Erschöpfte junge Familien zwischen Job, Care-Arbeit und Politik

What does “Vereinbarkeit” mean in German?

The speaker has had enough of telling exhausted young families to just try harder. She closes with a demand: “Wir wollen mehr Vereinbarkeit statt mehr Verfügbarkeit.” Vereinbarkeit is the everyday German word for making a job and children fit together in one life. She sets it against Verfügbarkeit — always being reachable for work. She is not asking for more flexible hours; she wants a life where work and family can actually go together.

Spoken line: “Wir wollen mehr Vereinbarkeit statt mehr Verfügbarkeit.” — “We want more compatibility (of work and family) instead of more availability.” Vereinbarkeit comes from vereinbaren (to agree on / to fit together). On its own the word is neutral, but in news and politics it almost always means one thing: Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf — getting family and a job to work side by side. Examples: - “Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf” — fitting family and work together (the standard phrase). - “Der Job bietet gute Vereinbarkeit.” — The job lets you balance work and home life well. - “Es fehlt an Vereinbarkeit.” — There is not enough balance between the two. Usage note: hear the contrast with Verfügbarkeit (being available, on call). The two words sound almost the same, and the speaker plays on that on purpose: she wants the first, not the second.