Popular working time models in 2026 at a glance: what are their advantages and disadvantages?

Why are there different working time models?

Employees come and go at different rhythms, collaboration is obstructed and company goals fall by the wayside – a horror scenario, isn't it? That is exactly why working time models exist. They give both parties certainty:

• Employers know when their employees are present and can plan and organise the work accordingly
• Employees know their working hours and can coordinate work and free time.

In a modern, complex labour market, the demands placed on a job vary enormously. A single father, for example, may want to start work a little later so he can take his child to nursery. A working student can only come into the office at certain times, before or after lectures. Working time models capture all these needs and goals and cast them into a plan that satisfies both sides and gives them certainty.

Which working time models are there?

Used successfully, working models can increase productivity and customer satisfaction as well as make you more attractive as an employer.After all, many flexible working models are designed to reconcile family and career, to make work healthier and to ensure fair pay. For these benefits to come through, employers have to choose exactly the right working time model.

These working time models are popular:

• Full-time
• Part-time
• Shift work
• Staggered working hours
• Flextime
• Trust-based working hours
• Working time account or traffic-light account
• Annualised hours
• Lifetime working hours account
• On-call employees, or capacity-based variable working hours (KAPOVAZ)
• Job sharing
• Working from home, teleworking and mobile work or remote work
• Mini-job

In the next sections you will find out what advantages and disadvantages these working time models have.

Full-time

Full-time employees usually work five days a week and so reach a total of 35 to 40 working hours. This working time model has a long history and is still very widespread today.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• Planning certainty through consistently identical working hours
• Little organisational effort
• High output from employees

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• Little flexibility
• High absences due to employees' private appointments
• Idle time when orders are slow

Part-time

In part-time work, employees work a reduced workload. Four variants of this working time model are conceivable:

1. Five working days per week with reduced hours
2. Full hours per day, but fewer working days in the week
3. Reduced hours per day and fewer working days in the week
4. Block part-time: longer blocks of time off within a year, but full-time in the remaining months

As a way of adding flexibility, the part-time working model adapts to the needs of the company and of the workforce. Employees gain more time for their family and for caring for relatives, while employers can respond more easily to different levels of demand.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• High employee productivity thanks to longer recovery
• High employee motivation
• Fewer absences due to private appointments

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• Higher staff costs
• Higher workplace costs
• More administrative effort for two part-timers than for one full-time employee

What is the 9/3 model? 

The 9/3 model, or 9-3 model, is understood to be a form of part-time work. In this model employees work three days a week for nine hours each. That gives a weekly total of 27 hours. This model allows a higher number of working hours while still leaving a high number of days off.

Shift work

Hospitals and the police are two typical fields of application for shift work. In this working time model, employees are assigned to shifts that work one after another in a set rhythm. A two-shift operation means an early and a late shift, while a three-shift operation adds thenight shift.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• Optimal availability for customers, because employees are always on site
• Extended operating hours
• Cost savings through intensive use of machinery and equipment

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• Little flexibility
• Higher staff costs due to premium pay for night and Sunday work
• High health burden on employees

Staggered working hours

Staggered working hours are a further development of the shift work model. They consist of blocks of work that partly overlap at the start and the end – a good compromise when one shift is too short but two are too many. This working model is particularly popular in retail and the service sector, but also in logistics.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• The option of matching working hours to staffing needs
• More flexible than classic shift work
• Well suited where there are many part-timers or mini-jobbers

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• For employee satisfaction, shift schedules should be published at least two, and better four, weeks in advance
• A precise analysis of staffing needs is required

Flextime

With the "flextime" working time model, core working hours are usually defined, during which employees have to work on site or remotely (for example Monday to Friday from 10 am to 3 pm). Within the flexible band, or bandwidth hours, that go beyond this, they organise their own working hours. Employees can therefore decide for themselves whether to come in earlier, leave later or work as normal. All hours are booked to a flextime account and can be viewed at any time. Flextime is very widespread in office jobs and rarer in production environments.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• Simple to regulate with little organisational effort
• Fewer absences thanks to greater flexibility
• Optimal availability for customers

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• Written agreements are required
• Not suitable for all departments at once – a risk of dissatisfaction through unequal treatment
• More coordination needed, because not all employees are on site at the same time

Trust-based working hours

Trust-based working hours are not a working time model in their own right in the narrow sense. What matters is that employees decide their own working hours and place of work and that employers do not check them. Employers trust that employees stick to the agreed total hours. Employees, in turn, trust the employer's organisation: the workload should be set so that it can be managed in the agreed time. Concrete targets are set for this.

In occupations where employees also have a large say in the content and the methods of their work, trust-based working hours work particularly well as a working time model. Field service or creative work are examples.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• High flexibility
• Employees work independently and focus on results
• A trusting working atmosphere and higher motivation

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• A possible loss of control
• Irregular availability of employees
• Possible conflict if the agreed goals cannot be achieved in the time available

Working time account or traffic-light account

Working time accounts within a working time model function much like current accounts – except that working time is booked instead of money. To do this, employees check in at the start of a working day and out at the end, so that working time including breaks is documented without gaps. This also makes hours worked in excess or short visible so that they can be balanced out.

The range of the account depends on the order situation. Where fluctuations are small, ten to twenty plus or negative hours serve employees well. Strong fluctuations call for greater flexibility of up to 100 hours.

The balancing period is firmly defined: usually three, six or twelve months. Rules on closing the account are also necessary.Is the balance carried over at the end of the week or the month, or do the excess and missing hours expire? Are they perhaps rebooked? These are the questions employers have to ask themselves when they want to set up a working time account for their employees.

Traffic-light accounts are working time accounts with an additional warning system. A coloured light shows whether the hours collected are within the normal range or need to be balanced out.

Depending on requirements, a working time account can be set up for the flextime or annualised hours models, or as a long-term account.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• High flexibility in line with capacity utilisation
• Avoiding short-time work when the working time balance is drawn down
• Avoiding overtime premiums when the balance is drawn down

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• The risk that irrelevant overtime builds up
• The risk of an unhealthy build-up of overtime, which reduces time off and slows productivity
• The need for reserves to cover plus hours

Annualised hours

With the annualised hours working time model, working hours are defined for the whole year. They can, however, be distributed unevenly. Service staff in a hotel, for example, often work full-time during the season and little or not at all outside it. Even though the amount of work varies, the salary is always paid at the same level.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• Absorbing regular fluctuations
• Overtime does not have to be negotiated individually every time
• Work adapts to the order situation

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• Because of public holidays: working time has to be recalculated every year
• More coordination is needed for detailed planning
• Limited scope for balancing fluctuations: anything beyond the plan still results in overtime

Lifetime working hours account

The lifetime working hours account is based on the working time account model already mentioned. Here, though, the currency is money rather than time.Employees put part of their salary or of their working hours into the account. Special payments such as a Christmas bonus or performance bonuses can also be paid in. During longer periods off that would otherwise be unpaid, such as a sabbatical or extended parental leave, employees are paid their salary out of this balance. Social security contributions are financed the same way.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• High flexibility
• High attractiveness as an employer, because employees remain covered by social insurance and their pension is unaffected
• Better employee retention

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• Long-term planning is harder
• The risk that health-damaging overtime builds up
• The risk that irrelevant overtime builds up

On-call employees, or capacity-based variable working hours (KAPOVAZ)

With this working time model, the hours for a given period are set but no fixed working times are. Employees are informed of an assignment at least four days in advance and are then deployed on call.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• Flexibility: deployment as needed
• An alternative to temporary help and mini-jobs, where new people do not have to be trained up every time
• Controllable staff costs

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• Spontaneity stays within a four-day frame
• Less planning certainty than with fixed working hours
• Payment for the full planned number of hours, even if they are not fully used

Job sharing

Two employees share one full-time position – is that possible? Yes! With the job sharing working time model, two employees each take on part of the work according to an agreed split (for example 50/50 or 60/40). The employees sort out the specific working hours between themselves. All that matters is that the position is covered during core working hours – where such hours exist.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• Retaining employees who would otherwise have resigned
• High attractiveness as an employer and family friendliness
• Twice the expertise in one position

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• More organisation and coordination than with one full-time employee
• Teamwork may be harder
• Job sharing is not possible with every employee – it requires a high degree of mutual understanding

Working from home, teleworking and mobile work or remote work

Strictly speaking, these models do not count as working time models, since they relate more to the place of work. But because there is often a time commitment attached as well, we list them here for you too.

Teleworking and working from home describe work done from home. Fixed working hours apply. Mobile work and remote work can take place from anywhere. Unlike working from home, however, they are not defined in law.

Working from home and remote work are often combined with flexible working hours such as flextime, or with a working time account.

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Advantages from the employer's point of view

• Retaining employees who would otherwise have resigned or cut their hours
• High attractiveness as an employer for commuters and for employees with families or caring responsibilities
• Higher employee productivity thanks to fewer distractions

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• Exchange can suffer when people are in the office less often
• A risk of dissatisfaction, because not every department is equally suited to working from home
• More organisation and coordination effort

Mini-job

Mini-jobs, or marginal employment, are tied to earnings or time limits. So under this working time model employees either work a maximum of 70 working days a year and receive a correspondingly flexible salary. Or the upper limit is 450 euros a month and the working days are allocated flexibly. To always be on the safe side during inspections, note these statutory rules on time tracking in mini-jobs.

Advantages from the employer's point of view

• A good way to get to know new employees
• Flexible support in day-to-day work
• The option of employing several mini-jobbers at the same time

Disadvantages from the employer's point of view

• Problems when the time or salary limit is exceeded
• More explaining to do, because mini-jobbers are not as deeply involved in the business as full-time staff
• More organisational effort where there are several mini-jobbers

What are modern or new working time models? 

Modern or new working time models is the everyday term for those working time models that promise flexibility above all. They adapt more to the employee's circumstances and offer them the chance of a good work-life balance. That includes, for example, trust-based working hours, flextime, the 9-3 model, the working time account, annualised hours, job sharing and working from home. They are described as new or modern working time models because they have only gained in popularity in recent years. The reason for that is both a stronger desire for work-life balance and a shift in the labour market caused by the skilled labor shortage.

The maximum of flexibility: flexible working hours

With flexible working hours, the regular working time is not fixed, so that the daily start and end of work as well as the specific working days can be changed at short notice. Flexible working hours can be divided into models that the employer can shape flexibly and models that are flexible for both sides.

Working time models that are flexible mainly for the employer

• On-call working
• Annualised hours

Working time models that are flexible for both sides

• Flextime
• Trust-based working hours
• Lifetime working hours account

If these models are not flexible enough for you, you can also develop an individual model that is perfectly tailored to your needs. As long as employment law is observed and both parties agree, anything is possible.

What are the advantages of flexible working hours?

Flexibility is an important criterion when people choose an employer. By offering it in your company you strengthen your appeal, particularly with Generation Z. Employees can adapt their working hours to their current life situation (for example family life) and to their needs (for example their most productive hours). In this way you increase employee satisfaction and motivation. Because your people work more effectively when they are happy with their workplace. Finally, flexible working hours also adapt very well to fluctuating demand. That lets you avoid idle time or overload.

How does time tracking work with flexible working hours?

Correct time tracking is particularly important with flexible working hours, so that assignments can be planned and tasks distributed. In the interest of process optimisation too, we recommend using a digital time tracking system. It documents the working time your employees put in each day and compares it against the target hours set in the work schedule. Different work schedules can be created and managed for every employee in the software. With modern providers, employees can request vacation or sick days straight from their phone, which you then approve or reject individually.

The working time models of the future

Generations Y and Z are streaming into the labour market and changing it. Employers have to know the needs of young talent and adapt to them in order to stay successful in the long run. Because the skilled labor shortage is severe and Generation Z in particular, with its digital skills, can afford to be choosy. Mid-sized companies, which unlike global players are not on the radar of young professionals, have to invest heavily in their appeal as an employer. According to a study by Zenjob, 83 percent of Gen Z and 84 percent of millennials want to organise their own time and work to their own rhythm. On top of that, 69 percent of Gen Z say it matters to them that their job fits around their private life.

For companies that want to reach the younger generations, flexible working time models are indispensable. Remote work, working from home, job sharing, flextime or trust-based working hours meet young talent's need for freedom and autonomy. At the same time, the demands on a modern workplace do not end with the working time model.

“These days you cannot explain to any young employee why they should write their vacation request on paper.” – Frederik Neuhaus, Co-Founder and CEO clockin

Generation Z grew up with digital technology. The smartphone is a daily companion, social media is checked regularly, and handling software confidently is almost taken for granted. This talent wants to apply those skills at work too. Working with digital tools and automated, paperless business processes are more attractive to the skilled workers of the future than offices full of antiquated filing cabinets. Anyone who wants to keep employees in the long term has to create structures they are happy to stay in.