Where Has the German Work Ethic Gone?
According to the government, people have become lazy while diligence is penalized.
To save the economy, the government must work with the German workforce, not against it.
Europe's largest economy has become the continent's patient, with desperate politicians and corporate leaders accusing the populace of what they were once renowned for: not working hard enough. However, blame does not lie with laziness but with the government, and it is up to them to solve the problem.
A Bloomberg opinion piece suggests German workers are under siege. Previously celebrated for their world-class industriousness, which underpinned their economic strength, politicians and their employers now consider them lazy.
* German Finance Minister Christian Lindner last week accused his country's residents of working less hard and less often than Italians, French, and many others.
* Robert Habeck, a Green Party economy minister, several months ago snapped at striking workers, stating that the country fighting a labor shortage "cannot afford this."
* Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank, told Fortune magazine he opposes the four-day work week and urged Germans to "work more and harder."
However, labor unions reject these accusations, which portray both Germans and immigrants as work-shy, asserting that reality paints a totally different picture:
More people are employed in Germany than ever before, with millions having to juggle multiple jobs to support their families amid economic difficulties.
Indeed, official statistics suggest a significant erosion in the working morale of the population over recent years. Germans enjoy a minimum of 30 days of paid leave, compared to 20 in Hungary, and on average take 15 days of sick leave—often due to burnout—contributing significantly to the country's slide into recession.
With an average annual working hours per worker last year being the second lowest among OECD countries, attributed by the Federal Employment Agency’s research institute to illness, reduced overtime, and an increase in part-time employment.
The high rate of part-time employment is particularly significant: In Germany, about half of female employees work part-time, compared to only 13 percent of men.
With a workforce of approximately 46 million, Germany thus has 1.7 million unfilled jobs.
One should not consider the Germans lazy—past productivity built one of the world's largest economies—but the government, if it wishes to maintain the current social system, which supports about 20 million retirees, needs serious reforms and incentives to lure people back to work.
The go-to solution currently favored by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's left-leaning cabinet is to introduce more migrants to compensate for the domestic workforce.
However, Germany would be better served in the long run if more women could work full-time and people retired later.
Foundations of the current functional social system have eroded in recent years. Built on cheap Russian gas and demand from China, the German economy now faces the challenge of an aging workforce exiting the labor market, not matched by the number of young workers leading the German Council of Economic Experts to forecast that the country's production growth will slow to just 0.4 percent annually.
According to a 12-point plan submitted by the Finance Ministry last week, the government aims to mitigate this threat by restricting early retirement and raising the retirement age, while also investing to reduce unemployment.
Understandably, this has not only angered the populace but also Scholz's own coalition partners. Instead, the focus should be on the root of the problem:
The German tax system heavily penalizes wages, so it's no wonder people do not want to work more.
Besides slightly raising retirement age limits, the government should offer significant tax breaks to older workers who stay on past the official age. Similar measures should be applied for overtime work, ensuring that the more industrious employees actually receive rewards for their extra efforts.
State subsidies should be redirected towards funding kindergartens and schools—particularly through pay raises for educational workers, enabling more women to remain in the workforce.
Europe's largest economy has become the continent's patient, with desperate politicians and corporate leaders accusing the populace of what they were once renowned for: not working hard enough. However, blame does not lie with laziness but with the government, and it is up to them to solve the problem.
A Bloomberg opinion piece suggests German workers are under siege. Previously celebrated for their world-class industriousness, which underpinned their economic strength, politicians and their employers now consider them lazy.
* German Finance Minister Christian Lindner last week accused his country's residents of working less hard and less often than Italians, French, and many others.
* Robert Habeck, a Green Party economy minister, several months ago snapped at striking workers, stating that the country fighting a labor shortage "cannot afford this."
* Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank, told Fortune magazine he opposes the four-day work week and urged Germans to "work more and harder."
However, labor unions reject these accusations, which portray both Germans and immigrants as work-shy, asserting that reality paints a totally different picture:
More people are employed in Germany than ever before, with millions having to juggle multiple jobs to support their families amid economic difficulties.
Indeed, official statistics suggest a significant erosion in the working morale of the population over recent years. Germans enjoy a minimum of 30 days of paid leave, compared to 20 in Hungary, and on average take 15 days of sick leave—often due to burnout—contributing significantly to the country's slide into recession.
With an average annual working hours per worker last year being the second lowest among OECD countries, attributed by the Federal Employment Agency’s research institute to illness, reduced overtime, and an increase in part-time employment.
The high rate of part-time employment is particularly significant: In Germany, about half of female employees work part-time, compared to only 13 percent of men.
With a workforce of approximately 46 million, Germany thus has 1.7 million unfilled jobs.
One should not consider the Germans lazy—past productivity built one of the world's largest economies—but the government, if it wishes to maintain the current social system, which supports about 20 million retirees, needs serious reforms and incentives to lure people back to work.
The go-to solution currently favored by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's left-leaning cabinet is to introduce more migrants to compensate for the domestic workforce.
However, Germany would be better served in the long run if more women could work full-time and people retired later.
Foundations of the current functional social system have eroded in recent years. Built on cheap Russian gas and demand from China, the German economy now faces the challenge of an aging workforce exiting the labor market, not matched by the number of young workers leading the German Council of Economic Experts to forecast that the country's production growth will slow to just 0.4 percent annually.
According to a 12-point plan submitted by the Finance Ministry last week, the government aims to mitigate this threat by restricting early retirement and raising the retirement age, while also investing to reduce unemployment.
Understandably, this has not only angered the populace but also Scholz's own coalition partners. Instead, the focus should be on the root of the problem:
The German tax system heavily penalizes wages, so it's no wonder people do not want to work more.
Besides slightly raising retirement age limits, the government should offer significant tax breaks to older workers who stay on past the official age. Similar measures should be applied for overtime work, ensuring that the more industrious employees actually receive rewards for their extra efforts.
State subsidies should be redirected towards funding kindergartens and schools—particularly through pay raises for educational workers, enabling more women to remain in the workforce.
Translation:
Translated by AI
