It is a little against the postulated trend of the universally desired reduction in working hours, but what Ulrike Malmendier says in Der Spiegel is true: we are working too little!
Or to put it more diplomatically: We are not working efficiently enough, nor are we forward-looking enough.
Not to mention the lack of ambition in society at large to really want to make a difference.
Not in the sense of a career, but in the interests of our future.
And “we” have a lot at our disposal here in Germany.
The economist argues that Germany could increase its potential growth by attracting more skilled workers to the country and making more efficient use of production factors.
She also emphasizes the importance of innovations in the areas of automation, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) for increasing productivity and calls for a more optimistic approach to climate change and technological challenges.
Malmendier also criticizes the bureaucracy and slow progress in legal reforms, such as the Growth Opportunities Act, and calls for more entrepreneurship and a more open attitude towards new technologies and international specialists.
Well, some groups in society still have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to digital skills and innovation in the broadest sense.
However, she sees important resources for the future in the dual education system and in Germany’s engineering skills and emphasizes the strength of German society as coherent and democratic.
That’s probably Californian optimism 😉
In view of the lengthy, sometimes exploitative vocational training programs, we need to take a closer look at the details, but I agree with the general trend: there is a lack of ambition everywhere to make a positive contribution to the urgently needed economic transformation – and thus to social, ecological, etc.
So, very worth reading – the article!
