More than half would like to work less

Berlin. More than half of all employees in Germany would like to work fewer hours per week. According to a representative survey by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), 53 percent would like to work fewer hours per week, 40 percent are satisfied with their hours, and 7 percent would like more. The "Handelsblatt" newspaper first reported on the results. From January to May, 4,018 employees – excluding trainees – were surveyed by telephone as part of the DGB's Good Work Index.

According to the respondents' self-assessment, the most common reason they work more than they would like is work processes. 63 percent cited this reason; multiple answers were possible. A similar number of participants stated that they would otherwise be unable to complete the work (60 percent) and that they wouldn't have enough money (59 percent). The difference between men and women is interesting here: For women, not enough money was the most frequently given answer (66 percent), while for men, the same percentage was work processes.

Even among the 7 percent of respondents who would like to work longer hours, work processes were the most frequently cited reason (51 percent) for the discrepancy between desired and actual working hours. Interestingly, the second most common reason, at 36 percent, was a supervisor who refused to increase working hours.

"The problem with structuring working hours isn't the Working Hours Act, but very often the employers themselves," criticized DGB Chair Yasmin Fahimi. "We know that around 2.5 million part-time workers would like to work more, but supervisors often refuse, and rigid work processes are a hindrance."

RND/dpa