Part-time boss: "I had to learn to let go"

Lars Burmeister is a team supervisor at REHAU - and works part-time to share childcare with his wife. With this, Lars is still rather an exception. We talked to him about his decision. And about why social change needs role models.

Lars, you have two small children and work as a manager at the Scandium plant in Rehau. How do you reconcile family and career?

By not working full time. I'm currently working 30 hours a week, but I'll soon be reducing that to 20 hours a week. My wife also works, which is the only way we can share childcare.

An executive who doesn't work full time. That doesn't happen very often, not even at REHAU. How does that work?

By trusting each other. Everyone in my team knows that they can rely on me. This trust has been growing for a long time; I started my training at REHAU in 2004 and continued my education. What I had to learn, however, was to hand over tasks. In six hours a day, you naturally get less done than before, so I had to learn to delegate. And letting go. Again, that has to do with trust, which I can have in my team without reservation - without the belief in me and my abilities by my own superiors, this model would not be possible either.

At Scandium, you produce edgebands in shifts. How do your colleagues react when you go home earlier than many others?

I think it was unusual for some at the beginning, because I was different from the regular day-shift working hours. And when I say goodbye and say that I have to go to children's gymnastics, there is sometimes a smirk. I am sure they don't mean it badly, but there is something in it that I might not feel if I were a woman and therefore a mother. But I don't let that get to me, my decision is exactly the right one, and I know that.

Did you find it difficult to cut back professionally? You're already ambitious.

Yes, I am. But so is my wife. So for us, with the second child, there was only one way to go: We both cut back to be able to organize the family. That feels absolutely right to us, and I advise every father to question whether that might not also be a path for him. In the end, each family has to find the individual solution that suits them. And that's where you should think in different directions.

How would you react if a young father from your team wanted to step down?

I would look for solutions and opportunities. I myself had few role models in this area. But now I can show a bit of what is possible. Without wanting to call myself a role model, I do think that you can inspire others to question themselves. That's the only way to bring about lasting change.