When North Americans talk about laid-back European work culture, they’re never referring to Germany. So you might be surprised to hear that Germans are taking it very easy these days.
Driving the news: By some measures, the economic engine of Europe is running low on manpower. Germans worked 1,343 hours on average last year, less than any other country in the OECD, a group of 38 rich nations. They also took 19.4 sick days, the most ever recorded.
- The country has long been known for its beer, bread, and efficiency. And yet the average Canadian logged 522 hours more than the average German last year.
Why it matters: The collective realization around the negative impacts of overwork on health, family, and relationships can be a positive thing, but it sure is inconvenient for the German economy, which has not grown since 2019 and is grappling with a skills shortage.
- “People in France, in Italy and elsewhere, they work a lot more than we do,” said the county’s finance minister before rolling out tax incentives that award overtime work.
- You can’t fully pin stagnant growth on a rising interest in part-time work and four-day workweeks, though, since more hours don’t necessarily contribute to higher output.
Big picture: The size of Germany’s economy could complicate the EU’s plans to navigate a soft economic landing coming out of the pandemic. It could look to the Greek economy for a boost, which is expected to grow by 2.2% this year, as Greeks take on more hours.—SB
