Reconciling work and family life better (life balance) is something we at E.ON see both as our duty as a company and our responsibility towards society. In the course of the dissolution of the traditional division of roles, women increasingly want to and need to be economically active - whereas men wish for more time with their families, says the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs in its guideline on implementing family-friendly work-time models. Likewise, the European Commission in its Gender Equality Strategy 2010-15 speaks out against rigid gender roles and for greater freedom of choice for the individual. Paying attention to these changes is worthwhile for companies: as part of its Roadmap for Gender Equality 2006-2010, the EU Commission determined that flexible working times ensure greater contentment and increase the productivity of all employees.

Taking different life situations into account

To recruit well-qualified staff for the company and thereby also to counter the challenges posed by demographic changes, we support our employees extensively in balancing the demands of work with their private lives. The most important prerequisite for this is the option of using flexible working times. We have developed targeted programs for special challenges, such as looking for care options for children or family members. E.ON is also a member of the "Erfolgsfaktor Familiy" network of companies, where we receive many proposals for designing family-oriented personnel policies.

Regular External Audits for Continuous Improvement

To continuously improve their performance in the area of life balance, the numerous E.ON companies as well as Group management take part in the Hertie Foundation's "berufundfamilie®" (workandfamily) certification. This certificate is recognized as a quality seal for family-oriented human resources policy and is awarded for a period of three years at the end of a three-month audit process. As part of this process, companies develop specific goals and measures in the audit's eight fields of action, whose practical implementation is checked every year. Several E.ON companies have already shown through successful re-audits that they have achieved the goals they set themselves and live by a family-oriented personnel strategy and corporate culture.

Creating Long-term Prospects

Many measures to improve life balance are firmly anchored in E.ON's daily business. Every business unit and every company takes appropriate individual measures.