According to Ifo analysis: trend towards part-time work continues

According to Ifo analysis
The trend towards part-time work continues

19.09.2024, 10:16 a.m.

According to a survey, the trend towards part-time work is continuing in Germany. 41 percent of companies are planning to hire new part-time workers, according to a survey of human resources managers published on Thursday by the Ifo Institute in cooperation with the service provider Randstad. A narrow majority of 54 percent, however, will not offer any new part-time positions. Only five percent of companies are planning to reduce the number of existing part-time workers.

“Over the past five years, the proportion of part-time workers in the majority of German companies has increased,” said Ifo researcher Daria Schaller about the results of the survey. The trend towards more part-time work is continuing. “Companies are torn,” said Schaller. On the one hand, part-time work helps to attract skilled workers, but on the other hand, the shortage of skilled workers is exacerbated by the shorter working hours.

79 percent of companies say they do not offer any incentives to get employees to work full-time from part-time. Companies that want to get employees to work full-time most often try to do this by making working hours more flexible (16 percent) and offering company pension plans (10 percent). This is followed by childcare (8 percent) and flexibility in the place of work (6 percent).

However, according to the Ifo Institute, just over 75 percent of respondents believe that part-time jobs are or would be beneficial for their company. This means that 56 percent report increased employee satisfaction. 51 percent believe that part-time jobs will enable them to better meet their personal needs. However, only 18 percent think that part-time workers are beneficial for the company’s productivity.