Quelle: WSI
: Issue 01/2026
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 1/2026
Lilliam Waskowski, Eileen Peters
Between Care Work and Paid Work. Gender Differences in Working Time Trends During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP, 2019–2022), this article examines how daily unpaid care work – specifically housework and childcare – affects both the contracted and the actual working hours of parents. Descriptive analyses show that, during the pandemic, mothers consistently shouldered extensive care responsibilities, while the proportion of fathers more actively involved in care work slightly increased. Fixed-effects regressions reveal that mothers reduced their working hours even under moderate care burdens – both contractually and in practice. For fathers, this association emerges only under high levels of care work. The findings highlight the persistently unequal distribution of unpaid and paid work between mothers and fathers, which shifted only marginally during the pandemic. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 1/2026
Corinna Harsch, Marcel Knobloch, Lena Hipp
Work When and Where you Want? Field Experimental Evidence on the Post-Pandemic Acceptance of Flexible Working Arrangements
Abstract
The regulations on working from home established during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown offered many employees a level of flexibility that they did not want to give up after the pandemic ended. But how do companies feel about flexible working arrangements? Do applicants who request to work remotely or ask for flexible hours suffer from a “flexibility stigma,” as suggested by the extensive pre-pandemic literature on the topic? And, if so, do employees in different sectors and occupations experience similar penalties for requesting flexible work? We answer these questions using a field experiment that we conducted across various occupations and industries: We sent over 15 000 comparable unsolicited applications in which we randomly varied whether or not the applicant expressed a desire for flexible working hours or working from home. Our results show that applicants who request flexible working hours or working from home are less likely to receive a positive response from the prospective employer. Although the differences between sectors and occupations are relatively small overall, acceptance of working from home is particularly low in male-dominated manufacturing fields. In contrast, in fields with acute skills shortages, applicants who request flexible working arrangements do not experience any disadvantages in their initial contact with employers. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 1/2026
Nadiya Kelle, Lisa Joanne Klasen, Mareike Bünning, Oliver Huxhold
Working from Home as a Resource for Family Caregivers? Gender Differences Before, During and After the Pandemic
Abstract
This study examines whether the expanding option of working from home (WFH) served as a resource for female and male caregivers over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. For caregivers, WFH offered potential benefits such as greater work autonomy, potentially enhancing well-being. However, blurred boundaries between paid work and family life could also increase strain. Focusing on gender inequalities, we investigate whether caregivers were particularly able to use WFH to reconcile paid work and care during and after the pandemic and whether WFH alleviated challenges related to life satisfaction, loneliness, and care strain. Data from the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) at three time points – mid-March 2020 (pre-pandemic, retrospectively surveyed), summer 2020 (pandemic), and winter 2023/24 (post-pandemic) – show no differences between caregivers and non-caregivers in the likelihood or the extent of working from home during or after the pandemic. However, female caregivers who worked from home reported higher life satisfaction and less loneliness during the pandemic, and experienced reduced care strain afterward, compared to those working on-site. These findings highlight the potential of WFH to support caregiver well-being. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 1/2026
Daniel Bremm, Carsten Wirth
Mobile Work and Works Councils: Stability Through Change in the First World of Labour Relations
Abstract
Questions of mobile work and changes in industrial relations have rarely been investigated to date. This article therefore deals with the question of how works councils are challenged by mobile work and how their practices change over time in relation to mobile workers. Theoretically, the study is based on labour policy considerations in connection with the concept of the works council as a boundary institution. The data were collected using a qualitative research design in four workplaces in the metal and electronics industry. We show that works councils are capable of learning. They initially orient their practice towards mobile workers through virtualization and later develop two different patterns of interest representation practices: one that is presence-oriented and one as a representative of the interests of mobile workers. Both patterns generate in the first world of labour relations stability by change of the institution ‘works council’. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 1/2026
Silke Tophoven, Anita Tisch, Moritz Heß
Work Overload and its Health Effects. Social and Health Care Professions during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the demanding working conditions in social and healthcare professions were a topic of discussion. These conditions worsened further during the pandemic: This article shows that employees in these professions worked at the limit of their capacity and experienced acute staff shortages more frequently than others. Even after the pandemic, employees in these occupational groups report work-related health complaints more frequently than employees in other professions. Building on this, the article examines to what extent the burdens experienced during the pandemic are still associated with health complaints afterwards. The results show that employees who were highly stressed in 2021 continued to report more health complaints in 2023 – even when other factors were considered – than their less burdened colleagues. In view of the persistently high level of strain and the worsening shortage of skilled workers, additional measures to promote healthy working conditions in social and healthcare professions appear urgently necessary to retain current employees and attract new professionals. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 1/2026
Anja Hall, Ana Santiago-Vela
Stay, Leave or Reduce Working Hours? Quality of Work and Desires for Change in the Health Care and Social Services Professions
Abstract
The quality of work in occupations related to social work, healthcare and education is a key issue in light of the ongoing shortage of skilled workers in these systemically relevant fields, which has received increased public attention since the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on the BIBB/BAuA employment surveys conducted in 2018 and 2024, this study examines changes in work quality in social work, healthcare and education occupations compared to all other occupations. It also analyses the impact of unfilled positions in the immediate work environment on workers’ intentions to change occupation or reduce working hours, considering the additional role of work quality. The findings show that, in contrast to other occupations, the quality of work in social work, healthcare and education occupations has hardly improved since 2018. With the exception of more frequent learning opportunities, it continues to be marked by high demands, limited autonomy and lower income satisfaction. Unfilled positions are more prevalent in these occupations and are associated with a higher likelihood of employees wishing to reduce their working hours. Ultimately, unfilled positions exacerbate the problem of skilled labour shortage. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 1/2026
Ines Entgelmeier, Nils Backhaus, Julius Kötter
What’s New in the “New Normal“? Working Hours and Work Locations Before, During and After the Pandemic
Abstract
The article examines how working hours and work locations changed during the Covid-19 pandemic and whether these changes persisted thereafter. The focus is on the length, timing, and flexibility of working hours, as well as on working from home. Data from the BAuA Working Time Survey from 2019, 2021, and 2023 show that the pandemic led to longer working hours, greater flexibility, and more frequent working from home. Changes in the timing of working hours were less frequent. For most employees, these shifts represented an expansion of existing work-time demands or resources rather than new changes in their working hours caused by the pandemic. Employees who reported more flexibility or working from home due to the pandemic typically already had access to these options before the pandemic – albeit to a lesser extent. While working hours tended to return to pre-pandemic levels afterward, flexibility options and the extent of working from home remained elevated. However, this was only the case for employees who experienced increased temporal and spatial flexibility due to the pandemic – not for those encountering such flexibility for the first time. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 1/2026
Ulrich Wirth
Health Education in Schools as a Strategy Against Health Worker Shortage
Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic has drastically exacerbated the shortage of skilled workers in nursing and other healthcare professions. In response, the school centre of Saarland University Medical Center launched the Mini Nurse AcadeME – a preventive educational initiative that inspires students from grade 5 onwards to explore healthcare careers in a playful and hands-on way. In interactive workshops, participants acquire health literacy, resilience, and essential life skills. The award-winning project is available as an open-source model for other educational institutions. Its goal is to attract young talent at an early stage, positively shape the image of nursing, and make a sustainable contribution to securing the future healthcare workforce. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 1/2026
Jutta Rump, Nelson Tang, Silke Eilers, Jessica Piroth
More than Applause. Sustainable Prospects for Basic Workers
Abstract
Basic Work is an indispensable but often invisible pillar of our economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the visibility of grassroots workers, particularly in the social and healthcare professions, both abruptly and in the short term. A closer look at Basic Work within the social and healthcare professions reveals that only an interplay of organisational and social initiatives that turn away conceptually from simple work and understand Basic Workers as a separate group of employees can sustainably improve their working conditions. more … (in German)