Can fewer public holidays boost Germany's economy?

DW (English)

As Germany's baby boomer generation retires and more people prefer part-time work, economists are in favor of abolishing a public holiday or two. This has sparked heated debate.

Transcript

00:00While it might look like Jonas Enderlein is currently sitting alone in front of his computer at work,

00:06he's actually floating above the rooftops of Potsdam.

00:11His company offers digital solutions to large real estate firms.

00:16It scans and digitizes the conditions of rooftops,

00:20and then matches the firms with local roofing companies to carry out repairs.

00:25Enderlein's 40 employees are based all over Germany and mostly work from home.

00:30Depending on the region, they have a different number of public holidays, which can complicate teamwork.

00:35We have to be aware that we are simply no longer the world leader in many sectors in Germany.

00:40And the question is, how do we get back there?

00:43Working less is not a good alternative.

00:45You have to ask yourself, do we really need all these public holidays?

00:49Or could we put them on a weekend?

00:53Enderlein is not alone.

00:55Many companies and trade associations in Germany are calling for Germans to work more

01:01in view of demographic trends and the poor economic performance of many indicators.

01:06After all, their working hours are rather low compared to the rest of Europe.

01:10According to the OECD, a German employee worked an average of 1,343 hours in 2023.

01:16That was 92 hours less than in Austria, 186 hours less than in Switzerland, and 391 hours less than in Italy.

01:23We have a clear disadvantage here.

01:28And there can't be any limits to thinking about solutions.

01:31It doesn't matter whether it's public holidays, all the people working longer before retirement,

01:35or families and parents working longer.

01:38But something has to be done.

01:40Germany has fewer public holidays than other European nations like Austria and Malta, which both have 13.

01:46Here, there are at least 10 public holidays, plus more, depending on which German state you're looking at.

01:53And according to a survey by the Insta-Institute, 57% of Germans are against the idea of abolishing a public holiday,

02:00while only 34% support it.

02:03Impossible.

02:03There are plenty of public holidays everywhere, and working longer is not possible.

02:09But people seem to have voted for these sorts of bad policies.

02:12So what can you do?

02:14And how do you see it?

02:14There are pros and cons.

02:18My husband has a company, and he's always struggling with public holidays.

02:21That impacts who is working when.

02:24Everything should be standardized.

02:26I don't think the problem is that people don't work enough.

02:30Rather, we need to look at how we can create better working conditions, that they can be more productive.

02:34According to German Economic Institute calculations, one less public holiday a year could mean an increase in economic output by up to 0.2%.

02:44That's 8.6 billion euros.

02:47Another area of debate?

02:48More people in Germany are working part-time.

02:51According to the Institute for Employment Research, this part-time rate has risen to nearly 40%,

02:56because sectors in which part-time work is widespread, like health care and education, are growing, while industry is in crisis.

03:04Some German business associations say this shift is contributing to lower economic growth.

03:09There are only 25 million full-time employees, and that's why we are at such a disadvantage internationally.

03:17So if people in other countries are more committed to their companies, spending more time working and producing more goods and services,

03:25then this is going to be reflected in their country's prosperity.

03:28For Jonas Enderlein's company and many others, more flexible working hours would be particularly helpful.

03:37I really don't like that we are taking a stricter part than even the EU allows us to take with the maximum daily working time.

03:46Meanwhile, labor unions are warning against discussions about the fact that Germans supposedly work too little.

03:52In reality, mental stress and burnout are on the rise, as health insurance companies and sick leave statistics show.

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