How long have employees worked in a company in Germany? And what are the reasons for long service? A study shows which aspects are important.
In Germany, many companies can be happy about the loyalty of their employees. They often work for the same company for many years. On average, like the results, it’s eleven years a study demonstrate. Another striking feature: this number has hardly changed in the past 25 years. The reasons why employees remain loyal to a company depend on various factors. In addition to the industry, the size of the company and the individual qualifications of the employees also play a role.
Frequent changes of company in Germany are the exception rather than the rule
The job market in Germany is still stable. The number of workers moving from company to company appears to be small. Instead, the length of service in Germany has been at a similar level for years. Every year, the Socio-Economic Panel surveys around 30,000 people who are representative of employees in Germany.
In 2019, the average time for staying in a company was almost eleven years – this figure differs only slightly from the value from 1994. On the contrary: the value had even risen to 11.5 years in recent years and only now fallen again. However, this is only for statistical reasons. The labor market in Germany was at an emerging level until the beginning of the corona pandemic, and many new employees were hired. The large number of new employees lowers the average.
Industry and company size are also decisive
There are different factors for employees to remain in a company. The industry in particular is a relevant aspect in this context. In the area of credit and insurance, for example, the average company loyalty is more than 17 years. In the hospitality industry, on the other hand, the length of service is around five years.
The size of a company also influences how long employees remain loyal to it. According to the study, employees stay with larger companies longer than they do in smaller companies. Companies with fewer than 20 employees can look forward to an average of eight years of service, while companies with more than 2,000 employees have an average of almost 13 years.
Start-ups as a “risk factor”?
As a reason for the lower length of service in smaller companies, it is pointed out that these would often be start-ups. It could be that they haven’t existed for very long. In contrast to large corporations, which often have a long history. In addition, larger companies often offer their employees comprehensive further training opportunities.
Qualification also decides on company loyalty
In addition to industry-specific fluctuations and the size of a company, it is ultimately also the qualifications of employees that determine their loyalty to the company. Employees who have a master’s degree, a technical college entrance qualification or another intermediate qualification often stay in a company the longest – more than 14 years is the average here.
On the other hand, there are people without a degree. The average length of time they remain in a company is less than nine years.
But academics don’t stay in a company much longer either. For them, too, the average is just under nine years. This can have two reasons:
- Many positions in the scientific field are temporary
- Academics undergo longer training, which means that fewer years of work are usually available
Effects of Corona also in this area
Last but not least, the corona pandemic often affects the length of service of employees. During a more critical situation, job changes are much rarer. On the one hand, this is due to the desired security, but also to the fact that in the event of layoffs, more employees leave the company who have not been with the company for a long time.
Last but not least, the pandemic is causing a general lower turnover at employees. New hires are also stagnating in many cases.
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