Europe embraces part-time work, more personal time

BONN, GERMANY — A growing trend towards part-time work and reduced working hours is reshaping the modern workforce across wealthy European nations like the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. 

With nearly half of the Dutch population working less than 35 hours per week, the Netherlands leads this shift as Europe’s part-time capital. This cultural embrace of shorter workweeks and more personal time raises concerns about labor shortages and shrinking workforces amidst aging populations.

Encouraging part-time employment has historically served as a strategy to combat unemployment and integrate more women into the workforce, thereby expanding labor markets.

“The EU remains at near peak employment of around 75%, its highest level since recording began in 2009,” reports Steven Beardsley of DW News’ Business Beyond.

“Those characteristics of Europe’s modern workforce, that it’s larger, that it’s more integrated, they owe a lot to the popularity of part-time work,” he added.

However, this part-time culture comes with its challenges. “It means lower income, and workers, again, predominantly women, often don’t return to full-time work.”

Austria alone reports 200,000 job vacancies as economies face the daunting reality of shrinking workforces. The question of work-life balance emerges as a central theme, with many European workers valuing free time over longer working hours.

“I have the feeling that people started to realize that… Maybe work is not everything and maybe being extremely rich is not everything. That right now it’s more about how you feel mentally, how you dedicate time for your family or for the things that you actually truly love doing,” said Thais Zuchetti, an architect working 28 hours a day.

In sectors like education and healthcare, the preference for part-time work compounds existing shortages. Marthe Luck, principal of the Kleine Nicolaas school in Amsterdam, and other professionals express the difficulties in filling full-time positions due to candidates’ preference for part-time roles.

The future work scenario remains uncertain in Europe, with a potential trend towards reduced working hours. 

In relation to this, a new study by think tank Autonomy reveals that most companies in the United Kingdom participating in a six-month trial of a four-day workweek in 2022 have made it permanent. Germany also launched a similar trial across 45 companies, allowing employees to work one less day per week on full pay.

Around 31% of European employees are willing to move to another country just to have a four-day workweek, according to strategic insight agency Opinium Europe.