Shiftworkers from Germany's biggest union IG Metall have chosen to have an extra eight days off work, instead of a pay rise. DW looked into the reasons behind the choice.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O.Berg
Advertisement
Apart from their very high productivity, in most senses German workers are pretty…. Average.
They have average European working hours: 40. This is less than Greece’s 41 and Iceland’s 44. An average number of Germans are satisfied with their job.
A group of IG Metall members has shown that their work-life balance is really important to them: shift workers have voted for more free time rather than more money.
Last year, IG Metall, the largest union in Europe with over 2.2 million members, organized a survey. Shift workers and those with caring responsibilities in particular, when given the option of a pay rise of 4.3 percent or 8 days off next year, 190,000 members chose the time off. The deal came through in February.
A deal was struck between the metal industry and the IG Metall unionImage: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Murat
Spokesperson Mike Schürg explained that the union had the idea to break with the norm after consulting half a million of its members.
Shift workers and carers
IG Metall noticed some workers were desperate for more time off. "Shift work can be really difficult. You don’t sleep well," their researchers noted.
Many shift workers do not have the social opportunities enjoyed by their non-shift working friends. People with children or those who care for older family members might need more time for these responsibilities, the union found.
The extra holidays are only being offered to shift workers and those with care duties at present. In Germany’s largest state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 60 percent of those eligible have already submitted requests for the extra time off.
A special case?
Labor-market specialist Dr Karl Brenke told DW he was skeptical about applying the findings to the whole of German society.
Shift workers have "physically demanding and monotonous jobs" so they are a special case, Brenke suggested.
Brenke also pointed to a high participation rate in the workforce in Germany at every age group, including a thriving part-time sector.
Wanting to work
Brenke published a study investigating why many Germans continue working into their pensionable age. His research showed that two-thirds did so because they wanted to work, not because they need money.
Brenke suggested the reasons behind the choice were many and varied: "Ever since I started my research in the 1980s, people have said we are entering into a period of valuing time over money. But it has never quite materialized." Brenke commented: "Surveys say one thing, but reality says another.”
Maybe German workers are average after all.
What Germans do in their free time
Reading is out, surfing is in. How do Germans really spend their extra time? A recent survey found out.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/. Balk
There's always time for TV
In surveys over the past three decades, watching TV has been Germans' unchallenged most popular pastime. Consumption has continuously increased since West Germany allowed private TV channels to go on air in 1984. This year, 97 percent of those polled by a Hamburg institute said they watch the tube at least once a week - and that it is their favorite leisure activity.
Image: Colourbox
Turn on the radio
Listening to the radio is also still one of Germans' favorite free-time activities. Although it still might be done as actively as in the retro picture above, many Germans enjoy listening to their favorite stations while driving, doing household chores or simply relaxing. Ninety percent of those polled said it was a leisure activity for them.
Image: ullstein bild - Paul Mai
Surfing and chatting to relax
Making phone calls and using the internet seem to be relaxing for many Germans as well. Eighty-nine percent named the former and 73 percent the latter as their favorite pastime. The internet has overtaken reading newspapers and magazines for the first time since the survey began.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Kalaene
Staying informed
Reading newspapers and magazines might have lost its position to the internet and experienced an overall decline of seven percent, but it is still a classic leisure activity for many Germans. Overall 72 percent said it was one of their favorite activities when they have some free time.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Holschneider
Music anytime and everywhere
Like listening to the radio, listening to music is something that can be done passively. Music streaming services and free internet radio stations that can be received anywhere via smartphone mean that listening is on the rise. It's not among the top 10 leisure activities, but is increasing each year. Roughly half of those polled said they enjoyed music on their mobile phone.
Image: Imago/Westend61
No time for sex
Over the past five years, Germans have started spending more time grooming themselves - and their garden. But both activites aren't as important to Germans as spending time with their partners or sleeping in on free days. However, less than a third mentioned sex as a favorite pastime. Perhaps they are too busy watching TV.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Less social interaction
In comparison to past years, the Germans are however spending less time meeting with friends. Instead they are interacting with them via social media. Many Germans are also spending less time playing with children - which could be explained by the lower birth rates in the past years.
