Press release No. N 026 of 30 April 2021
- Extent of excessive hours almost unchanged since 1991 (10.3%)
- Average weekly working hours of full-time employees nearly unchanged for almost 30 years (2019: 41.0 hours)
- Increase in evening and weekend work
- EU comparison: persons in employment in Germany more often have flexible working hours (50%, EU average: 39%)
WIESBADEN – The debate on blurred boundaries between work and personal life has gained momentum during the coronavirus pandemic. Even before the beginning of the pandemic, it was not an unusual phenomenon that employees in Germany worked excessive hours. To mark Labour Day on 1 May, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that nearly one in ten persons working full-time (9.7%) indicated in 2019 that he or she usually worked more than 48 hours per week. The extent of excessive hours has remained almost unchanged over the past few decades. In 1991 the proportion of persons in employment affected by this phenomenon amounted to 10.3%.
