German companies introduce a four -day working week

This can increase labor productivity and help in the fight against gender inequality

On February 1, a six -month experiment began in Germany: 45 German companies switched to a four -day working week and retained their previous salaries for their employees. It is expected that this will positively affect the health, motivation and emotional state of employees. "Cold" says what is known about the German experiment and what conclusions can be drawn now - based on the experience of other countries.

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The experiment is responsible for the New Zealand organization 4 Days Week Global and the German consulting agency Intraphenör. Similar experiments 4 Days Week Global have been conducting all over the world since 2019: for example, in South Africa, Canada, the USA, Australia and Ireland.

Today, two models of a four -day working week are widespread in world practice.

The first implies that employees have an additional weekend, but the total number of working hours a week remains the same, that is, working days become longer. In 2022, this system was proposed by the Belgian government, which became the first European country to allow people to choose between a five -day working week and an intensive four -day four.

According to the second model, the number of working hours is also reduced along with the working week, that is, employees do not have to process on weekdays. The salary remains the same. There is no catch in this: some experts believe that rested people will be able to work better at the rest of the time. This model is called 100: 80: 100 (preservation of 100% payment and 100% productivity when reducing working hours to 80%).

German companies participating in the experiment will work according to the second scheme.

Why is this Germany?

In the spring of 2023, representatives of the influential German Metallurgists IG Metall called for a four -day working week with the standard for the entire industry. Probably, it was this call that brought out a discussion about a four -day to a new level, although they spoke about the need to reduce the working week in the country earlier. For example, a German study of 2022 showed that 75% of respondents support the introduction of an additional weekend. In 2023, the four -day support level became even higher: 81% of respondents told about the desire to switch to it.

In the fall of 2023, 4 Days Week Global opened an acceptance of applications for participation in an experiment for German companies. One of them was served by Eurolam, a window manufacturer in Wigendorf (Thuringia).

“I can either take part and show my company as modern or to say [to my employees] that we will have to work more. Then one day there will be no one left who would like to work for me, ”the director of the company Hanning Ryper explained his decision.

Supporters of model 100: 80: 100 believe that high -quality rest and balance between work and life will increase the motivation of workers. The logic is simple: rested, happy and healthy people will work more productively. So the transition to a four -day week will increase labor productivity.

“I am absolutely convinced that investments in a“ new work ”pay off because they increase the well -being and motivation [of employees], and therefore efficiency. If a four -day working week will work, it will not cost us anything, ”said Sön Frick, co -founder of the German company Solidsense participating in the experiment.

How did the experiment go in other countries?

This theory is confirmed by 4 Days Week Global projects in other countries. In 2022, such an experiment was conducted in the UK. 61 companies participated in it. As a result, employees suffered less from stress, anxiety, fatigue and sleep problems. They also hurt less and, accordingly, less often asked for ruins or took sick leave.

An additional weekend affects the condition: people have more time to rest and restore, according to Hannah Shade from the research center of the working environment and the human factor named after Leibniz at the Technical University of Dortmund. For many companies, this can become a significant argument in favor of the transition to a four -day working week - in the end, paid sick leave cost money, especially in Germany. According to the Federal Labor Protection Agency, in 2022 the country's economy lost 207 billion euros of value added due to sick leave.

Shade noticed another positive trend. Men who received an additional weekend devoted more time to housework, care for relatives and children. Thus, a four -day working week in the future can play a role in the struggle for gender equality.

Many British companies at the end of the experiment decided to maintain an additional weekend. In Canada and the USA, not one of the companies wanted to return to a five -day working week.

Experience in South Africa was also successful. The leaders of the companies admitted that for six months the dismissal decreased by 11%, the number of absenteeism - by 9%, and the income increased by 10.5%. Employees also evaluated this experience positively: 90% of respondents said that they would like to save a four -day week forever.

Director of the Institute for Studies in the Field of Employment (IAB) Bernd Fitzenberger also notes that companies operating on a four -day will win under the conditions of a shortage of qualified employees.

“[A four -day working week] will make jobs more attractive and increase the number of candidates where companies desperately need employees,” he said .

But the experiments have critics

They doubt that this initiative will be economically beneficial for companies in the long run.

Enzo Weber, economist, head of the forecasting department of the Institute for Studies in the Field of Employment (IAB), considers the results of the experiments uninteresting, because only those companies that initially positively relate to the idea of ​​four days are involved in them.

Weber draws attention to the fact that 4 Days Week programs provide not only a reduction in the work week: representatives of the program also offer support companies support, consultations and assistance with optimization of work processes, which can also affect the increase in performance.

The alternative that Weber offers is the X-Day Work Week: each company decides how much the working week lasts. It is supported by the BVMW - the Association of Small and Medium -Service of Germany, which opposes direct government interference in the policy of commercial organizations.

Weber also notes that the 4 Days Week Global programs are designed for only six months, so it is difficult to talk about achieving a stable and sustainable result.