The debate about the four-day week is gaining momentum. The trade unions are in favour, many employers are against. Some companies are already trying out the model and have had good experiences.
The four-day week: At Natursteine Glöckner in Neunkirchen, Saarland, it is part of everyday work. Four of the 25 employees only work from Monday to Thursday. Dirk Hammerschmidt has also been staying at home on Friday for some time, but works longer on the other days. Since then he’s been doing better, says the 55-year-old Steinmetz: “I have less stress, more relaxation, and on Friday I can do things that I never got around to before.”
His boss Katja Hobler was initially skeptical when the first employees came to her with the request for a four-day week: “I didn’t think we’d get it organized. But we just tried it out and it really works good.” She has found that the concept is also worthwhile for her as an employer: “The employees are more motivated and stay with the company longer.”
Work-life balance is becoming more important
The stonemason Hammerschmidt is no exception: For many employees, the work-life balance, i.e. the balance between work and leisure time, has gained in importance in recent years. This was also observed by Volker Hielscher from the Saarbrücken Institute for Social Research. “Surveys show that many full-time employees want to work a little less overall,” says the sociology professor.
In the meantime, “time wealth” enjoys a similarly high preference as salary expectations. That also explains why the calls for a four-day week are getting louder.
British study shows positive effects
The discussion is gaining momentum from a new study from Great Britain. There, 61 companies tested the four-day week for six months, often with full wage compensation. The results were clear: employees were less stressed, happier and healthier. The absenteeism fell by 63 percent. Productivity could even be slightly increased because employees worked more efficiently in less time. 56 of the companies therefore simply want to keep the four-day week.
Employers see many problems
Many employers in this country are still skeptical. For Martin Schlechter from the Association of Saarland Business Associations, the study has only limited significance. In particular, companies with office jobs took part in the project. In industry, productivity cannot be increased so easily: “The workers would have to do the same work as they are doing right now – and in 20 percent less time. I don’t think that can work.”
One could talk about more flexible working hours and a redistribution of weekly working hours, but if it were about a four-day week with full wage compensation, it would be nothing more than a large-scale reduction in working hours. And that has its price: “In the end, as an economy, we have to consider whether the invested working time is still enough to generate our current prosperity. And I’m very skeptical about that.”
Trade unions tend to plan for the long term
The unions see things differently. Most recently, IG Metall NRW announced that it would move into the next wage round with the demand for a four-day week with full wage compensation. For Lars Desgranges, chief representative of IG Metall in Völklingen, the four-day week in the steel industry could be a “game changer”. With it, jobs in the industry could be made more attractive. This is an important argument in times of a shortage of skilled workers.
However, the reduction in working hours is more of a long-term goal for the unions. The switch to green steel production promises new productivity gains in the future. “These shouldn’t just end up in employers’ pockets as additional profit, but must also benefit the people who worked for them,” says Desgranges.
Big differences from industry to industry
How realistic a four-day week with reduced working hours is depends very much on the respective industry, says Bernd Fitzenberger, director of the Institute for Labor Market and Vocational Research in Nuremberg. In areas where productivity can hardly be increased, such as retail or care, additional workers are needed: “In sectors that are already having major recruitment problems, that’s definitely a challenge.”
Overall, the head of the institute expects that the number of working hours per capita among full-time employees will continue to decrease in the future. However, he does not believe that the four-day week will become a new standard across the board: “It is more likely that there will be more individual agreements on working hours and that there will be a coexistence of different, flexible models.”
Discussion should continue to gain momentum
One thing is clear: the debate about the four-day week is still in its infancy. But things are moving more and more. And that is probably also due to the current situation on the labor market, says the sociologist Hielscher: “Against the background of the ubiquitous labor shortage, employees simply have a very strong negotiating position right now. And that could also pave the way for the four-day week.”