Siemens human resources manager Judith Wiese believes the debate about a four-day week in Germany is sensitive. “From an economic point of view, we clearly cannot afford a discussion about shorter working hours,” she told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Because Germany is aging quickly and there is a shortage of skilled workers.
Instead of shorter working hours, people must remain employable through lifelong learning, she emphasized – and more people must be enabled to work “ideally full-time and with sufficient flexibility”.
The question with the four-day week is also whether it will be introduced with full wage compensation, emphasized Wiese. “We don’t see a trend towards a four-day week at Siemens.” Although it is already possible at Siemens today, only very few employees take advantage of it. However, there is no full wage compensation at Siemens.
However, Wiese had good experiences with mobile working on a broad front, in which Siemens was one of the pioneers. “We don’t see that people are less productive when working from home,” she told the newspaper.
“For some people, their productivity even increases through flexible working. And also: Just because you sit in the office doesn’t automatically mean you’re productive.” This also applies to team cohesion: “It’s also a myth to believe that you have to physically sit together to feel like you belong.”
Many people are still annoyed about rising food prices. But now discounters and supermarkets are slashing prices for many popular foods. Experts are assessing how this will affect weekly shopping and whether this will mark the end of inflation.
Anyone who pays a lot in cash is exposed to a certain health and hygiene risk. The Sparkasse points this out and urges caution. Because the means of payment in any form is always a haven for numerous bacteria and germs