Germany already told its workers to ditch four-day weeks and work-life balance—now the government wants to cut their pay for calling in sick too

Most people report being sick at least once. But workers in Germany have been taking more than one day of sick leave each month for the past year, and the government has had enough. Now it is proposed to cut workers’ wages.

German workers take an average of 14.8 days of sick leave per year, making the country one of the highest absenteeism rates in Europe. For context, this is four times the sick leave rate in the UK.

According to the German Economic Institute, this costs businesses in the country around 82 billion euros ($110 billion) annually.

Therefore, Chancellor Friedrich Merz is now reportedly considering a radical solution: paying this cost to workers.

Bonuses will be given to German workers who take 5 or fewer days off due to illness

Currently the country has a very generous sick leave policy: full pay for the same illness for up to 6 weeks (30 working days) with a doctor’s note. They can take 5 days of sick leave without seeing a doctor in person before needing a formal extension. If the employee falls ill again due to a different illness, the 6-week period starts again.

Plans proposed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) call for workers’ salaries to be cut from the first day they call in sick. Meanwhile, bonuses will be given to workers who work 5 days or less.

According to the German tabloid newspaper, the aim is Picture — which broke the story over the weekend — was forcing workers with minor ailments like colds back to the office instead of reaching for the phone.

As one government insider put it: “Germany certainly has the highest number of sick days in Europe. Both coalition partners want to reduce this.”

In 2023, Germans called in sick about 20 times a year; This is a record number. That figure has fallen by around 5 days since then, but bosses I still complain about Generation Z who is “shy about work” Compared to other European countries, the system is used at consistently high rates.

Merz, meanwhile, made his feelings about Germany’s sick leave culture clear: Earlier this year, he highlighted how many 14.8-day weeks had left employers dejected and helpless: “That’s almost three weeks in Germany where people didn’t work due to illness,” he stressed. “Is this really necessary?”

He also blamed Germans’ lifestyle approach to work as the reason for the country’s low productivity. Merz He said in a recent speech: “More clearly, work-life balance and four-day weekends will not be enough to maintain our country’s current level of prosperity in the future, so we need to work harder.”

Luck He reached out to the German government for comment.

Burnout is becoming a major global problem

Although the Germans take responsibility, they are not the only workforce cracking under the pressure. Burnout has become one of the defining workplace crises of the post-pandemic era, and data shows the situation is getting worse rather than better.

A shocking study highlights this: 54% of American workers report feeling unhappy at work; Its frequency varies from occasional to constant. But they still show up to work, sit at their desks, and silently struggle emotionally.

Overachievers in the office They’re so exhausted that workplace experts have seized on the phenomenon and even given it a name: “the competence hangover.”

Research consistently shows that: the most burned generation Y— generation remains in middle management and bears the brunt of layoffs. In the United Kingdom, the mental health crisis among young workers is causing an increase in anxiety, stress and absenteeism in the workplace, and employers are having difficulty coping with this situation. They are each mentally checked for an average day week.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that research also shows that office politics are making a big comeback post-pandemic: back-to-the-office mandates, AI-driven productivity and layoffs, backstabbing And “workplace incivility” spiral

It got so bad burnt workers They call in when they are sick and increasingly use medical leave as an escape route; Not because they are actually no good, but just to mentally get rid of their “toxic” boss, relieve stress, or even look for a job. Perhaps this could explain why Germans get sick so often.

This story first appeared on: Fortune.com