Full tables, but few staff: Many companies in Germany are struggling with the shortage of skilled workers. But there are ways to overcome the problem.
(Photo: dpa)
Airports, swimming pools, restaurants: The fact that the shortage of workers in Germany has become a major economic risk can currently be observed – with a little frustration tolerance – particularly well during the holiday season. And that’s just the most noticeable part.
The situation is also tangible in numbers: According to the Ifo Institute, every second company is currently having to cut back because they lack the people. A new high and certainly not the last of this kind.
But what are solutions? Work more, logically. A few weeks ago, employer president Siegfried Russwurm called for a 42-hour week.
His colleague, Stefan Wolf, General Metal Manager, recently followed suit. He was in favor of retiring at 70.
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Now it is easy to dismiss such proposals as unrealistic. And at least the demands from the industry seem to ignore the stress limit of the employees, which many of them have already pushed to the limit.
According to the DAK, more and more people are absent due to psychological problems and work pressure. The skilled labor problem cannot be solved in this way. Especially not in the short term.
A four-day week is utopian
But counter-proposals such as the four-day week are also utopian because they ignore the economic reality, which means that we will have to do the same work with fewer people in the next few years.
First of all, it would be much more effective than introducing a 42-hour week to get as many people as possible to work full-time – for 38 or 40 hours a week. Enormous potential could be leveraged here – and this does not primarily mean the people from the unemployment statistics, but two other groups of employees.
The first: parents. Germany has one of the highest part-time quotas in Europe. And it is still mainly women (and among them mainly mothers) who work part-time.
Not always voluntarily. For example, the Institute of German Economics published a study last Corona summer that showed that mothers with small children in particular find it difficult to pursue their desire for more work.
Let there be no misunderstandings: There is absolutely nothing reprehensible about mothers and fathers wanting to raise their children. The only question is to what extent this happens and whether parents should be given better care if they want to be able to work more hours. Anyone who lives in the country and can actually only count on daycare or primary school until the lunch break knows what potential there is here.
The other adjusting screw are the approximately seven million mini-jobbers in Germany. According to the Institute for Labor Market and Vocational Research, there are also a considerable number of people among them who would like to work more.
Companies and politicians must listen to and promote these wishes – with appreciation, opportunities for advancement and more working hours. And not necessarily with more money, as is now planned in October in parallel with the minimum wage. As a result, marginal employment, which is often associated with a small number of hours, is becoming more attractive than before and even more companies are relying on this means.
People who would like to work more but can’t have often been forgotten in the debate about the shortage of skilled workers. However, there is one thing to keep in mind in all of this: Even with more full-time employees, the skilled labor problem will not be solved alone. But it is a start – and above all one that could be implemented with significantly less friction than arranging collective overtime over a higher retirement age or a 42-hour week.
More: Outdoor entrepreneurs on the lack of staff: “A basic level of German is no longer a requirement”