Four-day week: What are the advantages and how can you counteract the shortage of skilled workers?

Created: 08/11/2022 15:38

By: Carina Blumenroth

The four-day week could be a new working model that slows things down.

Some companies are already running the shortened week.

But there are also disadvantages.

New work and home office - the world of work is changing.

Reasons for this include digitization and globalization.

Many employees strive for flexibility and autonomy - employers have to adapt in order to keep them, says Daniel Terzenbach, head of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), the

.

A model in this context can be the four-day week.

New Work - the world of work must become more flexible.

(symbol photo) © Arturs Budkevics/Imago

Four-day week: More rest and more productive work

The

reports on a plumbing company that only works from Monday to Thursday.

This already executes the four-day week.

According to the report, there are advantages on the part of employers and employees.

Due to the extended free time, the breaks are longer, which means that you can work more productively on the other days.

Employees can also schedule private appointments better with a day more free time.

Advantages for the employer?

Also more free time, relaxed employees and lower fuel costs.

Instead of a 40-hour week, this company now works 38 hours, two hours less than normal – with the same pay.

This approach is well received by everyone and customers usually do not even notice that Fridays are not worked.

There is also hope that this working model will prevail and attract more employees.

We are looking for both skilled workers and young people who are being trained.

More attractive working models in general can prevent skilled workers from leaving.

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Four-day week: These are the advantages

A four-day week brings a number of advantages that employees are happy about:

• Better work-life balance

• More time for family, friends and hobbies

• Lower costs (e.g. travel expenses)

• Higher productivity

• More rest

• Less sick leave

Four-day week: These are the disadvantages

What shouldn't be forgotten is that wherever there are advantages, there can also be disadvantages.

This is also the case with the four-day week.

This could be disadvantageous for you:

• Less vacation days: If you have 20 vacation days with a five-day week, the number of days available is reduced to 16.

• More hours of work per day

• Possible difficulties in finding longer childcare

• It is unclear whether the four-day week will affect wages: not many employees can afford that.

• Planning difficulties: Sometimes more staff is needed, for example in the catering trade.

If a four-day week were conceivable, the legal framework would also have to be looked at.

The Working Hours Act (ArbZG) contains regulations on how many hours a day may be worked.

This is usually eight hours a day.

Paragraph 3 of the ArbZG provides for an exception: "It can only be extended to up to ten hours if an average of eight hours per working day is not exceeded within six calendar months or within 24 weeks."

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Four-day week: This is what it looks like in Germany

Currently, the most common part-time model is to work a four-day week, but this means that the employees also receive less wages, the portal

.

Nevertheless, a four-day week is required, as a survey by the market research

found out, according to

information.

According to this, around 55 percent of those surveyed should also accept wage deductions for a shortened week.

A flexible system between four and five-day weeks, as found in Belgium according to

, is also popular.

According to a current Forsa opinion poll, around 73 percent of those questioned said they were in favor of a four-day week with the same number of hours.