More than the EU average: every fifth man unsatisfied at work

In 2018, the corona crisis is still a long way off, and the economy in Germany is booming. Nevertheless, around every fifth man is dissatisfied with his job. In many EU countries, satisfaction is sometimes significantly higher – only not in the economically weaker countries.

Despite a comparatively robust labor market, even in times of crisis, men in Germany struggle with their job situation more than average. In 2018, around 22 percent of men over the age of 16 in this country were dissatisfied with their work, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on the occasion of World Men's Day on November 3. On average in the entire European Union (EU) it was only 17 percent.

Slightly more than half of the men in Germany were moderately satisfied with their work – at 55 percent, however, less than the EU average, which is 59 percent. 23 percent of those surveyed said they were very satisfied, about as many as in the rest of the EU.

In economically weaker EU countries, men are the least satisfied with their work: most often in Bulgaria (36 percent), followed by Greece (30 percent) and Slovakia (23 percent). The share was lowest in Finland (5 percent) and the Netherlands (8 percent).

Five years earlier, the proportion in Germany was slightly higher: 23 percent were not satisfied in 2013. Since then, the value in Germany has fallen by 1.4 percentage points, the EU average by 2.5 percentage points. According to the office, the employment rate for men in Germany between 15 and 64 years of age was around 80 percent in 2019, which is more than the EU average (74 percent). For comparison: women in Germany had an employment rate of 73 percent, which is nine percentage points above the EU average. In Germany, ten percent of employed men worked part-time in 2019 (EU average 9 percent). At 47 percent, almost half of employed women were employed part-time.