An extended lunch break for employees in Germany – based on the southern European siesta: the suggestion of the medical officers is not only well received by the employee associations. Some employers are also open to it.
The suggestion of a siesta in Germany put forward by the medical officers meets with a lot of approval from workers’ associations. Support came from the industrial union IG BAU. “Of course, we have to protect the employees who have to work outside in the open air in this sweltering heat,” said the national chairman of IG BAU, Robert Feiger.
The Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) is positive about the proposal, but differentiates: “Protecting employees from heat is the employer’s responsibility – and the protection must be exactly right for the respective workplace,” said DGB board member Anja Piel of the “Rheinische Post”. “Letting the working time to take place during the cooler hours of the day is a conceivable instrument,” Piel continued. In the office, effective sun protection is also part of it – “for example, that blinds stay open at night and the ventilation runs through”. Removing heat sources such as printers and copiers from workspaces, relaxing the dress code and providing drinks also helped, Piel said.
Occupational health and safety already offers good guidelines and at the same time the necessary flexibility for individual solutions in the companies. However, since not all employers implement this, “more controls and more staff are needed in the occupational safety authorities,” Piel demanded.
praise of Minister of Health
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach also praised it: “Siesta in the heat is certainly not a bad suggestion,” he wrote on Twitter. However, the SPD politician does not see a need for politics in the question. “Employers and employees should negotiate this themselves,” said the Minister of Health. FDP health politician Lars Lindemann also spoke out against political interference.
The discussion was initiated by the Federal Association of Physicians in the Public Health Service (BVÖGD). “We should be guided by the way southern countries work when it’s hot: getting up early, working productively in the morning and taking a siesta at noon is a concept that we should adopt in the summer months,” said Chairman Johannes Nießen to the editorial network Germany (RND). .
“People aren’t as efficient as usual when it’s very hot. Poor sleep without cooling down at night also leads to concentration problems.” Complex work requirements should therefore be postponed until the early hours of the morning, the doctor added. “You also need enough fans and lighter clothing, even if the dress code in the office doesn’t allow it.”
Employers disagree on the matter
The Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) was open. A reform of the working time law could help “to give employees the opportunity to work more flexibly,” the association said at the request of the RND. “This can also include longer lunch breaks if the operational processes allow it and the employee and employer agree.” At the same time, the BDA underlined that employers are already obliged to protect their employees at high temperatures – “they take this duty of care very seriously”. Healthy work “is guaranteed even when it’s hot in the factories”.
Rejection, however, came from the association of family entrepreneurs. “When the temperatures are high, employers are already called upon by occupational safety regulations to take measures to ensure that work is bearable. I don’t see the need for a nationwide, possibly legally stipulated siesta in the summer,” said President Marie-Christine Ostermann of the “Rheinische Post”. .
“Models such as trust-based work and flexitime offer the opportunity in many jobs, where this is possible in terms of the work process, to start work early on hot days in order to make optimal use of the cooler hours in the morning. True to the motto : The early bird catches the coolest worm,” continued Ostermann.