German Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing have recently said that there are too few jobs for Germans.
Finance Minister Lindner claimed: "Employees in Italy, France and elsewhere are doing much more work than we do here. ”
Deutsche Bank CEO Sowin said in an interview: "We must be more sober, we must work harder, and we must have a new look at work. ”
Now, even the American media outlet Bloomberg has come out to comment, in an opinion piece in Berlin-based journalist Chris Bryant asked: "Have the Germans forgotten the work ethic they are proud of?"
Combined with the data published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Bloomberg article concludes that Lindner seems to be right.
Bryant writes: "One cannot simply think that the Germans are lazy or complacent," but rather that they are making good use of the untapped potential of their jobs.
This mainly refers to women and workers who are nearing retirement. More work will help Germany finance the energy transition and a "generous social security system", the journalist said.
In the 2010s, Germans found a balance between a strong economy and a good life. For example, despite the fact that they enjoy far more paid vacation time than Americans, economic output grows by an average of 2% per year.
But now, this system is starting to crumble. Bryant points to several reasons for this consequence: cheap gas from Russia and high demand for German exports were the cornerstones of the success of this model in the past, but now these factors are disappearing. Production growth is slowing and the "baby boomers" are retiring.
Staffing shortages in many businesses have created a vicious circle. Citing research data, Bryant said that Germans took an average of 15 days of sick leave last year. This had a "significant" impact on the recession. The reason is the many respiratory diseases that have emerged after the pandemic, as well as the psychological stress of employees. "Germany is now the veritable sick man of Europe," Bryant wrote.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, the annual hours worked last year were the second-lowest on record. The reasons are more sick leave, less overtime, and part-time work.
According to OECD data on the average annual working hours of adults, Germany ranks fifth from the bottom compared to other industrialized countries.
Only more than France, Italy, Belgium and Turkey. But at this point, countries may collect this data differently.
The Bloomberg columnist explicitly criticized some of the situation in Germany. He believes that the part-time rate in Germany is too high – especially for women. In fact, almost half of female employees work only part-time, compared to about 13% of men.
He also criticized the retirement age for being too early (67). Although the Germans still retired later than the French, there was still "room for improvement".
In terms of taxation, the payroll tax is too heavy, while the asset tax is very low. "It's no wonder people don't see the point of more work. Bryant wrote.
In conclusion, Bryant concludes by warning that "Germans cannot rely solely on AI to increase productivity or as a sign of economic recovery." Instead, many of them have to "work a little more."