Many employees in Germany hesitate to change jobs for fear of losing their accumulated security. This is the argument put forward by a group of economists. They propose a right to choose: workers should be able to decide whether to trade part of their dismissal protection for a higher salary.
The authors Markus Brunnermeier, Simon Jäger, and Benjamin Schoefer argue that the current dismissal protection has a design flaw. It keeps people where they are, preventing moves to more productive jobs. This harms not only employees but the entire economy.
An example from the article: An engineer has worked for twelve years at a large car manufacturer. She receives an offer from an innovative startup, and the task appeals to her. Yet she hesitates because in the new job she would start from scratch in terms of job security—first the probation period, then dismissal protection that only grows over the years. The social achievement thus becomes a ball and chain, the economists say.
The authors acknowledge that dismissal protection is a foundation of the social market economy. It protects against arbitrary dismissal and provides security for life planning. But in a changing environment, it becomes an obstacle. The right to choose between salary and protection could reconcile both goals: security for those who need it and flexibility for those who want it.
Source: www.handelsblatt.com
