The study “Establishments and Working Life in Germany” (SOEP-LEE2-Compare) is jointly conducted by the Socio-Economic Panel at DIW Berlin (SOEP) and the IPA Institute for Personnel and Work (IPA) at Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg (HSU). The study is part of the SOEP-LEE2 project, which draws on primary data from establishments and self-employed individuals. An important component of this project is SOEP-LEE2-Compare. SOEP-LEE2-Compare consists of representative establishment surveys based on samples drawn from the establishment database of the German Federal Employment Agency. It is therefore independent of SOEP-Core with respect to employer sampling, and the surveyed establishments cannot be linked to SOEP-Core respondents.
SOEP-LEE2-Compare comprises four waves of establishment surveys conducted between 2022 and 2026. The 2022, 2023, and 2024 waves have already been released. The 2022, 2023, and 2026 waves contain the same questions as the SOEP-LEE2-Core surveys, that is, surveys of the employers of dependent employees who participated in SOEP-Core, conducted in 2022, 2024, and 2026 (see SOEP-LEE2 data).
Title: Establishments and Working Life in Germany (SOEP-LEE2-Compare), Data from 2022–2024 (SOEP-LEE2-Compare, International Edition)
DOI Zur Erklärung von DOI und dessen Verwendung gibt es hier Informationen . : 10.5684/soep.lee2.compare.2024i
Collection period: 2022-2024
Publication date: 2026-10-01
Principal investigators: Tamara Böhm, Markus M. Grabka, Christoph Halbmeier, Doris Holtmann, Daniel Labarca Pinto, Stefan Liebig, Martian Maas, Wenzel Matiaske, Torben Dall Schmidt, Carsten Schröder
Data collector: infas Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft
Population: Establishments in Germany with at least five employees subject to social security contributions.
Selection method: For each survey wave, a new stratified random sample was drawn from the establishment database of the Federal Employment Agency as of 30 June of the previous year. Prior to sampling, establishments with fewer than five employees subject to social security contributions were excluded. The sample was stratified along three dimensions: industry, region —East and West Germany— and establishment size category. Larger establishments were sampled with a higher selection probability to ensure that they were represented in sufficient numbers.
Collection mode: The survey was conducted using a mixed-mode design combining CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) and CAWI (computer-assisted web interviewing). Establishments for which a telephone number could be identified first received an initial letter by post, accompanied by a data protection information sheet and addressed to the management or the human resources department. They were subsequently contacted by telephone in order to identify a knowledgeable contact person. The interview could be conducted directly by telephone or, upon request, online. Establishments for which no telephone number could be identified received a letter containing the login credentials for the online survey. The questionnaire was answered by a knowledgeable person within the establishment who was identified during the contact process. In the CAWI mode, individual question blocks could be delegated to other persons within the establishment.
Data access: Researchers who wish to work with the data can request them as a standalone dataset via the SOEP Order form. This requires a data distribution contract with the SOEP Research Data Center (see SOEP Data Access). Alternatively, the data can be accessed on-site by visiting the Research Data Center of the SOEP (see SOEP-in-Residence program). In the RDC SOEP, researchers have access to the onsite edition, which provides some variables of the SOEP-LEE2-Compare data with more detailed scales and categories.
Citation of the data set: Tamara Böhm, Markus M. Grabka, Christoph Halbmeier, Doris Holtmann, Daniel Labarca Pinto, Stefan Liebig, Martian Maas, Wenzel Matiaske, Torben Dall Schmidt, Carsten Schröder (2026): Establishments and Working Life in Germany (SOEP-LEE2-Compare), Data from 2022–2024 (SOEP-LEE2-Compare, International Edition). 2026. DOI: 10.5684/soep.lee2.compare.2024i