Adjusting Working Hours after the Time Change

Since 1980, clocks in Germany have been put back and forth between summer and winter time every year, and since 1996 this has been the case across the entire EU. Although the European Parliament voted in 2019 to abolish the time change by 2021, Member States have not yet been able to agree on whether to switch permanently to summer or winter time. Nicolas Ziebarth, head of the Research Unit “Labour Markets and Social Insurance” at ZEW Mannheim and professor at the University of Mannheim, has commented on this matter:

“Despite some disadvantages, it makes sense to change the time twice a year. This year, with permanent winter time, the sun would rise in Frankfurt at 4.15 a.m. on the summer solstice on 21 June, while with permanent summer time it would not rise until 9.22 a.m. on 21 December. Research shows that an extra hour’s sleep has a positive effect on health. After switching the clocks to winter time and ‘gaining’ an hour at night, the number of heart attacks decreases for several days. Conversely, the hour ‘lost’ when switching to summer time leads to sleep deprivation and thus to predictable risks, as shown by the increased number of accidents. This is where employers and educational institutions are called upon. Starting school and work later in the first week after the time change helps to minimise negative effects. This is especially true for schoolchildren. Teenagers in particular need sufficient sleep for their development. However, studies also show that their performance generally improves when school or training starts later in the day – regardless of the time change. It would therefore make sense to permanently change school times, even though Germany is traditionally a country of early risers.”