Germany, when does the workday end?
Between consumerism and experience stress

Germany's pioneering role in increasing leisure time and prosperity is reaching its social and moral limits. The growing focus on leisure is making human relationships more unstable. The tendency to enjoy leisure time without restrictions is increasing. And so, for the majority of Germans, the course of this development already seems predetermined:

They anticipate an increase in consumer addiction (West Germans: 741,000; East Germans: 611,000; 72,000; 791,000 respectively) and aggression in the future, more leisure-time stress (62,000; 471,000 respectively), and a trend toward a single-person society (56,000; 431,000 respectively). Reduced social responsibility and loneliness during leisure time are further consequences feared by one in two Germans. This is according to the study "Brave New Leisure World?", in which the B·A·T Leisure Research Institute documented the results of fifteen years of basic research and compared them with current studies.

The affluent generation is living beyond its means.

The new world of consumption and leisure is taking its toll: one in three Germans already feels they are "spending too much money in their free time" (East: 281,300; West: 341,300). The younger generation in West Germany, in particular, is increasingly living beyond its means (1986: 471,300; 1993: 561,300). The high value placed on expensive leisure activities comes at a price: 46 percent of East Germans and 33 percent of West Germans are willing to "work more" to "afford more in their free time." And among those under 30, one in two already wants to increase their income to afford consumer goods such as fashionable leisurewear, sports equipment, or hobby supplies.

Knowing what's "in" is no longer the sole domain of young people, singles, and high earners. Half of the German population (East: 581,030, West: 491,030) now subscribes to this consumer credo, and increasingly, young people aged 14 to 29 (1986: 431,030, 1989: 461,030, 1993: 541,030) confirm that, "I'm more dependent on things that cost money than I'd like for leisure activities." They are plagued by a guilty conscience. The pleasure of consumption can become a source of frustration.

From spending money to overspending is just a small step. Debt and impoverishment can be the result. Prof. Dr. Horst W. Opaschowski, head of the B·A·T Institute, explains: "For many young people, it is becoming increasingly difficult to break free from this cycle of consumption because a partial withdrawal from the pressures of consumerism is quickly stigmatized as outsider status, leading to isolation and loneliness." As a result, young people often choose to continue their consumerist spree.

Social obligations and considerations, on the other hand, tend to trigger stress symptoms in them when they have to fulfill them. Time-consuming commitments become tiresome duties they want to get rid of as quickly as possible. Being "disturbed by others" or "having to be considerate" already makes one in two young people angry and aggressive. And for 29 percent, for example, visiting relatives is purely a duty, something they undertake only reluctantly, out of necessity, irritably, and "with anger in their gut." As a consequence of consumer stress, the social dimension of their own behavior is in danger of being neglected.

The commercial assault on loneliness

After the war, Germans fought for survival and worked to earn their living. The economy and production were primarily geared towards providing material gratification. Since the 1980s, needs have been changing: the vast majority of the population now expects psychological "extras" in the form of leisure experiences. The growing focus on experiences in goods and services was predictable and even forecast by leisure research. However, hardly anyone believed in the social consequences of this coming age of experiences.

""Germans are increasingly spending the money they would otherwise spend on children on leisure, hobbies, sports, and holidays," says Professor Opaschowski, author of the B·A·T study. "These leisure champions have clearly remained leisure illiterates, having gained a great deal of free time and wealth over the last forty years but learning little in the process. Many illusions about a wonderfully free leisure life are now bursting like soap bubbles.""
The leisure industry, encompassing tourism, media, sports, culture, and consumer goods, is mass-producing experiences as commodities. This impairs interpersonal relationships and accelerates psychological and social isolation. The business of exploiting people's leisure-time problems, such as increasing time constraints, lack of imagination, and declining commitment to genuine social relationships, threatens to become the exploitation of human needs. Human empathy is increasingly being replaced by professional service. Opaschowski: "The paid professional must replace the empathetic individual." Loneliness in leisure time is becoming a significant economic factor.

The trend towards a "childless leisure culture" is intensifying.

A decade ago, the B·A·T Leisure Research Institute predicted: "The danger of a leisure culture that tends to be childless is emerging for the future." Now it has come to pass. The number of young people between 18 and 29 years old who are reaching marriageable age and for whom personal leisure activities are more important than starting a family is constantly growing (1994: East: 411,300 – West: 501,300). Consequently, childlessness is also increasing. Germany is the only country in Europe where the native population is shrinking; it has the lowest birth rate in the EU.

The habituation to a life of freedom, balancing consumption and leisure, is having consequences. More and more Germans are choosing to live alone, where they can pursue their consumer pleasures and personal leisure interests undisturbed. The number of single-person households, where people don't want to worry about family and children, is constantly increasing. Singles no longer want to give up their free and independent lives (1985: 58% – 1988: 59% – 1994: 63%). They cannot imagine that family life "provides more personal fulfillment in the long run than always thinking only of oneself.".