<![CDATA[As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.”]]>As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” In daily practice, I see the opposite: many patients push themselves to keep working, even when they should rest. They worry about burdening colleagues, unfinished tasks, or upcoming deadlines.

If we want to understand rising sick leave, we need to look at real factors: increasing workload, constant pressure, lack of recovery time, social isolation, and overall exhaustion. Reducing this to a question of “motivation” ignores both evidence and lived experience.

In my experience, people who genuinely try to avoid work are a tiny minority. Framing the issue this way feels similar to old narratives about unemployment—oversimplified, misleading, and disconnected from reality.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/0b1271e5-8e64-4fd5-9bf8-58ad7492317e/as-a-gp-in-germany-i-struggle-with-the-claim-that-people-don-t-want-to-work.RSS for NodeWed, 15 Jul 2026 23:27:13 GMTFri, 03 Jul 2026 14:24:33 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Sat, 11 Jul 2026 15:42:02 GMT]]>@hsza @hoppla
i try to avoid work.

all problems today are because of people working, in military, in advertising, in slaughterhouses, in fracking, in the police, ...

if it wasn't for all those employed people, we'd all be much better off.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://veganism.social/users/pelle/statuses/116902100364198359https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://veganism.social/users/pelle/statuses/116902100364198359Sat, 11 Jul 2026 15:42:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Sat, 11 Jul 2026 15:06:57 GMT]]>@staringatclouds @vdm @hoppla

No benefits, no unions, no work regulations, no safety restrictions .....

Humans are so dirty and difficult to work with

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/115799890281539663/statuses/116901964496196559https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/115799890281539663/statuses/116901964496196559Sat, 11 Jul 2026 15:06:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:47:23 GMT]]>@hoppla our bodies need movement.ñ and our brains exercise. Being work-free for more than a couple of days and most people tend to feel restless, stressed and would rather be working.

Unless is a schedule holiday where plenty of activities planned.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116772131368736443/statuses/116901415719016824https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116772131368736443/statuses/116901415719016824Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:47:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:16:25 GMT]]>@paco oh wow! That's so cool. If you do happen where i could find them, that'll be tremendous helpful.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mas.to/users/hoppla/statuses/116901293979309462https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mas.to/users/hoppla/statuses/116901293979309462Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:16:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Sat, 11 Jul 2026 11:40:58 GMT]]>@Zygos @vdm @hoppla They want robot slaves because they have no empathy & can't be argued with

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.social/users/staringatclouds/statuses/116901154545973918https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.social/users/staringatclouds/statuses/116901154545973918Sat, 11 Jul 2026 11:40:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Sat, 11 Jul 2026 11:34:45 GMT]]>@hoppla Somewhere around here there’s a collection of newspaper clips. And it’s like 10 variations on “People just don’t want to work any more” editorials. And they’re dated from like 1901, 1930, 1948, etc. It just shows how that sentiment has been (incorrectly) humming in the background for a very long time.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/paco/statuses/116901130133693057https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/paco/statuses/116901130133693057Sat, 11 Jul 2026 11:34:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Sat, 11 Jul 2026 11:10:43 GMT]]>@vdm @hoppla this is why they want robot slaves ...

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/115799890281539663/statuses/116901035578686235https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/115799890281539663/statuses/116901035578686235Sat, 11 Jul 2026 11:10:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Sat, 11 Jul 2026 10:58:50 GMT]]>@hoppla Can you please send this directly to the responsable politicians? Thanks.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/NatureMC/statuses/116900988897892251https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/NatureMC/statuses/116900988897892251Sat, 11 Jul 2026 10:58:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:56:38 GMT]]>@hoppla

> the issue this way feels similar to old narratives about unemployment—oversimplified, misleading, and disconnected from reality.

And it comes out of the same quarters. So no surprise here. The surprise is rather that the voters either fall for it, or seem to forget it until the next election.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/glitzersachen/statuses/116897677193136997https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/glitzersachen/statuses/116897677193136997Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:56:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 19:28:52 GMT]]>@cflynnbooks @hoppla
The problem is your local water situation and the average availability of nonpotable water for datacenters across the country are not apples to apples.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://meow.social/users/Crissa/statuses/116897332119116438https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://meow.social/users/Crissa/statuses/116897332119116438Fri, 10 Jul 2026 19:28:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 19:27:16 GMT]]>@aerique @hoppla
That's the same thing they've told me out here on the west coast my entire life.

But at the same time, they weren't given shade, water, portapotties, wash stations, and no path to training!

That and there's like this minimum hours of availability at 'all' but they're required to give you none. Of course people are going to be sick with four to six eight to ten hour shifts and an hour of commute.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://meow.social/users/Crissa/statuses/116897325830647906https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://meow.social/users/Crissa/statuses/116897325830647906Fri, 10 Jul 2026 19:27:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:45:11 GMT]]>@hoppla This is also the traditional decoy of austerity politics in a society suffering from toxic individualism. Every single thing can then be blamed on the individual even if the causes or the situation is beyond their control and a result of problems of the systemic kind. Unemployed? Lazy and not willing (enough) to work. Anxious? Not trying enough to think in a positive way, etc. All mostly just a way for those in power to not aknowledge that something needs to change.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodontti.fi/users/paavi/statuses/116896216603418021https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodontti.fi/users/paavi/statuses/116896216603418021Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:45:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:07:32 GMT]]>@hoppla People don't want to pay what the work is worth.
"If I paid my workers more I'd go out of business"
Have you tried getting good at running a business?

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.nz/users/rupert/statuses/116895832605563022https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.nz/users/rupert/statuses/116895832605563022Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:07:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:56:17 GMT]]>@hoppla I hear this a lot in The Netherlands as well about Dutch people not wanting to work in agriculture and hence a lot of it is done by people from Eastern Europe.

I think most wouldn't mind doing the work but they don't want to be exploited by the agro industry like the current workers are.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://genart.social/users/aerique/statuses/116895788375427560https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://genart.social/users/aerique/statuses/116895788375427560Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:56:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:32:09 GMT]]>@Anke @hoppla easy answers to difficult questions are always wrong. Once stated additional wrongness is required to keep up the pretence until black is white and up is down.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mas.to/users/markmason/statuses/116895693481828323https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mas.to/users/markmason/statuses/116895693481828323Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:32:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:04:02 GMT]]>@zash @hoppla This! I was going to reply saying I don't want to work (and actually am not, for a while). However, I don't sit around doing nothing all day, I just don't get paid for it (but the stress levels are so much better now).

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://ieji.de/users/olivetree/statuses/116895346999361769https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://ieji.de/users/olivetree/statuses/116895346999361769Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:04:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:21:59 GMT]]>@hoppla
In the UK, government figures list almost 3 Million unemployed (even when they change the way they count) but less than 500,000 jobs available.

The UK government still believes ‘trickle down economics’ will work, because they are owned by the millionaires who fund them.

Basic maths demonstrates that over 2 Million people have ZERO chance of getting a job, yet the automation and AI policies march forwards, exacerbating the situation.

Who benefits from tax breaks for automation and AI? Why do they have the right to call the unemployed ‘workshy’ when the company owners are causing the problem, and government is aiding in their scheme?

Water companies are telling us they have banned hosepipes. We must not use water. At the same time, our government is approving dozens of AI datacentres that will use millions of gallons of water that should be available for people to drink. Water infrastructure in the UK has not improved in 20 years.

Cui bono?

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodonapp.uk/users/cflynnbooks/statuses/116895181640488960https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodonapp.uk/users/cflynnbooks/statuses/116895181640488960Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:21:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:27:23 GMT]]>@hoppla Some aspects of "increasing workload, constant pressure, lack of recovery time" are a bit hidden: I remember visiting my mom at her office job. They worked 8 hours, alright.

But it was interspersed with various errands and wait times. Completed writing a letter? Off to the printer, then wait for 20 more seconds because you were faster than the device, go back, … Today: "email sent, next task."

Today's 8 hours are different from 1990's 8 hours for such reasons alone (and while this is a white-collar / office example, other types of work eliminated such "waste" as well.)

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://retro.social/users/patrick/statuses/116894966943214627https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://retro.social/users/patrick/statuses/116894966943214627Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:27:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:02:27 GMT]]>@HollieK72 @Anke @hoppla I for one am older, fatter and balder; I blame Black Lives Matter

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://neopaquita.es/users/ehproque/statuses/116894868940735600https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://neopaquita.es/users/ehproque/statuses/116894868940735600Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:02:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:57:03 GMT]]>@ehproque @Anke @hoppla 2020? No idea!

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodonapp.uk/users/HollieK72/statuses/116894847664904260https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodonapp.uk/users/HollieK72/statuses/116894847664904260Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:57:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:56:38 GMT]]>@HollieK72 we're actually taking more sick leave since 2020. Did anything happen in 2020 to make us less healthy? It's a mystery @Anke @hoppla

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://neopaquita.es/users/ehproque/statuses/116894846039688950https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://neopaquita.es/users/ehproque/statuses/116894846039688950Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:56:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:55:41 GMT]]>@ehproque @Anke @hoppla Ditto in the UK with "Why are so many people taking sick leave?"

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodonapp.uk/users/HollieK72/statuses/116894842337928716https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodonapp.uk/users/HollieK72/statuses/116894842337928716Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:55:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:19:58 GMT]]>@Anke @hoppla I think it's obviously the latter. The Spanish Right started an offensive against "absentism" in perfect sync, without there being any evidence that people miss work for any reason other than being sick.

They just want to end sick pay, it's as simple as that.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://neopaquita.es/users/ehproque/statuses/116894701866356635https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://neopaquita.es/users/ehproque/statuses/116894701866356635Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:19:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to As a GP in Germany, I struggle with the claim that “people don’t want to work.” on Fri, 10 Jul 2026 07:46:22 GMT]]>@hoppla another thing that Merz and co. don't realise is that if I call my doc from home where I have made myself feel comfortable and the doc asks "shall I write you a note for the rest of the week" I am more likely to say "I'm sure I'll feel fine in a day or so" whereas if I have dragged myself to their office and am feeling really rough I am 100% going to answer "God, please do!" to the same question.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://archaeo.social/users/postantiquarian/statuses/116894569785009627https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://archaeo.social/users/postantiquarian/statuses/116894569785009627Fri, 10 Jul 2026 07:46:22 GMT