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Working time accounts at a record high: 470 million hours saved!
Economic analysis of the increased use of working time accounts in Germany: Flexibility and high plus hours in 2023.
Working time accounts at a record high: 470 million hours saved!
A lot has changed in the German working world in recent years. Exciting developments can be observed, particularly with regard to the flexibility of working time arrangements. A study of Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB) shows that balances on floating and short-term accounts grew to an impressive 470 million hours in the fourth quarter of 2023. This means an increase of around 140 million hours since 2013. There have never been so many plus hours!
The data is particularly informative because it provides insight into the use of working time accounts in various industries. The highest plus hours can be found in retail as well as in maintenance and repairs. The health and social services have also contributed greatly to making these increases visible. The study also highlighted the increasing need for flexible working hours, which primarily benefits employees.
Flexibility on the rise
But why are working time accounts so attractive? According to that IAB They enable employers to flexibly adapt working hours to changing requirements. At the same time, employees benefit by being able to specifically improve their work-life balance. This development should not be underestimated - especially because flexible working time models help to better combine work and private life.
The spectrum of flexible working time models ranges from flexitime to teleworking to working time accounts. What is particularly interesting is that in 2017, over 38 percent of employees had a strong influence on the start and end of their work. Women and men show similar proportions, with the influence among managers even being 70.3 percent. This means that there is clear scope for flexibility at the upper levels of the hierarchy.
The gap in the long term
The differences in flexibility are also significant. While scientists and commercial employees, for example, often benefit from a high level of flexibility, there is often less leeway in service professions and crafts. The figures show that in these sectors only 21.4 percent of employees have the opportunity to organize their working hours flexibly.
Overall, current developments show that the German working world is on the way to more flexibility. The high number of hours saved in working time accounts shows how important these adjustments have become for many employees. A trend that will probably continue to gain in importance in the future.