The longing for the job grows day by day. Life on short-time work: “I'm just missing the job”. He sets the alarm clock at 7 o'clock every morning

At some point in autumn everything in the house was tidied up and repainted, there were extensions and conversions, and Jens Zotz even had the screws in the basement sorted by size and function.

Zotz, deckhand at Barkassen-Meyer in Hamburg, has been on short-time work since mid-March 2020.

For him it was predominantly the time of professional idleness, a fate that he shares with tens of thousands in Hamburg alone and that is now years old.

He

and his daughter Xenia came on board the “Hafen Hamburg” to

talk to

about these experiences.

The 17-year-old is also employed as a trainee in the traditional company, she wants to become a port skipper.

Also on the upper deck is the boss of Barkassen-Meyer, Hubert Neubacher.

It's almost 20 degrees.

That would be ideal for a trip with tourists, as all three agree.

But now the "Port of Hamburg" is firmly moored at the Überseebrücke, next door Elbschlick is being dredged onto a barge.

Otherwise nothing is going on.