As a positive study submitted to the European Parliament by University of Duisburg-Essen professor Ansgar Belke shows, using gold collateral to raise cheaper loans is hardly new to sovereign governments either.

FORBES: End The Euro Zone Crisis Now: Let PIIGS Borrow Against Their Gold

The researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen found that the rise in dissatisfaction was particularly strong among older workers aged over 50, though the decline in job satisfaction has happened at all skill levels and in companies of all different sizes.

BBC: Angela Merkel's Germany pessimistic about future