With 2 million job vacancies and half of the country’s businesses unable to find qualified staff, Germany explores four-day work as a – paradoxical – possible solution to the severe labor shortage.

45 companies participate in the initiative of the non-profit company “4 Day Week Global” (4DWG) and the management consulting company “Intraprenör” and it is estimated that a total of 600 companies will participate in the “pilot” program. The scientific supervision and evaluation of the six-month trial is carried out by the University of Münster.

The 4DWG, which has already launched similar programs in other countries, believes that limiting working days while keeping wages at the same level will lead to increased productivity for employers and better living conditions for workers, which is expected to attract more candidates who are either unable or unwilling to work five days a week.

According to program coordinators in Germany, where much more sophisticated data analysis techniques are being applied than earlier similar trials in other markets, a clearer picture of the venture will eventually emerge, although there are serious reservations about whether it would be feasible. a transition of all employees to a 4-day working regime.

In the past decades, various models have been tested from time to time, aiming to respond to the need of workers to combine their work with a better quality of life. Interest in the 4-day work skyrocketed in the early 1970s, with the most common model providing for 10 hours of work per day for four days per week. In the conclusions of that time, it is stated that initially the workers were in a better mood, however very soon the work stress worsened, due to the intensification of the work. Today, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), the average working hours worldwide reach 44 hours per week.

“The premise we are basing this project on is that reduced working hours will give workers more recovery time and thus more productivity,” said Julia Buckmann from the University of Münster in the presentation of the project. “It’s kind of paradoxical. If you ask the politicians, they will say that everyone should work more hours, not less. A 4-day week, however, is a strong advantage in making certain sectors of the economy more attractive to the right workers. This is also the main goal of the participants in the program”, explains Carsten Meier, co-founder of “Intraprenör”, and estimates that the 4-day model would have a positive impact on the psychological and physical well-being of employees, would reduce the days of absence due to illness, as the people would have more opportunities for exercise and healthy living, while, in the case of men, they would be more likely to be involved in raising their children, thus allowing more women to fully return to the labor market. “The model we’re looking at is 100-80-100, meaning 100% pay for 80% work and 100% productivity,” he explains. In addition, he points out that 90% of companies that have participated in a similar program around the world at some point have remained in some kind of reduced working time model and report an average of 25% increase in productivity.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck recently estimated 2 million job vacancies in Germany and 90 billion losses for the German economy in 2023 from this alone. He even predicted that by 2035, if nothing changes, the positions could have increased to 5 million. Furthermore, according to data from the insurance company DAK, last year workers took an average of 20 sick days, costing the economy 26 billion euros.

In a recent survey by the Forsa Institute, 71% of respondents would like to have the option of a four-day week, while 77% said they would agree with a relevant government plan. The same opinion is also expressed by two out of three employees. In a corresponding survey by the “Hans Beckler” Institute, the percentages exceed 80%.

The model seems to be already very attractive to banks. As reported by Handelsblatt, the Volksbank in Kaiserslautern has been implementing it since the summer of 2022, with a 34.5 instead of 39 hour week and the same salary, and has managed to be seen as a better employer for prospective employees in the banking sector. On Fridays, customers can only be served by phone or e-mail, as the bank’s branches remain closed. Volksbank in Neuss, Dusseldorf and Sparda Bank in Berlin apply a similar model. Reiffeisen also allows its employees to choose whether to work five days or four, with a corresponding reduction in vacation days, in order to remain open on Fridays.

On the other hand, as the economist of the German Institute for Labor Research (IAB) tells Deutsche Welle, the four-day week could ultimately lead to a greater financial burden on employers if it is not accompanied by an increase in productivity, while, as he estimates , the model cannot be applied to all sectors. “If we applied it the same way everywhere, we would end up hurting productivity,” he warns. In a similar vein, the president of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Marcel Fratcher, believes that the introduction of the 4-day work could only have an effect if it also meant a limitation of wages.

The first conclusions from the program are expected to be available in the autumn of this year.