Barometer Shows: Employers Present Major Barrier to Adopting Flexible Work Arrangements

In a comprehensive survey conducted by the DGB-Index Gute Arbeit 2025, it was revealed that a significant number of employees in Germany are keen on reducing their working hours. The survey, which interviewed 4,018 employees by telephone from January to May 2025, painted a picture of a workforce eager for a more balanced lifestyle.

The survey found that employees working more than 40 hours a week are the most likely to desire a reduction in their working hours. The average weekly working hours in Germany, as per the survey, stands at 36.3 hours. However, men in Germany work significantly longer hours than women, at 39.9 and 32.3 hours respectively.

Yasmin Fahimi, the chairperson of DGB, expressed concern over the lengthy working hours in Germany, stating that employees have been working in the "red zone" for a long time. She criticized the demands of employers' associations to change the Working Hours Act to abolish the 8-hour day, arguing that the problem with designing working hours is often the employers themselves, not the Working Hours Act.

Fahimi argued that the key to more productivity is more efficiency in working organization, not extending working hours. She called for employers to offer more flexible options for part-time workers who wish to work more, especially since the survey showed that around 2.5 million employees in part-time jobs would like to work more, but supervisors often reject this and rigid working processes are hindering.

The survey also highlighted several barriers to longer working hours. Lack of positions, rigid operational processes, insufficient childcare, and superior rejection were identified as the main obstacles. Interestingly, lack of positions was a barrier for 31% of the employees, while 51% cited rigid operational processes as a hindrance. Insufficient childcare and superior rejection were barriers for 29% and 40% of the employees respectively.

The survey also revealed that employees working more than 48 hours a week want to reduce their hours by an average of 14.8 hours per week. Over half of the surveyed employees (53%) desire to reduce their working hours, with 63% citing inflexible workflows as a main obstacle.

The survey results underscore the need for a reevaluation of working hours in Germany. Fahimi concluded by stating that abolishing the 8-hour day would provoke a new conflict and not solve a problem. Instead, she called for more efficiency instead of longer working hours from employers.

The source of the information is the German Trade Union Confederation Federal Executive Board on 07 September 2025.

Barometer Shows: Employers Present Major Barrier to Adopting Flexible Work Arrangements