According to an analysis, reacting to the shortage of skilled workers in the economy by extending working hours is not helpful and, in the worst case, counterproductive.
Long working hours not only increase the susceptibility to errors, but "exhaustion and accidents are also increasing," according to the study published on Tuesday by the Hans Böckler Foundation, which is close to the union.
Rather, it is more important to offer flexible working models and to strengthen health prevention in the workplace.
In the meantime, many workplaces were characterized by condensed work processes and a high level of physical and mental stress.
An extension of the weekly or lifetime working time would possibly result in lower productivity and performance, ultimately there was also a risk of complete absences,
"Due to wear and tear or compatibility problems," warned the researchers Eike Windscheid and Yvonne Lott.
"That reduces social security contributions." In addition, the remaining employees who are threatened with overtime would also be weakened.
A further consequence could be that, in view of the stress, employees will definitely withdraw to part-time models, which would then exacerbate the shortage of skilled workers.
Young people and young parents could throw their family plans overboard due to a lack of flexible work options or withdraw from working life due to a lack of compatibility.
Instead, what is needed are flexible working time models with flexible working hours and a high degree of co-determination.
The researchers write that this is not only suitable for families, but also for older people.
In addition, the existing potential of skilled workers must be better used - for example, working conditions in nursing must be improved so that those who have left can return.
It is also important to protect the health of employees by identifying and dealing with stress.
Jobs would have to be designed to be age-appropriate in order to enable "aging in the company". It was only on Monday that the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB) of the Federal Employment Agency stated that the need for workers was and will remain enormous. The index The index used to measure labor shortages hit a new high in August, making it increasingly difficult to find suitable workers, which in turn is holding back employment growth.
Due to the high shortage of skilled workers, several ministries are inviting to the skilled workers' summit in Berlin.
According to the Ministry of Labour, the meeting of “key players from business, trade unions and politics” is scheduled for September 7th and will take place at the invitation of the Ministries of Economics, Education and Labour.