"Be brave": Fashion company Gerry Weber introduces a four-day week
Created: 11/09/2022 11:04 am
By: Patricia Huber
Gerry Weber will offer its employees more freedom in the future.
The fashion group introduces a voluntary four-day week.
Halle – The fashion company Gerry Weber is introducing a voluntary four-day week.
The company's employees can then decide each week, in consultation with their supervisors, whether they want to work four or five days, as CEO Angelika Schindler-Obenhaus told the
Bild
newspaper on Wednesday.
She assumes that the model is worthwhile for both the company and the employees.
Gerry Weber: Working concept leads to high loyalty
"We give our employees autonomy and personal responsibility," Schindler-Oberhaus continued.
"They perceive that as appreciation and that leads to a high level of motivation and also to a high level of loyalty."
"Courage and trust are always good, that's my belief," said the Gerry Weber boss.
Especially with regard to the growing shortage of skilled workers, she recommends that companies “be brave and try new things”.
Four days or a 42-hour week?
Opinions differ
In Germany, the discussion recently went in a different direction: there was Industry President Siegfried Russwurm, who sympathized with the 42-hour week.
Or overall metal boss Stefan Wolf, who brought retirement into play at 70.
The argument: If the baby boomers are about to retire and there is less and less working population available, those who remain will have to work longer.
Labor researcher Philipp Frey from the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis counters: "Of course it is counterintuitive to say: 'In a situation where we have rather few workers available, we are now reducing the working hours'." Good study situation on increasing productivity with a reduction in working hours.
"Economically, it's definitely possible."
A study in Great Britain is currently trying to find out how this can work.
A total of more than 70 companies are involved in the pilot project, which will initially grant their more than 3,300 employees one additional paid day off per week for a period of six months.
Halfway through, 86 percent of the companies surveyed in an interim analysis said they could imagine the four-day week in the long term.
88 percent stated that the model works well in their everyday work.
(dpa / AFP)