This management consultant specializes in the compatibility of family and professional life.  DW-TV: I’m joined by Sonja Matthiesen consultant on work-life-balance in companies. You're a mother of two. How do you handle your own work-life balance? Sonja Matthiesen: I'm married to a consultant too and we both travel a lot. Our kids go to an all-day school and we have support in the household. DW-TV: As we saw in the report there a company with a family-friendly policy is doing well. There is research to prove it.. a study among 1000 companies found out that the company's image benefits immensly. It also receives more job applications and the staff's motivation is up by 17percent compared to "normal" companies, that is those that don't introduce family-friendly policies. Customers also reward these companies with increased loyalty and staff take less sick days. So, all of this speaks in favour of good family-friendly policies, I'd say! When the economic benefits are so obvious - why are more companies not adopting a more family friendly structure? Sonja Matthiesen: Many companies still associate family friendly policies with higher costs and more complexity in the whole organization. DW-TV: Compared to many other European countries, the birth rate in Germany is very low, at only 1.4 percent. Some would argue that it because it is harder to combine family life with work here. Do you agree? Sonja Matthiesen: Yes, partly. We do not have enough day care for children under three years old. On the other hand we also have to take a look at the companies' family policies and what can be done there. There's work that needs doing on both sides. DW-TV: Now many people say that a kindergarden can't replace a home. Children shouldn't be without their mothers - how do we deal with that? Sonja Matthiesen: That might be the case for some families - it's a very personal decision of whether to keep the kids at home or send them to kindergarten. I don't want to ...