Abstract

The Covid 19 pandemic has triggered a discussion about the attractiveness of so-called systemically important occupations - i.e. occupations that are indispensable in times of Crisis, also sometimes referred to as essential jobs. However, systemic relevance is not so much based on the occupation, but on employment in a systemically relevant institution. The Verordnung zur Bestimmung der Kritischen Infrastruktur (Ordinance on Critical Infrastructure, BSI-KritisV) specifies the areas of public and social life that are necessary for the provision of critical services. In addition to the facilities required to maintain public order and security, these include companies responsible for energy and water supply, food supply, health, transport and IT infrastructure, as well as finance and insurance - at least if they provide supply above a certain threshold. This means that not all employees in a particular occupation are fundamentally relevant to the system, but rather that systemic relevance depends on where the respective employees work. To this extent, the systemic relevance of certain occupations differs from one another. For example, caretakers and cleaning staff in a systemically relevant institution are just as indispensable as the skilled workers who ensure the supply of electricity. Against this background, the project will address the question of how systemically relevant occupations are. It then examines how attractive these essential occupations are.