arrangements to help employees reconcile caregiving responsibilities with their professional lives.

  • Measures to maintain and improve health, including seminars offered by the Federal Academy of Public Administration, events organised by “fairnetzwerk”, and various opportunities for sporting activities.

  • Accompanying personnel development measures for managers relating to mobile working and new forms of work organisation.

  • Holiday childcare – childcare services and programmes during the summer months.

  • Ministry-wide measures to help reconcile caring for older relatives with work, such as temporary, short-term and occasional teleworking arrangements.

  • Opportunity for employees to work remotely/from home.

  • Flexible working hours for part-time employees.

  • Bringing children to work in emergencies.

  • Health and preventive medical examinations.

Family & Beruf Management GmbH (Website in German only) is responsible for coordinating the audit and certification procedures in Austria and is also available to provide further information.