Germany: Minister for Labor, Andrea Nahles, wants to establish “chosen working time” for all, in the medium term

Almost one year after the starting gun was fired in April 2015 for a ‘national dialogue’ over the future of the world of work in the digital age, Andrea Nahles, Federal Minister for Social Affairs and Labor, has made a preliminary assessment, and during a new congress organized in Berlin on 15 March, announced an array of different projects. Unveiling the results of a vast study on the expectations and wishes of workers as regards both today’s and tomorrow’s world of work the Social-Democrat Minister underlined the necessity of developing a new “compromise in terms of flexibility” that would offer more security and flexibility to both employees and companies. In concrete terms, the Minister intends to implement over a medium term horizon what will be “chosen working time” as well as significantly boosting training. At the end of 2016 the Minister will publish a ‘White book’ that will combine all the proposals and solutions being developed together by key economic, political, and social agents as well as experts in the field of ‘national dialogue’.
Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period
You have access to our content for 1 month.

Diverse range of expectations. In front of some 650 representatives of employers’ bodies, trade unions, and political leaders that had all gathered in Berlin, the Minister for Labor presented the results of an extensive study entitled “World of values- Work 4.0”, (Wertewelten Arbeiten 4.0), which detailed how the active members of the labor force saw their current occupational and professional situation and what they were expecting from tomorrow’s world of work in the digital age. According to

Do you have information to share with us?
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
See all
EU: social partners split over competitiveness and action on job quality
The European Trade Union Confederation and BusinessEurope have published their response to the consultation document on the European Commission's upcoming EU quality jobs initiative. The two...
4 February 2026
2026 TRENDS — Social dialogue, a major challenge in the deployment of AI in companies
mind RH is analysing the trends that will shape 2026. Artificial intelligence is emerging as a force that goes far beyond efficiency gains and productivity improvements. It is reshaping tasks...
4 February 2026
The major trends of 2026
New regulations coming into force, economic uncertainty, evolving skills requirements… More than ever, the HR function will play a strategic role within organizations in 2026. mind HR...
Germany: collective bargaining negotiations begin in chemical industry
Collective bargaining talks in Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries are due to open this week, covering nearly 580,000 employees across around 1,700 companies. With the sector facing...
3 February 2026
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Oliver Dietrich (IG Metall): “The advent of AI can be a means of deepening social partnership within companies”
In Germany, trade unions want to influence how AI is deployed in companies. Oliver Dietrich is an AI project manager at the regional office of the IG Metall trade union in North Rhine-Westphalia...
2
EU: social partners split over competitiveness and action on job quality
The European Trade Union Confederation and BusinessEurope have published their response to the consultation document on the European Commission's upcoming EU quality jobs initiative. The two...
4 February 2026
3
Germany: collective bargaining negotiations begin in chemical industry
Collective bargaining talks in Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries are due to open this week, covering nearly 580,000 employees across around 1,700 companies. With the sector facing...
3 February 2026
4
Italy: collective agreement for rubber and plastics sector focuses on new skills
A month ahead of schedule, the Federazione Gomma Plastica employers' organisation and the Filctem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl and Uiltec trade unions have renewed the collective agreement for the rubber and...
5 January 2026
5
Italy: new generational renewal agreement penned at UniCredit
The agreement signed on 30 December by UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest banking group, with the Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca and Unisin trade unions aims to continue generational...
6
France: social partner talks extend far beyond contractual terminations
After a false start on 3 December, French social partners resumed talks on 7 January 2026 on potential changes to the unemployment insurance agreement, including the rules governing compensation...
12 January 2026