Almost half the population works less than 35 hours a week and can generally afford it. The question is, can the country labor shortages are already hitting hard and workforce is, are getting smaller. And its not just the netherlands, germany, austria and switzerland are facing similar trends. Now were in the situation. Our society is over aging. We have 200000 open positions in australia. You have many employees are pushing to work less. How does that add up . Well look at how relationships with work are changing in wealthy or European Countries. And what that means for an era of labor shortages will workers begin to raise their hours . Whats the reason that you want to work for days and what do you need to work full time . Or will they push for more free time . I think thats the more time that you can make for your cell for personal practice, for personal life. I think it can be really interesting. Will europe work more in the future or will work less thats coming up on business beyond your labor landscape has changed in recent decades. Its not that long ago, the idealized household in many European Countries looked like this. One partner worked typically the man, the other stayed at home to care for the children. And of course that was supposed to be the one that especially if youre looking at a household so. So just to be the case that the women were not working at all with the pumps in the fiftys, susanna by can cause an economist with rob, a bunk in budapest. So you could be fired here in the mountains when you both married. And then you saw that the demand was working, it was working 40 hours a week. Now things look rather different. Womens participation in the workforce has grown significantly across europe in recent decades. Thats also helps make workforce is bigger. The you remains in near peak employment of around 75 percent. Its highest level since recording began in 2009. Several economies including germany, austria and switzerland have recently been at or near record employment rates. Those characteristics of yours modern workforce that is larger, but its more integrated. They owe lots of the popularity of part time work. And the embrace of part time work really begin here in the netherlands. Unemployment was much higher in the netherlands in the late seventies and early eighties. The country encouraged part time work as part of a series of broader reforms. And it helped, in a sense that more people entered the market. Especially women. Unemployment fell. Germany took a similar route in the ninetys, the newly re unified country suddenly had a lot of workers without jobs. Part time became a feature of more and more labor agreements. The netherlands in germany later created laws protecting part time, basically making it more difficult for an employer to reject an employee request to work that way. And part time caught on in other countries, austria and switzerland, for example, were now roughly a 3rd of employees is working less than full time. But part time is most popular among women who still have the majority of care responsibilities at home and less flexibility the full time. Now the netherlands as one of the highest shares of women in the workforce. Its important to note that the netherlands and some of the other countries weve been talking about are a bit more conservative. On the one hand, that is women traditionally stayed at home to care for children and they didnt work. Another difference is it, the netherlands is wealthier than other European Countries. In other words, its more likely that in a dutch household with 2 workers, one is working part time out of choice. I think thats more so perhaps than another come up. Sions to balance work with the care obligations they have at home for children or for family members. So whats wrong with that . Actually nothing, but it does mean that theres less work being done per person. The average part time worker in the you puts in around 22 hours a week and look at this. This is the average number of working hours per worker annually in Major Economies around the world. And guess whos at the bottom wealth your european nations. Germany isnt just at the very bottom, its 400 hours below the easy, the average of that makes sense when we consider part time work. And again, thats not really a problem, as long as workforce is are big. But theyre shrinking. And this is happening across the western economies right now. Look at how this population paramount for the changes from 2022 to 2100 noticeably shrinking. The number of working age individuals in each states is expected to decline. 20 percent of labor is going to be scars, very scars in the future. So this is not a one off. Its not like 10 years from now or out of this and then its gone. Now its, its here to stay. Shes talking about the netherlands, but the same applies to other European Countries as well. Economists warren, that there is no easy fix to the coming labor problems. Its going to take more than migration, for example, to deal with whats ahead, to see how part time plays into the coming shortages. You can look here, i marches luck, the principal, if you had any class that your Primary School in education is one sector where shortages are already back in the netherlands. Also in germany its, its not very good at the salaries bad. You go to another problem with the parents, so that doesnt help when applicants come to much of school, many wants to work part time for different reasons. But with a smaller candidate pool, thats a problem. Always started a conversation with her. Whats the reason that you want to work for these . What do you need to work full time . I tell them the, the advantages for them, but also for their salary, but also for the long term that theyre also aware about the choices and the consequences. They makes health care is another sector were finding people is becoming more difficult. Theres a shortage of people. Its so low, productive labor. So its its, its just a heavy, its physically offensive, especially health care. And demand for health care is only going to rise in the years ahead. Societies are getting older. Remember, caring for children and family members is the number one reason employees give for why they work part time again, this is overwhelmingly women. So does that mean that if we provide more care options for them, the more will go into the workforce . Well, its actually not that simple. Even a lot of women tell us that they started working to join the labor force, but the contract of 16 hours, like 30 years ago. And they say never change the to drive and works with dutch Healthcare Organizations who are struggling with labor shortages. Very elaborate shift structures, especially in health care, often make part time more attractive to both employees and employers. She says, but theres also become something of a broader cultural expectation for part time. We ask them, why did you never change . And they say, well, yeah, thats the, the way it is. So it is really a deeply angry norm. And now of course, because of we have the labor market shortages, all of a sudden everybody starts doubt whether this is actually the right norm. Its a hard topic because its everyone is used to it. So yeah, we all work part time and, and as a mom full time working long. As you often get the question, i work full time but why do work full time . And, and so i dont know its its, its hard to change, but part time is about more than just working months. My name is titus. Im an architect and i work 28 hours. Type of security isnt tearing for children or family members, but she works part time anyways. Sometimes. Well, it sends me a blanket on a friday. Its like, oh, im sorry youre working. I dont know. I never work cited phase for 28 hours while finishing up her masters degree. Her firm asked her to come back up to 32 hours still part time, but she doesnt mind. I feel that right now with 28 hours i earn enough to leave. Okay, lets say, and the idea is that if i were to continue working 28 hours and then i could lets, i developed maybe my hobby as an illustrator into a side again. But with 32 hours, of course, that would be a more salary in the end of the month with the advantage that i still have the fridays free. So i can still work on wireless ration is and who knows where that will take me. Lets be clear, tices work is quite different from say, nursing or teaching. But economists say that underlying desire to have more free time is visible across wealthier European Countries. Or i have the feeling that people started to realize that maybe work is not everything and maybe being extremely rich is not everything. Thats right. Now its meant more about how are you feeling mentally, how are you . Dedicate time for your family or for the things that you actually truly long throwing. In other words, falling work hours isnt just about care taking. Its also about a more general push for Work Life Balance across the entire workforce. Just look at germany. The country still workers have pushed for a 4 Day Work Week and recent negotiations, despite many of them already working 35 hours full time rail workers shut down train lines earlier this year in their push for 35 hour work week. This is a tricky part for policy makers. Labor has more leverage, but its not just higher wages but it wants. And while some industries may do a ride with fewer workers for other sectors, thats not an option. Distinguishing where fewer hours works from where it doesnt that can be difficult. This is altering chancellor called a home up. Here hes speaking in formerly to a group of supporters news out support last year. Hes not happy about criticisms that his government isnt doing enough for poor families. Why isnt the part time quarter rising . Why is it not rising . Not even among women without care responsibilities. When i the money, i get a job. The chancellor jumbled his words a bit, but his message was clear, he finds part times popularity problematic were turning one job into 220 hours 20 hours. Thats 40 hours together, but you have 2 employees. Were working it. Now were in a situation, our society is over aging. We have 200000 open positions in austria. The debate over working hours is growing and a lot of these countries, and in some cases its getting rather pointed. Because for many people, this comes down to a fundamental question. The people still have the will of to work. But labor economists say thats unfair, more people are working after all. And its possible that some of the traditional incentives to work more might be changing. You still want to live in a nice house and that you have to live with your parents until youre 30 simply said, because the labor, my or the Housing Market doesnt offer anything. I think if they could work more and then would be able to buy that house if the like their parents or, or their grand parents were i think they boards but the fact that its not possible. So i think, i think the choice for a free time is, is not. I think its exaggerates, of perhaps a bit. I think they, they still want to work and they still wont have a good show up. And they would like to live in the house, but i think thats not very parents, perhaps from the data at the moment. Other part timers, meanwhile, might be very much open to increasing their hours. Its also a completely different, a choice whether you go from 24 to 26 or you go for 4232 and i think there are really different groups. And sometimes we want to, when we talk about the bar time, its just one big container term with the question now facing governments is, how do you make that extra hour or 2 or 3 of work worth it for employees . Both the netherlands in switzerland have pushed for more child care with mixed results. This was effort has been tabled by the National Council in band and the netherlands has postponed its child care promised by 2 years citing budget cuts. Countries have also struggle to change those tax measures we talked about germany has so far held off on scrapping its income, splitting tax rules for married couples, which essentially incentivizes one earner to work less in austria debate over lowering wage taxes for businesses continues to summer. This is really a story about personal needs and the needs of a society. In countries like the netherlands, people can really work more to their own preferences. But that does have consequences for the overall labor market and for society. Many of us may indeed ends up working less, especially in fields where Technology Makes our jobs easier. But other sectors will still need more hours from fewer workers, how they get that. And what happens when companies are sector is compete with one another for an ever shrinking talent pool. But its also a story about women. Its about how they work now and how theyre going to work for the future. Much of that potential for more work and more hours belongs to women. Now working part time positions, which leads to other questions like how families organize themselves and what role the state plays and providing care options. And thats all we have time for it for now. For this episode of business beyond, we thank you for watching. And we hope to see you soon. The following super tuesday, its looking ever more certain that the us election in november will be a re match pitting incumbent president job either against his predecessor and rival donald trump. 2 elderly white man vying to leave the us into the future with very different visions for that future on issues from energy to immigration, from abortion, to taxes, and on foreign policy. Many americans are tired of acting as world policeman and pay master salvage choice. They make could