Pondering over the question: Why can't we put in more hours at work?
In the heart of Europe, Germany faces a unique set of challenges as it grapples with an aging population and declining birth rates, putting pressure on the pension system and labor supply. As solutions are proposed, a heated debate ensues, focusing on working hours reform and pension reforms.
The main proposed solution to address the reflexive rejection towards longer working hours in Germany is to reform the current working hours law. This would shift from a daily maximum to a weekly maximum working time, allowing more flexibility in how hours are distributed during the week. This reform, it is argued, could make longer individual workdays acceptable to some workers while respecting overall limits [1].
However, this proposal faces opposition, particularly from trade unions like the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), which argue that abolishing the standard eight-hour day ignores workers' realities, many of whom already do unpaid overtime. They emphasize the importance of work-life balance and stress that flexible working hours are already widely negotiated in collective agreements [1].
Economy Minister Katherina Reiche explicitly calls for working more and longer hours as part of the solution to these demographic pressures. Yet public and union resistance towards such measures remains strong [3].
To complement proposals about working hours, the government is also pursuing reforms in the pension system. One such reform includes extending the pension “holding line” until 2031, increasing pension contributions slightly, and enhancing pension benefits for parents to soften demographic impacts [5]. Other measures being discussed to mitigate labor shortages include improving childcare facilities to enable more full-time work, especially by single parents [3].
The Draghi report identifies a productivity gap that has been increasing trend-wise compared to the USA for Europe as a whole. To address this, targeted control of skilled labor immigration and further increasing employment quotas for potentially employable persons within the country are deemed necessary [2]. Mobilizing self-employed work and improved opportunities for entrepreneurial activity are also important for keeping the labor market and employment dynamic [2].
Measures that strengthen work effort include flexibility in the operational organization of working time and place, deregulation of temporary work and fixed-term employment, and improved incentives for resuming work in unemployment benefits [2]. Winning people from the silent reserve for the labor market can be achieved by removing disincentives in the social system and through integration and education offers [2].
Automatic and reliable adjustment of the standard retirement age can neutralize its effects on pension finances. Increasing the working life and higher employment participation of older people is important [4]. Michael Hüther, the director of the Institute of the German Economy Cologne, has advocated for these measures.
Rising burnout rates and overburdening of the middle class are concerns raised against the proposal. The number of annual working hours per employed person has decreased from 1,554 in 1991 to 1,332 in 2024, with a decrease of 14.3 percent [1]. The call for longer working hours has been met with reflexive rejection, mobilizing the established rejection coalition.
In summary, these solutions aim to balance economic necessity with workers’ rights and social acceptance amid evolving labor market and demographic realities in Germany. The debate continues, with both sides advocating for their respective positions, seeking a balance that works for all.
- The Community policy discussion in Germany, influenced by the pressing demographic challenges, includes debates about reforming the vocational training system to attract more workers and address labor shortages.
- As the government seeks political solutions for Germany's aging population and declining birth rates through policy-and-legislation, general news outlets are covering the controversial issue of extending working hours, with trade unions advocating for work-life balance and workers' rights, while some policymakers push for increased productivity through longer hours.
