Achievements must “bear fruit,” demands Josef Herk, chairman of the WKO Styria. Two new studies show that 71 percent of entrepreneurs and 39 percent of the population consider performance very important. The willingness to perform drops drastically, especially among young people. Herk therefore calls for measures such as tax cuts and reduction of bureaucracy to increase motivation.
If you work full-time, you should earn noticeably more. Otherwise, fundamental values in our society are in danger of slipping away,” Herk warns, referring to two new studies. Although 97 percent of entrepreneurs and 94 percent of the population consider performance in a professional context to be very important or at least important, if you look at the age structure behind it, you can see huge shifts – at least in the population questionnaire. While 96 percent of the 61-year-old generation and older view performance as the basis of our prosperity, this is only 64 percent among people between 18 and 25 years old. Herk: “We have to make performance more worthwhile.”
Reducing bureaucracy and lowering taxes
In the context of the new performance agenda, the WKO Styria has investigated the willingness to perform in our country. For this purpose, two surveys were conducted, once among Styrian entrepreneurs (975 participants) and once – with the same question – among the population (344 participants). According to this survey, 71 percent of business people rate performance in a professional context as very important and 26 percent as important. In the general population the figures are 39 percent (very important) and 55 percent (important). Moreover, for 88 percent of entrepreneurs and 87 percent of Styrians, the statement “Performance is the basis of our social prosperity” is very or at least somewhat true. However, when we look at the age structure, major differences appear: among young people (population survey) this statement only applies to 64 percent, while among the older generation (61 years and older) this is 96 percent.
For WKO Styria chairman Josef Herk, this is clear proof that “we must make performance more valuable and therefore more desirable”. Measures for this are laid down in a separate performance agenda.
The Austrians demand these measures
The two studies also examined which measures to increase motivation have social consensus. The greatest support therefore goes to reducing bureaucracy (95 percent of companies, 88 percent of the population) and to the demand for more net or gross (94 percent of companies, 95 percent of the population) and for effective social services (88 percent of the population). percent of companies, 89 percent of the population), followed by expanding childcare options (87 and 88 percent) and “getting the unemployed to work faster” (85 and 87 percent). Herk urges a quick signal here: “Responsible politicians should not forget their responsibility for future generations while they are hunting for votes.”
Create more incentives
The new performance index, created by economist Christoph Schneider of the Economica Institute for Economic Research, compares data from 18 European countries. Austria ranks second in terms of services implemented, but only seventh in terms of incentives. In the overall rankings, Austria is in fifth place, behind Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Schneider emphasizes the need for action because Austria is going in the wrong direction.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
