Bad Zwischenahn – October 28, 2026 -- Food brand Rügenwalder Mühle has named Saarland the "Meister des Feierabends" (Master of After-Work Time) after a nationwide survey found that 40 percent of Germans often can't fully switch off in the evening.
Germans value their evenings but struggle to unwind
The "Feierabend Monitor" is a representative online survey of 2,257 people, run by september Strategie & Forschung in May and June 2026 for Rügenwalder Mühle. For 74 percent of respondents, the end of the workday is an important retreat. Another 63 percent link it to time with people who matter to them, and 85 percent say dinner is a fixed part of it.
What gets in the way: private worries (50 percent), inner restlessness (45 percent) and unfinished to-dos (42 percent).
Saarland residents rely on small rituals more than anyone else
Respondents from Saarland report fixed wind-down habits more often than the national average:
- Comfortable clothing: 68 percent, versus 52 percent nationwide
- Time outdoors: 43 percent, versus 27 percent
- A moment to chill: 52 percent, versus 43 percent
Rügenwalder Mühle ties this to a regional outlook in which work, enjoyment and shared time belong together. A self-mocking local saying, roughly "as long as we ate well, we got the work done fast," sums it up. The brand also points to "Schwenken," Saarland's grilling tradition, which is as much about being outside, sitting together and talking as about the food.
The brand says it isn't offering a blueprint
Claudia Hauschild, head of corporate communications and sustainability management at Rügenwalder Mühle and a native of Saarland, says Saarlanders didn't invent the end of the workday but have many rituals that turn free time into real downtime.
The company says the title is not meant as a template for the perfect evening. It wants to spotlight a region whose people deliberately carve out leisure time through small habits.
Eva Bock, managing partner at september Strategie & Forschung, says the study reveals a clear imbalance: many respondents see a noticeable gap between wanting to switch off in the evening and actually doing so.