Too much part-time work and too many sick notes: Conservative politicians think the Germans should pull themselves together.
Feb 2, 2026, 10:13 p.mFeb 2, 2026, 10:13 p.m
Hansjörg Friedrich Müller, Berlin / ch media
A debate about whether Germans work too little now comes up every few years. The fact that, in addition to economic considerations, moral considerations and the question of the meaning of life play a role is shown by a statement by then Chancellor Olaf Scholz from the fall of 2024: “I believe we are all born to work,” the Social Democrat said at the time, explaining why he rejected a proposal to motivate the long-term unemployed to work through bonuses.
Against “work-life balance and four-day week”: Christian Democrat Merz.Image: AP
The mentality that Scholz demonstrated with this seems to be on the decline among his compatriots. His successor Friedrich Merz also believes that he has to talk to the Germans’ conscience, citing Switzerland as a role model from time to time. There, as the Christian Democrat recently said at the WEF in Davos, people work an average of 200 hours more per year. “The prosperity of our country cannot be maintained with work-life balance and a four-day week,” said the Chancellor.
Is sick note by telephone a problem?
The proponents of longer working hours, who often belong to the ruling CDU, have identified two problem areas: widespread part-time work and relatively high levels of sickness. According to a study by the OECD, an organization of 38 wealthy countries, 6.8 percent of working time in Germany is lost due to sick leave. Although this is less than in Norway (10.7 percent), it is significantly more than in Switzerland (3.8 percent).
It is reasonable to suspect that not everyone who calls in sick is actually unable to work, as around 40 percent of Germans say in surveys that they think it’s okay to “take a break” every now and then. A certificate is easily available in Germany: During the Corona pandemic, the government created the possibility of a sick note for five days by telephone; Like so many temporary arrangements, the arrangement turned out to be permanent. Now the Christian Democratic Health Minister Nina Warken is thinking loudly about abolishing it.
This would possibly reduce the number of sick people, but would probably also increase the waiting time in the doctor’s office. In any case, the number of sick reports has recently fallen again: from 15.2 days in 2023 to 14.8 in 2024 (there are no reliable figures for 2025 yet). Past experience suggests that this is probably due to the economic crisis: Anyone who is worried about their job thinks twice about staying away from it without necessity.
“Part-time lifestyle” as a conservative enemy image
The average weekly working time in Germany is currently 34 hours and in Switzerland it is 36. Part-time workers in both countries bring the average down. In Germany, over 40 percent of all employees worked less than full time in 2024; This means that the Federal Republic is well above the EU average. Among women, 50 percent work less than 100 percent.
This has to do with the fact that women in particular often have to care for relatives or look after children; Daycare centers are often too expensive. But many employees also simply want more free time. Gitta Connemann, the head of the CDU SME Union, therefore wants to abolish the right to part-time work, which the red-green government under Gerhard Schröder introduced in 2001. Since then, employers have had to provide good reasons and provide evidence of them in order to refuse employees part-time work.
29 percent of women and 24 percent of men who work part-time do so to have more free time, says Connemann. Her proposal “No legal right to part-time lifestyle”, which she wants to submit at the CDU party conference at the end of February, is given little chance. Rhineland-Palatinate CDU leader Gordon Schnieder, who is currently in the election campaign, speaks of a “crazy idea”.
Is performance simply not worth it?
In fact, the CDU politician does not seem to consider that significantly more women are working today than 20 years ago. Some of them are not necessarily dependent on their income and would probably prefer not to do any paid work at all if an attempt was made to force them to work extra. Abolishing the right to part-time work could prove counterproductive.
It would probably be more helpful to reduce the tax burden: especially for middle income earners, it is often hardly worthwhile to work more. “Performance has to be worth it again” is a quick politician’s saying that the CDU in particular likes to peddle. If the Merz government were to draw practical consequences from this, more Germans would possibly increase their workload – and voluntarily.