Unhappy Workers

Every third employee in Germany believes he won't be able to continue working until reaching retirement age; only every eighth worker is happy with his job and working conditions while every third person finds it problematic.

That is the bleak conclusion reached by a new survey commissioned by the DGB German Trade Union Federation and presented in Berlin this week. The representative survey polled around 6,100 employees across a wide range of sectors in Germany.

Temporary workers worst affected

Almost half of those surveyed (54 percent) assessed their working conditions as being "average" with lower stress levels but also fewer chances for promotion and meager pay packages.

The situation was worst for temporary workers with high stress levels and work pressures, a total lack of perspective, bad management and poor wages.

In contrast, engineers topped the list of those happiest with their jobs, followed by employees in the chemical industry and administrative sector. The factors contributing to their positive ratings included good remuneration, low physical and emotional pressures as well as sufficient chances to develop their careers.

The study showed that, in general, workers don't feel that their wages adequately reflect their skills. Many complain about a lack of appreciation for their work, unsatisfying collegial atmosphere and few chances to further hone their skills. Many of those polled also said their bosses had little understanding for their family commitments.

"Generally, the lower the qualification, the lower the pay and poorer the working conditions," said Ernst Kistler, director of the International Institute for Empirical Social Economics (Inifes), which assessed the survey together with the DGB.

Labor unions emboldened by survey

Labor unions have seized on the poll results as confirmation of their opposition to the raising of the official retirement age to 67 from 65 this year as well as their long-standing demand for a statutory minimum wage.

Unlike the US and many other EU countries, Germany has no statutory minimum wage, and debate continues over introducing one. While trade unions say it's about social justice, German business views it as a job killer.

Michael Sommer, head of the DGB Trade Union Federation said the results of the survey are "further proof for the miserable conditions in the low-wage sector."

Sommer said it was especially dramatic that 73 percent of employees satisfied with their working conditions foresaw no problems in continuing working until retirement age while only 27 percent of those working in poor conditions expected the same.

The DGB boss said the unions would now step up their fight against the newly introduced retirement age. The German government passed the measure earlier this year, arguing that in view of the ageing population and falling birth rate, the country could no longer afford to let its workers retire by 65.

Jürgen Peters, head of the metal-workers' union, IG-Metall, said the poll was a wake-up call.

According to Peters, companies that singularly pursue cost-cutting strategies don't just "damage good work, but also undermines the motivation and readiness to perform among workers," which is a key prerequisite for innovation and competition.