People want to work less
People in Germany would prefer to work less, even if it meant earning less. On average, men would prefer to work just 36 hours per week, as compared to 39 hours in 2007. Women would also like to work less: Recent data show that they would prefer to work 29.5 hours per week.
A comparison of men’s and women’s preferred working hours shows a convergence in preferences over time. In 2000, women wanted to work nine hours less than men, and now just six and a half hours less.
In the early aughts, people’s preferred number of working hours was still rising. This changed after Germany overcame a phase of major unemployment. These findings from the study “Living in Germany” were published in an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
Further information
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung: Deutsche wollen immer weniger arbeiten