A recent representative survey of the working population in Germany by the PINKTUM Institute shows that Germans are becoming increasingly exhausted.

• One in two (49.4%) employees state that they have lost a significant amount of energy in the past three years.

Every third person has too little energy for their daily work.

• The biggest energy drains are the large number of crises (43%) and dissatisfaction leaders' lack of ability to find solutions (46%).

• The biggest energy drain at work is a lack of appreciation and recognition.

Joachim Pawlik, one of Europe's leading personnel developers, whose consulting group coaches and trains around 40,000 people a year, has increasingly noticed in discussions with clients that people are exhausted. At the end of 2023, he commissioned the company's own PINKTUM Institute to conduct a representative survey on the energy consumption of the working population. The participants indicated what drains their energy, where they draw strength from and what their employer could do to make it easier for them to cope with their tasks.

The results are alarming:Around half of those surveyed (49.4%) have lost a significant amount of strength in the past three years. A look at the top 5 energy killers shows that many people suffer from several stresses at the same time.

Survey manager Dr. Wolf-Bertram von Bismarcknotes: "Economic, social and political concerns, and fears weigh on people to a similar extent, but they are obviously particularly demoralized by the fact that leaders have no adequate answers for their problems."

Managers are more positive and powerful

Only just over half (55%) of respondents feel positive about the future. It is interesting to note that significantly more managers (69.2%) have a positive attitude than employees without a management position (45.8%). In addition, a significantly higher proportion of managers state that they have enough energy for work (77%). Without a management position, only 62 percent agree. It is worrying that on average one in three people say they no longer have enough energy for their work.

Lack of appreciation is the biggest energy drain at work

More than one in three of those surveyed said that a lack of recognition and lack of appreciation is what takes away most of their energy at work. 31 percent perceive poor leadership as an energy drain. Investigator von Bismarck: "The fact that people feel so little recognition is an alarming result, but unfortunately it is something that can be observed more frequently in tense times. The good news is that managers can take quick and targeted countermeasures.

Flexibility, meaningful activities, and opportunities for further training and development are more important than more money

When asked what employers should do to encourage employees to put more energy into their work, most of them voted for: "flexible working hours" (46%), "meaningful activities" (44%) and "more training and development opportunities" (44%). Je 40 percent want "better cooperation" and "more personal responsibility". "It is exciting that the employees' desire for better compensation comes last. One in three (36%) would like more money, but a much greater lever for more commitment and energy lies in how people can develop themselves at work," says von Bismarck.

Younger people are generally more optimistic, but work and loneliness rob them of possessing more energy

The study reveals some significant differences between age groups.

• 69% of respondents aged between 20 and 30 are optimistic about the future. (Only 42% of participants over 50 are still confident).

• However, the work is more strenuous for younger people than for the older generation. Around one in three people up to the age of 30 (32%) say that work takes an excessive amount of energy. Among those surveyed over 50, this only applies to one in four (24%).

• For younger people, a lack of recognition has a particularly strong impact on their energy levels (42%).

• There is a drastic difference when it comes to loneliness. 28% of 20 to 30-year-olds suffer from a lack of social integration. This applies to only 16 percent of people aged 50 and over.

Joachim Pawlik sees solutions in a new idea of leadership that includes more recognition for the challenges and performance of the individual. "Understanding how people in the team are feeling, taking time to talk to them and encouraging them," says Pawlik, is part of this.

The PINKTUM Institute is a subsidiary of PINKTUM and is part of the PAWLIK Group. The survey was conducted in the 4th quarter of 2023 among 1019 people. The data was collected via Talk Online GmbH.

We will be happy to send you the complete survey by request to our press office (kristina.behrend@pinktum.com).

About PINKTUM PINKTUM is Europe's leading EdTech company for the sustainable improvement of soft skills in organizations. Customers go through digital learning paths that are individualized and tailored to specific development needs with the help of AI and integrate learning into everyday working life. It includes around 600 video-based, interactive e⁠-⁠trainings available in multiple languages that are culturally adapted. PINKTUM is constantly developing its methods and learning content on the basis of the latest technical possibilities and psychological research.

PINKTUM is the brand name of Pink University GmbH, founded in 2010, which is represented in 16 locations worldwide with around 150 employees and has its headquarters in Hamburg and Munich. Joachim Pawlik is the CEO. The company is part of the PAWLIK Group.

Press contact PINKTUM:

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Kristina Behrend

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