Excellent work-life balance continues
Mareike Wulf (1st from left), Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, officially presented Anja Seehrich from HZB (2nd from left) with the certificate for its family-friendly HR policy. © Jens Schicke/ berufundfamilie Service GmbH
On 17 June 2025, the certificates for the ‘berufundfamilie’ audit were awarded in Berlin. HZB received an award with distinction for its long-standing efforts to promote a work environment that supports work-life balance. The audit is regarded as a seal of quality for the systematic design of family- and life-phase-conscious HR policies.
Anja Seehrich from the Office for Work and Life accepted the fifth certificate from Mareike Wulf, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, at the official award ceremony. The certificate bears the additional designation ‘Predi-kat.’ This special recognition honours HZB's long-standing and sustainable family- and life-phase-conscious personnel policy, which we have been pursuing since 2011 with the audit.
Successful measures for greater compatibility
In recent years, HZB has implemented numerous initiatives, including:
- Flexible working hours with flexitime, mobile working and teleworking
- Establishment of the Office for Work and Life as a central point of contact for employees
- Advice on legal and internal framework conditions
- Counseling for parenting, care and life counselling
- Family-friendly meeting times
- Company health management
- Reserved daycare slots at our Adlershof site
- Work-life balance as a leadership responsibility
- Mental health support and first aiders
Thinking ahead on work-life balance
‘We will not rest on our laurels with the measures we have already implemented. In the dialogue process, which is only open to long-standing certificate holders, we have developed further areas for action for 2024,’ says Anja Seehrich. Among other things, managers are to be more closely involved as multipliers. Target group-specific offerings are also to be expanded and better communicated, for example for international employees, doctoral candidates and managers. Work-life balance is an important issue that is also to be integrated more strongly into guidelines and management formats.
About the audit
The audit is carried out by berufundfamilie Service GmbH. The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs is the patron. A total of 921 organisations are currently certified according to the berufundfamilie audit, including 372 companies, 446 institutions and 103 universities.
- Georg Forster Research Fellow explores photocatalystsDr. Moses Alfred Oladele is working on photocatalysis for CO2 conversion in a joint project with the group of Dr. Matt Mayer, HZB, and Prof. Andreas Taubert at the University of Potsdam. The chemist from Redeemer's University in Ede, Nigeria, came to Berlin in the summer of 2024 with a Georg Forster Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and will work at HZB for two years.
- Perovskite solar cells: New Young Investigator Group funded by BMBF at HZBIn the COMET-PV project, Dr Artem Musiienko aims to significantly accelerate the development of perovskite solar cells. He is using robotics and AI to analyse the many variations in the material composition of tin-based perovskites. The physicist will set up a Young Investigator Group at HZB. He will also have an affiliation with Humboldt University in Berlin, where he will gain teaching experience in preparation for a future professorship.
- Dr. Michelle Browne receives Daimler and Benz Foundation FellowshipMichelle Browne heads a Helmholtz Young Investigators Group on electrocatalysis at HZB. She has now been selected as a fellow of the Daimler and Benz Foundation. She will receive 40,000 euros over the next two years and, in addition, access to an excellent research network.