Flexibilization of Working Hours – Abolition of the Eight-Hour Day? What the New Federal Government Plans and How Companies Can Prepare Now
From a rigid framework to new freedom: The working world in Germany is facing a historic upheaval — and modern tools like TimeSpin play a decisive role.
Berlin, April 2025 – The new coalition agreement between the CDU and SPD is shaking up one of the central pillars of German labor law: the eight-hour day. Even before Friedrich Merz is officially elected Chancellor on May 6, his plan is stirring broad discussions — among trade unions, companies, think tanks, and above all, employees.
A Break with Over 100 Years of Tradition
Since 1918, the eight-hour workday has been legally established — a historic achievement rooted in the ideas of British social reformer Robert Owen. He envisioned a world where work, leisure, and sleep each have equal time: "Eight hours work, eight hours leisure and rest, eight hours sleep." A fair concept that served as the foundation of work organization in Germany for decades.
But times have changed. Digitalization, remote work, international project collaboration, and skilled labor shortages have created new realities in which rigid time models increasingly seem impractical.
What exactly does Merz plan?
In the coalition agreement, the future government announces fundamental changes. The eight-hour workday is to be abolished. Instead, the focus will be on the weekly working hours — depending on the industry and collective agreement, between 34 and 40 hours. Within this framework, working hours should be flexibly arranged. Ten- to twelve-hour workdays are possible — as well as compact four-day workweeks with full pay.
Additionally, the government plans to create incentives: a tax-free overtime regulation, bonuses for part-time workers who increase their hours, and a tax-free additional income limit of 2,000 euros for working retirees.
The economy is divided
While employer representatives such as the German Retail Federation (HDE) welcome the plans —
“More flexibility also means better work-life balance”
— trade unions express concerns about employee health. The risk of a new form of self-exploitation through excessively long workdays is real.
The German Economic Institute (IW) also tempers expectations. In a recent survey, only 20 percent of the companies questioned believe that intensifying working hours is possible without productivity losses.
This is where TimeSpin comes in — the next-generation time tracking solution
The modern world of work needs modern tools. With TimeSpin, the innovative time tracking solution, working hours can be recorded location-independently, down to the minute, and flexibly — whether in the home office, on the factory floor, or in a coworking space.
Thanks to smart integrations with calendars, project management tools, and even physical trackers like the TimeSpin cube, not only can actual working time be precisely documented — it can also be evaluated based on projects and tasks. This makes performance visible, improves planning, and elegantly fulfills legal requirements (e.g., according to the ECJ ruling on working time recording).
The truth probably lies in the middle: Flexible working hours offer great opportunities — but they require clear rules, mutual trust, and above all: transparency. Who works when and for how long must be traceable — for employees, managers, and legislators alike.
TimeSpin doesn’t just make flexible working hours possible — it makes them future-proof.
Whether it’s a four-day workweek, flextime, or job sharing — modern work organization becomes easy with TimeSpin. Companies that prepare now not only build trust but also secure a competitive edge in the race for skilled workers.
Conclusion: The Future of Work Begins Now
The new government’s proposal to abolish the eight-hour day is not a revolution — it is a long-overdue response to reality. But only those who are prepared can benefit from it. Those who understand time tracking not as a tool of control but as a strategic instrument create new freedoms for employees and new efficiencies for the company.
And this is exactly where TimeSpin provides the right solution — for companies that want to shape their future, not just manage it.
Top comments (0)