grenke fosters a corporate culture based on partnership. The company actively supports its employees in achieving a sustainable work-life balance. In addition to existing offers such as sick days for children or the option of taking a sabbatical, there is now also a program for special life situa-tions. Andreas Siebert, Director Corporate Talent Acquisition & Attraction, gave us an insight into this. 


Mr. Siebert, what was the reason for the “Special Life Situations” program?

People who find themselves in a special life situation need support. This could be the birth of a child, for example, but also caring for relatives, bereavement or other challenging situations. grenke can help to a certain extent. It was particularly important to us that our employees have the certainty of being able to get help at their place of work in any of these exceptional cases. Especially when it comes to unexpected events, flexibility is required. Visiting government offices or spending time with beloved family members cannot always wait until the end of the working day. This is exactly what we aim to make possible through our support. 

We create the right conditions so our colleagues can combine their professional and private lives. This also has a positive effect on the partnership between employees and managers. Managers can respond to the needs and life situations of their team on an even more individual level. 


What does grenke offer in special life situations?

In most cases, the problem is a lack of time. In such cases, employees can reduce their working hours by up to 20 percent for two months – without any loss of salary. If employees find themselves in a difficult situation, they can approach their supervisor directly, or managers can actively offer the benefit.


How is the offer being received?

We have received consistently positive feedback on the program. Not only from employees, but also from managers. Reducing working hours for a certain period of time helps colleagues immensely. It frees them up to care for a relative, take care of official bureaucracy or spend more time with their offspring. After all, these things simply can’t be made up for later.