ifo Institute: Bridge Part-Time Work in Demand at One-Third of German Companies
In the first six months since the introduction of bridge part-time work in Germany, demand for this new form of temporary reduction in working hours has already been expressed in a good third of companies. This is the result of the latest Randstad ifo Personnel Manager Survey. The new legal right has been exercised at 22 percent of companies rarely, at 11 percent occasionally, and at 3 percent frequently. After a period of bridge part-time work, an employee can return to full-time work.
“Bridge part-time work requests were particularly frequent at larger companies with over 200 employees,” says Julia Schricker at the ifo Institute, who led the study. “These requests have already been granted at 59 percent of those companies. It is interesting to note that requests for bridge part-time work have been reported at around one in six companies with fewer than 45 employees – even though these companies are exempt from the regulation.” One in five companies with fewer than 45 employees subsequently actually granted such short-term part-time work.
So far, Germany’s Bridge Part-Time Work Act has neither created jobs nor been an obstacle to business. “The shortfall in working hours is predominantly made up by the other workers,” Schricker says. Of the companies surveyed, 38 percent stated that the majority of the (temporarily) unallocated work passed to colleagues, while one in six companies (16 percent) took on new hires for it. By contrast, only 4 percent reported a decline in business activity; 6 percent mentioned “other measures” and 20 percent provided no statement. Multiple responses were permitted.
