Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner and the heads of Siemens and Deutsche Bank have appealed to citizens’ willingness to perform in order to maintain living standards and strengthen the German economy. Lindner said at an economic summit Weltthat Germany enjoys a first-class standard of living and social security, and at the same time wants to be ecologically responsible. “Without willingness to perform and more competitiveness, we will no longer be able to meet these demands,” said Lindner.
More on the topic: Four-day week
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Working hours: Germany should try the four-day week
Company leaders also expressed concerns at the event about what they saw as a lack of commitment. Stefan Hartung, CEO of Bosch, emphasized that hard work is required to do meaningful work and not just genius is enough. Deutsche Bank boss Christian Sewing emphasized the need for more growth in Germany and called for people to work harder again instead of discussing a four-day week with full wage compensation.
Company bosses against a four-day week
Siemens boss Roland also spoke out against a four-day week. Co-determination has numerous positive aspects. “At the same time, I think the discussion about a four-day week is completely wrong. Especially in view of the aging of society and the lack of workers, this discussion is going in the wrong direction,” said the Siemens boss.
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Friedrich Merz, the chairman of the CDU, made similar comments. He is critical of the current decline in average annual working hours. The tax exemption for overtime proposed by his party is a clear signal to everyone to work more again instead of less and less, he said at the event.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that politicians can set framework conditions, but cannot prescribe by law how many hours must be worked. “But we can ensure that more citizens want to work longer,” said Scholz at the event. This includes, for example, companies with flexible working time models being more considerate of families and all-day offers from daycare centers and schools being expanded across Germany.
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Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner and the heads of Siemens and Deutsche Bank have appealed to citizens’ willingness to perform in order to maintain living standards and strengthen the German economy. Lindner said at an economic summit Weltthat Germany enjoys a first-class standard of living and social security, and at the same time wants to be ecologically responsible. “Without willingness to perform and more competitiveness, we will no longer be able to meet these demands,” said Lindner.