Amplifying Productivity Over Vacation: IW Cologne Head Advocates Less Time Off for Enhanced Economic Momentum
Economic output in the country needs a boost, according to the head of the Institute of World Economics, Mr. Hüther. He suggests reducing the number of public holidays as a potential solution.
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Email Print Copy Link The head of Institute for the German Economy (IW Cologne), Michael Hüther, is urging for a decrease in public holidays in Germany. "Eliminating one holiday would significantly escalate economic performance in the short term," Hüther asserted to the Funke media group's Friday editions. According to IW estimations, an extra workday could swell Germany's GDP by up to 8.6 billion euros hypothetically.
Hüther recalls the scrapping of the Buß- und Bettag as a public holiday in 1995. "It's possible to work more if one chooses to," he added, commenting on a demand from the Association of Bavarian Businesses who advocated for abolishing a religious holiday recently.
On the contrary, Marcel Fratzscher, chief of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), holds a contrasting view. "The labor deficit in Germany won't be eradicated by deleting holidays or overtime tax advantages," he informed the Funke media group. Instead, he believes the solution for the labor deficit resides in removing employment barriers for women, refugees, and other foreign nationals. "Only through a substantial immigration hike and the removal of barriers for women can the labor deficit be reined in," the economist suggested.**
Unabridged, the proposition for reduced public holidays is a multifaced issue, with both advocates and dissenters presenting compelling arguments.
The Compelling Case for Fewer Public Holidays
- Economic Expansion: Reducing public holidays could engender increased working hours and potentially galvanize productivity and economic development. This might prove beneficial in sectors where uninterrupted production is pivotal.
- Competitive Edge: Germany could potentially outmatch countries with more public holidays, luring businesses and investments with a lengthier working year.
- Infrastructure and Services Access: Public holidays frequently result in disturbances in transportation, healthcare, and essential services offerings. Minimizing holidays might fortify service accessibility and efficiency.
Doubts Concerning Fewer Public Holidays
- Work-Life Harmony: Public holidays play a significant role in providing employees with necessary leisure time, creating room for relaxation and rejuvenation. Reducing them may augur increased stress and dwindled job satisfaction[3].
- Benefits to Tourism and Spending: Public holidays spark tourism and spending, spearheading economic growth for related industries. A reduction in holidays could adversely impact these sectors[3].
- Social Harmony: Public holidays fosters communal togetherness by celebrating shared traditions and culture, cultivating cultural unity and bonding within communities[3].
- Health and Well-being: Regular breaks correlate with enhanced health and well-being, essential for maintaining a productive workforce in the long term.
- Industrial Relations: Reducing public holidays could yield increased labor strife and disputes, as employees might feel their rights are being encroached upon.
- Current Economic Circumstances: The prevailing economic climate, including the ramifications of the "German Paradox," suggests that the economy is dealing with challenges such as capacity limitations and driver scarcities. Scaling down public holidays might exacerbate these issues by broadening demand without rectifying underlying capacity problems[1].
[1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41015-020-00019-0
[3] https://www.rwi-essen.de/fileadmin/files/downloads/institution/4_4_7_Emberger_et_al_.pdf
- The economic argument for fewer public holidays suggests that by increasing working hours, productivity might be enhanced, providing economic growth and potentially making Germany more competitive compared to countries with more holidays.
- On the other hand, reducing public holidays could negatively impact work-life harmony, potentially leading to increased stress and job dissatisfaction, and impact various sectors such as tourism and cultural unity within communities, consequently, weakening health and well-being among employees over the long term, which is essential for maintaining a productive workforce.
