German employees are struggling with their age – the young do not feel qualified enough, the older ones are worried that companies prefer young applicants. And lack of time is also a problem for Germans.
Young, dynamic and self-confident: young employees do not feel up to the demands of everyday work. Those between 18 and 22 years of age tend to perceive age as a problem on the labour market. This is the finding of a global study by the Linkedin career network. According to the study, the biggest hurdle for young people who will be entering the labour market in future is a lack of self-confidence (24 percent). They also see a lack of work experience (21 percent) and a lack of leadership and orientation (11 percent) as a challenge.
For the survey, Linkedin and the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK) asked more than 30,000 people of working age around the world how they assess their career opportunities, with Germany accounting for 2025. The 18-22-year-olds and the 55-65-year-olds are at the ends of the spectrum examined.
Overall, according to the study results, Germans are less optimistic about the future than the international average. However, compared to the rest of Europe, people from Germany assess their career opportunities relatively positively. Scepticism is much more pronounced in Italy and France. Sweden, Ireland, Great Britain and Spain are in midfield in a European comparison, with the Netherlands at the top. The respondents in growth and emerging markets such as India, Indonesia or China are most optimistic about their chances of professional and private happiness. There is also great optimism in America.
Lack of time instead of money
While globally, lack of money is the biggest problem, the biggest challenge in this country across all age groups is a lack of time (23 percent). This means that the Germans are the leaders in Europe in having no time at all. But people in Germany also perceive disadvantages due to their own age – whether young or old – as a major problem. While younger people are struggling with a lack of self-confidence due to their age, older people, like the generations of baby boomers, are struggling to lead an active lifestyle and make progress at work at the same time (44 percent). Especially those who want a secure job are worried that companies may prefer younger applicants.
How people assess their career opportunities in an international comparison
Because young people are trying to establish themselves on the labour market, other things are important to them than to older workers just before retirement: job security, for example, was cited as important by 40 percent of the young, while among older people it was only 27 percent. Access to education is important for 25 percent of the younger generation, compared to only 7 percent of the baby boomers. Expansion of the professional network is important for 14 percent of the young and 5 percent of the older generation.
At the same time, the baby boomers stated that they had to adapt to the digital world and keep their knowledge up to date in order to remain relevant on the labour market. 83 percent say that willingness to change is a key success factor.
Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine
