Female Work 4.0 - Strategy for the use of free, female work capacity after maternity/parental leave in the automotive industry in Austria focused on women with minimum high school degree

Abstract

The digital work environment offers new possibilities of employment schemes. There search is focused on the staff retention of mothers after maternity/parental leave inthe automotive industry. The free human resource of young mothers can be the key to having enough loyal and well-trained staff.The aim is to develop a business strategy for retaining women after maternity leave that is equally applicable to men. It ́s based on the findings from the literature on diversity and leadership, the results of the implemented survey in which the requirements of women to perform in the professional environment were identified and the interview feedback of the managers on the topic of women's employment in their companies. The implementation of the strategy can be the essential factor for corporate success in the current labor market situation. This will not only make itpossible to keep women in the company, but also to receive high-performance through their targeted further training and the possibility of taking advantage of individual working models and other offers tailored to their life situation. At the same time, the company benefits from all the advantages that diversity generally brings for all employees, the increased product quality and consequently a satisfied customer. Although there is plenty of unused female potential available on the market, it is not deployed for various reasons, even in the year 2022, despite the lack of skilled workers. This scientific work should shake up companies, especially in the very male-dominated automotive industry, and encourage them to rethink to be one step ahead of their competitors in the future.