Part-Time Work in Germany: Gender Gap and Work-Family Balance Debate
Controversial Discussion over Part-Time Job Limitations in Germany - Reevaluation of Work Schedules in the Country - Intense Part-Time Employment Prevalence in Germany Sparks heated Discussion on Work Hours
Germany has the third highest part-time employment rate in the EU, with 29% of employed individuals working part-time in 2024. This is a concerning factor for many, especially business associations and managers who argue for longer working hours and less part-time work to secure Germany's prosperity.
In comparison, the EU average for part-time employment stands at 18%. Women are four times more likely to work part-time in Germany (48%) than men (12%), whereas the gender gap is smaller at the EU level.
The German government seeks to introduce a weekly maximum working time limit, a move the trade unions view as an end to the 8-hour day. However, a survey of employees in Germany shows reservations about relaxing the daily maximum working time.
Surprisingly, the popular notion that Germans work relatively little is not supported by the official data. The weekly working hours of full-time employees in Germany are 40.2 hours, only slightly below the EU average of 40.3 hours.
However, the higher part-time employment rate in Germany also corresponds to a higher employment rate for the population aged 15 to 64. In 2024, 77% of the population were employed in Germany, significantly higher than the EU employment rate of 71%. Among women, the employment rate was 74%, 8 percentage points above the EU average.
- Gender Gap and Part-Time WorkPart-time work plays a significant role in balancing work and family life, especially for women, who are often engaged in part-time roles to accommodate caregiving responsibilities. However, the current proposals indirectly address this by focusing on working time flexibility and overtime regulations rather than reforming part-time contracts themselves.
- Flexibility in Working HoursRecent coalition agreements and labor law reforms emphasize greater flexibility in working hours, with a shift from daily to maximum weekly working time limits possible, as long as rest periods and overall weekly limits are respected. Electronic time recording is also becoming mandatory, providing more precise work-hour tracking and potentially enabling more flexible scheduling.
- Work-Family BalanceThe broader goal includes improving compatibility of employment and family life through digitalizing employment processes and facilitating flexible working arrangements. Works councils play an important role in negotiating working hours, breaks, and flexible work models that can positively impact parents and caregivers, often women.
- Limitations and ChallengesStructural gender inequality in part-time work remains a concern. Despite recent reforms prioritizing flexibility and administrative modernization, direct targeted reforms aimed at closing the gender gap in part-time work and family leave are limited in current proposals. Additional policies focused on equal pay, career development, and childcare support are needed to bridge this gap.
In conclusion, Germany's recent policy developments aim to:
- Increase working time flexibility via weekly hour regulations and advanced electronic tracking.
- Maintain protections while allowing longer workdays balanced by compensatory rest.
- Facilitate digitalization and modernization of employment conditions and co-determination.
- Provide indirect benefits to part-time workers, especially women balancing family responsibilities, though explicit reforms addressing the gender gap in part-time employment remain limited in current proposals.
These reforms align with improving compatibility of work and family life but still need further efforts to address the gender gap more directly in part-time employment and working hours policy in Germany.
- The community policy discussions in Germany have focused on increasing working time flexibility through weekly hour regulations and electronic time recording, aiming to improve work-family balance, especially for women engaged in part-time vocational training positions.
- To finance these reforms in the business sector and politics, the government aims to modernize employment processes digitally, facilitate flexible work arrangements, and ensure protections while allowing longer workdays balanced by compensatory rest, rather than implementing direct reforms to target the gender gap in part-time vocational training employment.
