As of: February 20, 2024, 8:01 p.m
By: Natascha Berger
Comments
Press
Split
Full wage compensation with fewer working hours?
Some Volksbanks are already relying on this.
But while some cooperative banks rave about the four-day week, there is also criticism of the model.
Frankfurt – The four-day week model has been discussed in many political and business circles in Germany for a long time.
Countries like Belgium and Great Britain are leading the way and reporting positive effects of the shortened working week: more productive working days, less stress and fewer absences due to illness.
While 50 German companies are currently testing the model as a pilot project, various cooperative banks in Germany have been relying on the four-day week for some time.
But skepticism is also spreading.
81 percent of Germans want a four-day week: Many Volksbanks are already implementing the model
A study by the Hans Böckler Foundation found that 81 percent of respondents would prefer a four-day week to the normal “9 to 5” week.
The employees said they wanted more time for themselves and their families.
While employees want a better work-life balance, some cooperative banks need one thing above all: new skilled workers.
In order to win this, the wish of German employees for a shortened working week has now been pursued.
Volksbank Kaiserslautern, among others, is relying on a Friday off, as
Handelsblatt
reports.
The bank introduced a 34.5-hour week as early as summer 2022, thereby reducing working hours by 4.5 hours per week.
The wages remained the same.
Shortened working week with the same pay – banks are becoming more attractive for applicants
The result: The bank seems to have become more attractive for applicants.
The shortened working week is particularly well received by young employees.
The fluctuation has also decreased.
The Volksbank branches are now closed on Fridays; customers can contact us by email or telephone if they have any concerns.
However, Volksbank Kaiserslautern is not alone with this model.
Employees at PSD Bank Braunschweig and Volksbank Euskirchen near Cologne are also allowed to sleep in on Fridays.
According to Handelsblatt,
other banks that rely on the four-day week or reducing weekly working hours include
Volksbank Düsseldorf Neuss and Sparda-Bank Berlin.
More and more Volksbanks are relying on the four-day week model - with the same wages.
© IMAGO/Michael Gstettenbauer
What most employees with a four-day week in one of the cooperative banks have to forego is their full vacation entitlement.
While the salary remained unchanged, vacation days at Volksbank Euskirchen, for example, fell from 30 to 24 per year.
At Auricher Raiffeisen-Volksbank, employees can decide whether they want to continue to work five days a week or just four and thus have less vacation.
This means the bank can continue to open on Fridays.
Not everyone sees the four-day week at Volksbanken as a purely positive development
The cooperative banks that offer shortened working time models see positive developments.
More applicants for vacancies, satisfied employees and customers who mostly react understandingly to the changes.
But there is also criticism of the four-day week model.
For example from Tanja Müller-Ziegler, board member of the Federal Association of German Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks (BVR).
Demographic developments do not allow us to work less and less, she tells the Handelsblatt.
The four-day week could work for individual banks, but not for the entire sector.
There are also fears that the four-day week will exacerbate rather than offset the shortage of skilled workers.