Martina van Hettinga in the Handelsblatt Rethink Work podcast
Dusseldorf 42-hour week, pension from 70: In recent weeks there has been a lot of discussion in Germany about how the worsening shortage of skilled workers and the associated loss of prosperity can be avoided.
However, digital economy personnel consultant Martina van Hettinga from “i-Potentials” is experiencing an opposite trend in her daily work: According to her, many managers want a 30-hour week – which most companies still do not offer. From van Hettinga’s point of view, this will worsen the situation in the long term: “If I now demand the 42-hour week, then I do not treat the few managers I still have with the necessary respect.”
Increased mental illnesses due to the high stress are the result, and fewer and fewer top digital specialists can be hired at all. “They say: Why should I go into such a 40-hour relationship? I’m one of the top 20 in Germany, I’m just a freelancer and consultant.”
While van Hettinga was able to observe positive effects on the question of remote work and flexible working hours in recent years, part-time work at management level is still a no-go for many companies. “Then there are the classic concerns such as a lack of productivity or inefficiencies. We keep seeing these concerns with tandem solutions, too,” says van Hettinga.
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In addition to the part-time models, which are particularly attractive for qualified parents, van Hettinga also sees opportunities in smarter working methods, automation and easier immigration. Due to the currently tense economic situation, however, there is often a halt to innovation here too: “Everyone is already preparing for a savings course and is now very liquidity-conscious, which makes sense. But medium-sized companies in particular, which are traditionally very well positioned and more profitable, should not make the mistake of cutting corners and cutting off innovations.”
In the current episode of Handelsblatt Rethink Work, Van Hettinga explains how often she was actually able to hire part-time executives, what skilled workers in the digital industry now earn on average and whether we will automatically have to accept a loss of prosperity with the desired reduction in unemployment.
More: You can hear the previous episode of Handelsblatt Rethink Work here.