Who works longer hours in Germany, freelancers or employees?

Figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) have revealed how many people work long hours in Germany and who is most likely to do so.

How many people work overtime in Germany?

The 40-hour working week has pretty much been the standard in Germany since 1918. But more than 100 years later, many people still work more hours.

According to Destatis, in 2025, 7,1 percent of Germany’s 30 million full-time employees regularly worked 49 hours or more per week. Almost half of the people (44,5 percent) who worked these overtime hours were freelancers with employees; a further 23 percent were solo freelancers. 

In comparison to freelancers, only 4,1 percent of full-time contracted employers and employees worked 49 hours or more per week. In 2025, the average full-time contracted employee worked 40,2 hours per week.

Freelancers also clock off later than employees. While just 13,4 percent of employees said they regularly worked between the hours of 6pm and 11pm, 30,8 percent of freelancers said the same.

The older you are, the longer you work

The figures also offer some uninspiring news for anyone early on in their career: the older you are, the more weekly hours you’re likely to work in Germany.

While just 1,4 percent of 15-to 24-year-olds work 49 hours or more per week, 9,6 percent of 55-to 64-year-olds are working the same hours. 

According to Destatis, these stats can generally be explained by the fact that senior employees tend to work longer hours and are generally older.