Germany's Work-Life Balance Debate: A Study Reveals the Reality of Childcare Shortages

Starting today, ChancellorFriedrich Merz's center-rightChristian Democratic Union (CDU)is holding its national conference — and one of the major themes up for discussion is what Merz sees as an "exaggerated" work-life balance. Too many people are working part-time, he has repeatedly said, and for Germany to be prosperous, they must transition to full-time jobs. At the same time, a newstudy by the Hans-Böckler Foundation's Economic and Social Science Institute(WSI) shows that an increasing number of parents are left with no choice but to work part-time due to staff shortages, closures, and reduced operating hours at childcare centers. "Under the current circumstances, working parents cannot plan reliably, and women in particular have to think twice about whether they can take up or expand gainful employment. The current debate on working hours is often misguided: First, we need further massive investment in a truly reliable infrastructure for early education, especially better staffing. There is still a shortage of hundreds of thousands of childcare spots," said study author and WSI Director Bettina Kohlrausch. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser thatsupports HTML5 video According todata from the German Youth Institute (DJI), a little over half of parents living in Germany require external childcare, and of those only 33% report that their local childcare options cover all the hours they need to work. Especially mothers are turning to their last resorts when childcare centers are operating under reduced hours or closed entirely due to illnesses and staff shortages. Kohlrausch's research, which surveyed some 900 families from across the country and in all social demographics, showed that 54% of respondents were faced with a sudden lack of childcare. For 30% of the affected parents, this meant reducing working hours, while 42% had to turn to friends and relatives to cover the gaps. For immigrants and lower-income families, the latter is often not an option. "I will not be able to work full-time again until both my children are in high school," Rachel, a schoolteacher from Cologne, told DW. Two years ago, she had to reduce her working hours after the daycare center attended by her children, now aged 3 and 7, began closing earlier due to staff shortages. "While I'm grateful that's possible in Germany," she added, "it's also becoming increasingly untenable as the cost of living escalates. But a full-time contract is out of the question — we don't have any family nearby, and if kindergarten closes unexpectedly, or ends early, I can't be at work." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser thatsupports HTML5 video Kohlrausch's research also highlighted the fact that "unreliable childcare tends to exacerbate the unequal distribution of care work between men and women and thus gender-specific patterns of distribution and care and gainful employment. This also stands in the way of higher labor force participation among women." While the government has been trying to encourage Germans to work more, investment has been declining in the childcare sector. Germany's state-owned development bank, KFW, found that since 2022, some €10.5 billion ($12.4 billion) is lacking nationwide if every family is to have access to reliable, quality childcare. The onus to create and finance childcare and train staff largely falls to state and local governments. According to the DJI, adequate childcare coverage varies wildly across Germany's 16 federal states — with 23% of parents in the small city-state of Bremen reporting inadequate hours, but in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt only 5%. The gap is also uneven between men and women. According to the WSI study, 73% of men in the affected partnerships said their female partners had stepped in to take over childcare when daycare was unavailable, compared to 39% of women saying the same about male partners. Bettina Kohlrausch cautioned that getting rid of the maximum 8-hour workday, another suggestion that's been put forward by the CDU in order to get Germans to work more, will hurt women further. In their election manifesto, Merz's CDU targeted voters with family policy, promising more money for families, reliable childcare, and improvements to parental allowance. Ten months in government, hardly any of these promises have been kept. Edited by Rina Goldenberg While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.