“Miele” is a german manufacturer of household appliances like washing machine, vacuum cleaner and also electronic kitchen equipment. Its headquater is located in Gütersloh, Germany and was founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann. Since then it is a family-run company.
Recently the new service “Familie leben” (analogous: “live family”) was launched in Gütersloh. It is also provided to expand the concept to other company locations. “Miele” employees can now get advice and assistance from their employer on questions and worries concerning family problems and difficult situations. Where could I get a free spot in kindergarten for my two-year-old son? What to do if the childminder get suddenly ill? How to find a suitable elderly care nurse for the grandfather? And how exactly does the living will work?
The center of this concept forms the hotline that supports “Miele” employees in Gütersloh every day for 24 hours. The hotline offers help for organisational and management issues in family environment. For this purpose “Miele” works together with an independent consulting and intermediation service provider “pme Familienservice”. Their consultants, who are well educated help to handle bureaucratic issues, assist finding appropriate ambulant nursing services and offer information about topics as care insurances. There is especially a need for providing information regarding the topic medical and health care for family members, announces Kristin Terborg who coordinates the new concept.
Moreover, since April 2011 “Miele” provides childcare places for children between four months and three years. The company wants to facilitate women to get back into their jobs after maternity leave. “Miele” bears the expenses to a part and the other part is covered by the parents. Opening hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. enables employed parents to manage their everyday family life more flexible.
Source:
http://www.miele-presse.de/de/presse/artikel/artikel_031_2012.aspx
http://www.miele-sustainability.com/international/en/sustainability/2982.htm
The world of labour 
I think that this program of Miele is a very good approach to connect work and family life. The company demonstrate social engagement and interest in their employees. This behavior should be a good example to follow by other companies. Both parties, employer and employees, benefit from this service. Parents can start working shortly after the birth of their children again and the company keeps it employees and does not have to search for a substitution.
I also really appreciate this system. In nowadays, where the work demands so many time of the employees lives also to the point of old age, such support of a company can really have a big impact on the well being of the employees in many different ways and accordingly also on the success of the company itself. Many people feel overstrained with the coordination of their professional- and their private life, especially in times where more and more families are in the situation that both parents have to work, and nobody has the time “just” to care for family problems and issues. If the worst comes to the worst, this situation can also lead to a burnout. In Germany for example more than 9 million people are adversely affected by this syndrome, which mostly is caused by bad working conditions especially in psychological terms. This syndrome leads amongst other things to high costs for the company as well as for the state. So the employee service of Miele could really work against this excessive demand on the employees by leading them through difficult times and by communicating them the feeling of being appreciated professional as well as personal. This would in my opinion lead to mutual benefits, like that the employees can really willingly focus on their work based on the certainty that he/she can also count on his employer if personal issues arise, whereby the employee gets more efficient and will stay longer in the company due to a good working climate what also profits the company.
Conciliating family and work is a both-sides matter.