This article presents the Working Time Measurement Concept of the Institute for Employment Research, which determines the hours worked in Germany and their individual components. The Working Time Measurement Concept is the key data product on working time in Germany and underlies the German national accounts figure on labour input. These statistics on hours worked are essential for a proper analysis of aggregate labour market trends and cyclical fluctuations. In the Working Time Measurement Concept, changes in working hours due to collective agreements and economic fluctuations are brought together with shifts in employment structure, thus producing a differentiated picture of the scope, structure and development of the annual working time of gainfully employed persons. We outline the conceptual and methodological framework of the measurement, which continually evolves due to its integration in the system of national accounts and due to innovations to the statistical procedures applied. An overview of single components and their data sources is given, while the resulting time series of hours worked and the volume of work are depicted according to their long run trends, cyclical variation and reaction in the 2008/09 financial and economic crisis.

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Objective: In this study, we investigate the effect of flexible working time arrangements and parental leave experiences on the actual working and childcare hours of men. Background: Many fathers want to spend more time with their children and actively participate in family life, but, after becoming a parent, most work even more hours than before. To better combine work and family, the possibility of flexible working time arrangements might play a crucial role for fathers, also to become more involved in childcare activities. Method: We use longitudinal data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) to examine how flexible working time arrangements, parental leave experiences, working hours, and childcare hours are related. Based on data between 2013 and 2019, panel regression models were estimated. Results: The results show that a change from fixed to flexible working time regulations leads to an increase in working hours for men and fathers. The longer working hours of fathers go hand in hand with a reduction in the time spent on childcare activities when switching to flexible working time arrangements. However, experiences with parental leave in connection with flexible working hours show a change in the use of time. Conclusion: Flexible working time regulations prove to be ambivalent for fathers: On the one hand, they offer fathers new leeway, on the other hand, due to traditional role models, they lead to longer working hours and thus less participation in childcare; but parental leave experiences make a difference, which indicates the importance of these regulations for fathers.