Germans have it all

– German companies are so desperate to attract staff that they are falling over themselves to offer perks such as long holidays, shorter hours, flexible shifts and sabbaticals, even though employees already work the fewest hours in the developed world.

Last year, state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn, one of the nation’s biggest employers, offered workers a choice between six days extra yearly leave, a 2.6% pay rise or a one-hour cut in the working week.

Of about 137 000 staff given the choice, 58% opted to add more holiday to the 28 to 30 days they already receive; 40% went for the pay rise and just 2% cut their weekly hours to 38 from the current 39.

“In Germany, the topic of the demographic shift is a big problem,” Sigrid Heudorf, head of employment conditions at Deutsche Bahn, said.

“We have a big challenge of attracting employees and making them loyal to us. We have to think about what employees want.”

The preference for more holiday was particularly pronounced among women, who account for just 23% of Bahn employees, up from 22% in 2012. It is targeting 25% by 2020.

Germans work fewer hours than most, just 1 363 per worker in 2016, down from 1 452 in 2000, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

That compares to an average of 1 763 in the 35-member OECD, with US workers putting in 1 783 hours and Mexicans toiling the hardest – 2 255 hours a year.

An unusually strong, sustained economic upswing combined with a shortage of people of working age has made German firms more worried about attracting employees than in other leading economies, according to a survey by staffing firm ManpowerGroup.

More than half of German employers are struggling to hire employees versus a global average of 45%, with 82% of large firms reporting difficulty, the survey showed. The hardest roles to fill are for skilled trades, engineers and in tech.

During a recent visit to Berlin, billionaire German-American venture capitalist Peter Thiel said young people were more interested in going to nightclubs than making their fortunes, joking that the capital offers a “work-lifelife-life balance”. – Reuters

Berlin