Germany Working Hours to be Overhauled

Germany work hours have become the centre of a heated policy debate, as leading politicians warn that shrinking labour supply and rising pension costs threaten the country’s economic resilience. While average weekly employment stands at just 34.8 hours—well below the European mean—surging part-time rates, an ageing population and early retirement habits are forcing Berlin to consider sweeping reforms.

Calls for More Working Time

Chancellor Friedrich Merz set the tone in spring, telling his party’s business conference that “we must work more and more efficiently.” Soon afterwards, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche floated the idea of lifting the statutory pension age to 70 if demographic headaches intensify. She insists longer careers would relieve pressure on the public purse, yet her own Christian Democrats criticised the statement as tone-deaf, pointing to Germany’s high share of part-time employment.

Official data underline the concern. Eurostat records show Germany work hours trail the EU by 2.3 hours a week, even though overall employment participation is among the highest in the bloc. Policy advisers now argue that persuading millions of part-time staff to extend their schedules could add more labour input than a blanket rise in retirement age.

Part-Time Culture versus Germany Work Hours Targets

Roughly one job in three is part-time, a ratio exceeded only in the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland. Three quarters of these reduced-hour contracts are held by women, many balancing paid work with unpaid care. Labour Minister Bärbel Bas reminds critics that these workers are far from “low performers”; they are parents and caregivers whose social contributions remain undervalued.

Researchers at the Hans-Böckler-Foundation add that long-standing incentives—such as spouse-splitting rules and mini-job thresholds—lock couples into a model where he works full-time and she scales back. Scarce childcare slots reinforce the pattern. The coalition plans to tweak parental-leave bonuses so fathers spend solo time at home, and to trial company bonuses, subsidised by the state, for mothers returning to full-time roles.

Retirement Age Controversy

Germany’s legislated pension age is already climbing to 67 by 2031. Yet Reiche says that may be insufficient once the large cohort born in the 1960s retires. The proposal touches a nerve: OECD figures show German men actually leave the labour force at 63.7 years on average, women at 63.4, often through costly early-exit routes. Critics retort that international comparisons are heterogeneous—some nations lure seniors to stay on with flexible schemes, others tolerate widespread early pensions.

Opposition parties stress that before discussing “Rente 70”, Berlin should first harness the untapped work capacity of mid-career women and older employees willing to extend their hours under better conditions. Trade unions, meanwhile, warn that blanket age hikes penalise manual workers whose bodies give out long before administrative staff contemplate retirement.

Elderly Care Pay Rises, Hours Lag Behind

Nurses and carers illustrate the conundrum. Median monthly earnings for geriatric professionals in Rhineland-Palatinate climbed above €4,000 in 2024, surpassing the national employee average for the first time. Despite record wages, part-time remains dominant in the sector because rigid shifts, staff shortages and insufficient childcare leave many carers no choice but to cut back their Germany work hours.

Markus Mai, president of the state nursing chamber, welcomes the pay breakthrough yet warns that salary alone cannot fix staffing gaps. Flexible rosters, lighter workloads and reliable day-care slots are needed to convert today’s reduced-hour contracts into the full-time positions hospitals and care homes desperately require.

Policy Options Under Review

Think-tanks close to employers praise tax-free full-time bonuses but doubt wide adoption without parallel reforms that modernise labour codes, expand day-care and curb marginal-income traps. Green Party co-leader Ricarda Lang emphasises that equal sharing of care duties is essential; if both partners simply increase to forty hours, unpaid household tasks will still revert to women.

The looming labour crunch may accelerate change. Germany’s Federal Statistical Office predicts the working-age population could shrink by up to seven million by 2045. Business federations fear a squeeze on growth unless Berlin succeeds in lengthening Germany work hours collectively—through expanded childcare, later retirement for those who can and smarter part-time models for those who cannot.