The full-time part-time model

Lena loves to work in sales. Since her studies, she has been with ebm‑papst in Mulfingen which has now been eleven years. Two more than her husband Tobias, a software developer at ebm‑papst. When Lena fell pregnant in 2022, they mutually decided: "We will organize our family and professional life according to our wishes and strengths." Following the birth of their son Henrik, Lena took a six-month parental leave and Tobias added another ten months. With one month of overlapping to ensure a gentle transition for Henrik.

After that, Lena returned to work full-time as a Business Development Manager. For the first few weeks, instead of business trips, her diary still included morning and evening breastfeeding appointments. "That worked really well," Lena looks back happily.

But while superiors and colleagues supported Lena and Tobias, they were met with a lot of incomprehension and skepticism elsewhere. What bothered Lena the most was that her husband didn't seem to be an option for some people. They were more likely to think of grandma or a nanny to look after the children. Or asked in which job a man could afford to take such long parental leave. "Women aren't asked this question," says Lena, annoyed.

Lena and Tobias agree that this needs to change and proudly talk about their way of task-sharing. "Lena takes Henrik to nursery in the morning. I work part-time as a software developer and pick him up at lunchtime. In the evening, Lena spends time with him again," Tobias explains. Lena adds: "I usually work from home two days a week and spend my coffee break with Henrik. It's become a real mother-son thing."

Lena has since been promoted to head of department and, like Tobias, is very happy with the situation. "Looking back, we would do everything exactly the same again," they confirm and wish that the person who decides to look after the child full-time would receive much more recognition, regardless of whether they are man or woman.

Natalie is also a mother and a full-time manager at ebm‑papst as Plant Manager in Plant 1. Staying at home as a housewife and mother straight after graduating was not an option for her. Her husband, however, who had been working full-time in the catering industry until then, could well imagine himself as a stay-at-home dad. So they made the swap – and were also met with some presumptuous comments. "He was actually asked if he still felt masculine," Natalie remembers. But they didn't let this unsettle them and kept the model until their son was four years old. With regular check-ups to assess whether everything was still working for the family.

Natalie is now in a management position and her husband works part-time. Both believe that family and career certainly aren't mutually exclusive. And, like Lena and Tobias, they lead by example.

The double full-time model

Julia started full-time at ebm‑papst in St. Georgen in 2019. Her daughter was just eight months old at the time and her husband took parental leave. Their second daughter was born in 2021 and Julia wanted more time for her family. So they reversed the model: Dad worked full-time and Julia took parental leave, but continued to support her team with 15 hours a week.

In February 2023, Julia returned to work full-time as well. Firstly because she enjoyed the job, and secondly because she felt it was wrong to have studied and not been able to make a career out of it. "It works for us because my husband is a master baker and works through the night. He comes home at around 11 a.m., gets some more sleep and picks up the children from nursery and daycare at lunchtime," explains Julia. "Unless I work from home, in which case I sometimes pick them up during my lunch break."

She is grateful for her colleagues, who don't take it amiss when she sometimes doesn't get to the office until 8.30 a.m. because the children have been dawdling in the morning. Her boss is also understanding whenever the children are ill and she has to work from home.

The only thing Julia finds strenuous about the double full-time model: She has little time for herself. "But if you listen to your gut feeling and not so much to those around you, coordinate well with your partner and are good at organizing, double full-time is definitely possible," she concludes, expressing the hope of being a role model for her daughters and showing them that you can have a job and time for your children at the same time.

The double part-time model

When Anja was pregnant with her first child, she and her husband Michael had a comparable income. That's why Anja suggested splitting their parental leave. But Michael felt it was his job to provide for the family. So Anja applied for two years of parental leave.

The second pregnancy brought a change of heart: Michael no longer wanted to be the "second choice" for his children and suggested taking parental leave this time. "This idea gave me the opportunity to return to work after 'only' two and a half years," says Anja happily. At the same time, she feared that she would not be able to build up an equally strong bond with and breastfeed her second child. She specifically looked for answers to her questions and, after a few encouraging conversations, was finally able to accept the new role assignment.

But when Anja decided to return to work, she was less than three months away from giving birth and there was no suitable position available in her previous department at such short notice. She therefore applied for an in-house position and had an interview in Purchasing in the ninth month of her pregnancy. "I started here when our baby was three and a half months old. The first few weeks weren't easy, especially for our first child, who I had hardly been away from until then," she says.

When Michael's parental leave ended, he started working part-time at 60% and Anja reduced her working hours to 80%. As a result, they were both responsible for all the things that need to be organized in a family, both knew the children's clothing sizes, shared their doctor's appointments and took turns taking them to bed.

In the meantime, Michael has gone back to full-time. Nevertheless, for Anja, the ideal model is for both parents to work part-time. She would therefore like to see part-time work become more widespread - without consequences for work content, development opportunities and appreciation.