Bureaucracy reduces the desire for entrepreneurship

Craft businesses in the Münster Chamber of Commerce district are seeing more and more administrative tasks – which is making self-employment in the craft sector increasingly unattractive.

This article is part of the special topic Bureaucratic madness in the craft industry

Bureaucratic burdens are making self-employment in the skilled trades increasingly unattractive. This is the opinion of two out of three entrepreneurs in a survey conducted by the Münster Chamber of Skilled Crafts. 723 businesses from the chamber district participated. 85 percent estimate that the bureaucratic burden they face has increased over the past five years. "Instead of constantly burdening themselves with new administrative tasks, reducing bureaucracy is the order of the day," demands Chamber of Skilled Crafts President Hans Hund. Legislators must give skilled trades entrepreneurs more time for their customers. Instead, they constantly erect new hurdles to their actual work. This often gradually spoils the enthusiasm for entrepreneurship. Instead, the willingness to establish or take over a skilled trades business must be encouraged. "This is the only way to ensure generational change in companies and master the energy transition."   

Two-thirds of respondents say that the burden of bureaucracy leaves less time for processing orders. The result: customers have to wait longer. For one in three businesses, bureaucratic costs increase the cost of their services. One in five even forgoes hiring staff to avoid the associated additional bureaucratic burden. Companies primarily complain about the constant need to adapt to new laws and regulations. Next come the verification, documentation, and reporting requirements. These are increasing in quantity and each takes more time. Furthermore, companies struggle with the incomprehensible content of regulations and official information. They complain about the lengthy duration of administrative procedures and complex application processes. Respondents see the greatest potential for effective relief primarily in the requirements of tax and labor law, but also in data protection and occupational health and safety, as well as those of social insurance providers. Two-thirds of businesses communicate with authorities and administrations online. The majority of them experience digital options as largely relieving their burden. Of the non-users, half find the communication methods offered too complicated or note that the administrations do not offer digital services.

 

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