"Everyone is much more relaxed": Four-day week - the model of the future?

Created: 08/30/2022, 11:31 am

"Everyone is much more relaxed": Saucier Tobias Koch and his chef Maximilian Moser in the kitchen of the Starnberg Hotel "Vier Jahreszeiten".

© Andrea Jacksch

More and more employees want more free time – if possible with a full salary.

One approach is the four-day week.

The Hotel "Four Seasons" in Starnberg introduced the model in the kitchen.

Starnberg/Munich - The chefs push dirty pots together in a hurry, next to them a young woman in a white chef's hat puts artfully smoked salmon on a silver tray, while a waiter in a black jacket rushes out of the kitchen to return to the restaurant tables for a four-star hotel to make look.

It's 2 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel in Starnberg – but Maximilian Moser's team has only been working for two hours.

The chef has reformed working hours.

There are no longer early or late shifts, just one shift between 12 p.m. and 10 p.m. – and one more day off.

And all without a loss of salary.

Hotel in Starnberg introduces a four-day week - without any loss of salary

Moser introduced the four-day week at the end of last year.

He wants to lure young people into the kitchen at a time when there is a shortage of young people in many sectors and when leisure time is becoming increasingly important.

“We have to make gastronomy more attractive,” says Moser and predicts: “The four-day week is the future.

I believe that in four to five years, everyone in the hospitality industry will have embraced this idea."

The four-day week is the future.

I believe that in four to five years, everyone in the hospitality industry will have adopted this idea.

Maximilian Moser, head chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Starnberg

Less work, same money: The four-day week is a concept to counteract the lack of workers.

Since more and more people reject the 40-hour week, the topic is also coming up in more and more companies.

This is often regulated by a third day off.

Four days work, three days off.

This does not only apply to gastronomy.

Nico Osenstätter, managing director of the wood and veneer company of the same name in Schongau, also recently canceled a working day.

The employees have to work half an hour more on the other days to get a total of 38 hours.

The weekly working time has been reduced by three and a half hours, the salary remains the same.

"The true luxury is free time," says Osenstätter.

Above all, he hopes that more people will apply now.

Philipp Leipold does not believe that this is only a short-term trend.

More like a generational rethink.

Leipold is Managing Director of the AW Academy Germany, which trains career changers and places them with companies.

Young people in particular are increasingly asking for a four-day week.

"But people in their mid-30s or early 40s are also interested in it." Overall, the attitude towards work has changed significantly.

"At the time, I simply wanted a job with a secure permanent position," says the 39-year-old.

"Today young people are looking for a lot more balance - they don't want to live to work."

Four-day week in Bavaria: "The true luxury is free time"

Status symbols such as the company car or the corner office no longer play a major role.

The social responsibility of a company is more important.

And above all: more flexibility at work.

“Some would like to work less because they still have voluntary work or their own small business.

But most of them want more time for themselves, their families and hobbies,” says Leipold.

In the kitchen of the "Four Seasons", the atmosphere has improved as a result of the change, says Tobias Koch.

The 30-year-old is a saucier at the hotel, so he's responsible for sauces, but also for meat and fish.

"Because people have three days off, even if they are not related, they are much more relaxed." Koch, who has been working here for five years, can now use his free time better and more effectively.

“I now had three days off at the weekend and was able to drive away.

It's a dream for me."

By the way: everything from the region is also available in our regular Starnberg newsletter.

More free: that's what many Germans want.

According to a Forsa poll, 71 percent are in favor of a four-day week.

The survey was about the so-called "Belgian model": In Belgium, employees can now have a third day off with full salary, as long as they get their hours on the other days - like at the wood company Osenstätter.

Anyone who has worked for a company for at least a year can do this.

Other countries are experimenting with fewer daylight hours, for example Sweden.

Employees should only work six instead of eight hours a day for the same money.

The conclusion among the participants was mixed, the project was ultimately not continued because it was too expensive.

In Iceland, the idea was an absolute hit.

In one study, 2,500 people worked 35 or 36 hours instead of 40, most of them for a full salary.

According to the study, many found the additional free time to be very helpful – but productivity at work had not fallen.

Six-month trials are underway in countries like the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland, where one working day per week is eliminated – and again the salary remains the same. 

Four-day week: "The first editing is often still - why doesn't this person want to work so much?"

Personnel expert Leipold is convinced that work needs to be rethought.

Many bosses are not yet aware of this.

"When we talk to companies about the four-day week, the first reaction is often: Why doesn't this person want to work so much?

There is no flexibility, no trust in the employees,” says Leipold.

“Companies resist the new world.

With this way of thinking, they themselves exacerbate the shortage of skilled workers.” The Bavarian Business Association (vbw) does not consider the approach of less work for the same money to be expedient.

"This significantly increases the company's personnel costs and thus impairs its competitiveness," says vbw Managing Director Bertram Brossardt.

Instead, the association is committed to ensuring that employees can organize their 40 hours more flexibly.

For head chef Moser, the four-day week is quite demanding from an organizational point of view.

“Before that, it was a bit easier to write the roster.

But the employees work less overtime during the four-day week than before.” The chefs had to learn new ways of working.

For example, preparing a lot more the day before because they don't come until noon.

And the trainees have to bear more responsibility.

Nevertheless: "We currently have fewer employees than ever before - and it works," says Moser.

Despite less working time, all work would be done.

However, the actually hoped-for effect has not yet materialized: more applications.

"I think it's because the market is empty.

All restaurateurs are desperately looking.” Nevertheless, the verdict on the new kitchen world is positive.

However, Saucier Koch does not believe that the four-day week is something for everyone: “I think there are areas where you have to work five days.

This differs from industry to industry.

A four-day week for everyone would be nice, but it's not always feasible.” 

You can find more current news from the district of Starnberg at Merkur.de/Starnberg.