Record Number of Part-Time Workers in Germany: Laziness or a Structural Problem?

The debate surrounding “lifestyle part-time work” was hard to miss at the beginning of the year and continues to be a focus of labor market research. Now, the part-time employment rate in Germany has surpassed the 40% mark for the first time, as data from the IAB shows. However, contrary to what some political rhetoric suggests, this trend can hardly be attributed to declining work ethic. The growth is driven primarily by job creation in social and medical services—sectors that have traditionally been structurally heavy in part-time work.

The proportion of part-time workers is also high in the public sector. According to a new IW study, while there is theoretically a potential for up to 634,000 full-time positions in this sector, this potential remains untapped primarily due to infrastructure problems. Especially in western Germany, the desire to work more hours is often thwarted by gaps in childcare, whereas such services are traditionally better developed in the east, enabling a higher full-time employment rate there—particularly among women.

A recent Indeed survey also confirms that the willingness to work is there. According to the survey, 73% of employees already work more hours than agreed upon, and more than half would even be willing to work additional overtime. This clearly contradicts the sweeping accusations of laziness coming from politicians.

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