Weekly working hours: majority would like to work less

More than every second employee in Germany wants a shorter weekly working time. According to a representative survey by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), 53 percent would like to work a few hours a week, 40 percent are satisfied with their hours, 7 percent would like more. The “Handelsblatt” first reported on the results. From January to May, 4,018 employees – trainees excluded – were asked by phone as part of the DGB index.

According to the respondents, the fact that they work more than they would like is most often due to the work processes. 63 percent stated this reason, multiple answers were possible. The same number of participants stated that the work was otherwise not to be done (60 percent) and that the money would otherwise not be enough (59 percent). The difference between men and women is interesting here: With 66 percent, the most frequently received answer was the most frequently given, with the same percentage it was the work processes for men.

Even among the 7 percent of those surveyed who would like to work longer, the work processes were the most common reason (51 percent) for the discrepancy between desire and reality. Interesting here: The second most common reason was 36 percent of the superiors who rejected an increase in working hours.

DGB boss Fahimi: Working Hours Act not the problem

“The problem with the design of working hours is not the working hours law, but very often it is the employers themselves,” criticized the DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi. “We know that around 2.5 million employees would like to work more part -time, but superiors often refuse and rigid work processes are hindrance.”