Self-determination
Women face more financial worries than men
Among other things, Germans are worried about their jobs and financial provisions.
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Fewer and fewer people feel that they can make independent decisions. This is shown by a study by Swiss Life Germany.
Fewer people have been optimistic since the beginning of the corona pandemic. As a Swiss Life study shows, only one in four is optimistic about the future. Twice as many as in 2020 often feel stressed and under pressure. In 2020 it was 13 percent of those surveyed, and in 2021 it was 26 percent. In addition, many of the respondents are worried about their financial future. A mere 43 percent said they were confident about their retirement.
In addition, fewer and fewer Germans feel that they are self-determined. As the insurance company’s self-determination barometer shows, only 59 percent of around 1,000 respondents in 2021 said they assessed their lives as self-determined. In the previous year it was 63 percent. The reason for the decline could be the ongoing restrictions caused by the pandemic, the study said.
The feeling of not being able to make your own decisions pulls a rat tail with it, as Jörg Arnold, CEO of Swiss Life Germany explains: “To shape your own life and to be able to decide freely is one of the universal human needs and also leads to more satisfaction and financial confidence. ” The study also shows that people are placing increasing value on self-determination. Almost every second person said that independence and self-determination had become more important to them in the past year.
Women are afraid of the financial future
The survey shows gender-specific differences between men and women. Above all, women are more worried than men about their financial future. Almost every second woman (46 percent) said they had concerns about not having enough money to lead a self-determined life. For men it was only 41 percent. When it comes to old-age provision, too, women are less confident: only 32 percent think that their retirement provision allows a self-determined life, 34 percent think their retirement is well planned; for men it is 36 percent each. One Study on the development of poverty in old age from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) and the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) confirm this assessment: According to this, in addition to people with little education, long-term unemployed and people with a migration background, single women are also exposed to a higher risk of poverty in old age.
Differences between urban and rural populations
But differences are not only evident between men and women. Apparently, people who live in cities are more carefree than the rural population. As the Swiss Life study shows, 60 percent of the city’s population think they live independently. In the country it is five percent less.
The profession also affects the assessment. Not even half (43 percent) of those surveyed stated that they felt self-determined in their job. The value has fallen significantly since the beginning of the Corona crisis – by ten percent.
Other studies also confirm that the corona pandemic is having a negative impact on people’s well-being. One Study by the Bertelsmann Foundation in cooperation with the infas Institute shows, for example, that 38 percent of those surveyed are “very worried about their future”. The pandemic is particularly troubling for young people. Concerns about the future increased significantly among the participants under 30 years of age.