The 4-day week could potentially revolutionize the world of work.
But not all business representatives are convinced of this model.
Munich – International studies have shown that reducing working hours while maintaining the same salary can have many positive effects.
Employees called in sick less often, and feelings of anxiety and stress levels fell.
On the other hand, company productivity and sales increased.
More and more experts from the business world see the 4-day week as the future.
Since February 1, 2024, 45 German companies have been testing the 4-day week over several months.
But by no means all business people can benefit from the idea of reduced working hours with full wage compensation.
This also includes Wolfgang Grupp.
“Ridiculous”: Ex-Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp doesn’t believe in a 4-day week
Recently the
SWR
program “To the point!
Baden-Württemberg” discussed the 4-day week.
Among the guests were the former Trigema boss Grupp, employer representative Stefan Wolf, New Work expert Gregor Kalchthaler and Sascha Wagner, a supporter of the 4-day week.
Wolfgang Grupp took his usual conservative stance and described the model as doomed to failure: “A four-day week with full wage compensation – that’s ridiculous.”
He added: “We can only have one thing: if we perform less, there will be no more prosperity.
Unless we have other machines that can basically do the work and replace humans.”
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Former Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp has a conservative view on the 4-day week.
© IMAGO / Eventpress
There are also part-time workers at Trigema, but you “can’t say that they get more out of the machine than those who work full time.”
According to Grupp, this can even be proven.
Germany not competitive: plea for more working hours per week
Instead of a 4-day week, Trigema relies on other incentives, explained Grupp.
The company hires anyone who wants to work there, offers secure jobs, bonuses and part-time models and does not require short-time work.
Employees' children are also guaranteed a training place at Trigema.
In addition, according to Grupp, the principle applies in the company: those who do more will also receive more salary.
The former Trigema boss cannot imagine that the same performance can be achieved in four days as in five.
He wasn't the only one with this opinion on the SWR broadcast.
Stefan Wolf, the boss of Gesamtmetall, also rejects the model.
He argues that in his industry, 24-hour workloads with three shifts a day simply cannot work.
Wolf goes even further and claims that Germany is no longer competitive due to factors such as bureaucracy, taxes and energy prices.
Instead of reducing working hours, he advocates working more than 40 hours per week.
35 hours are far from enough.
4-day week “out of the question with full wage compensation” - pilot project should provide answers
Other players in the German economy also share Grupp and Wolf's views.
For example, Mercedes boss Ola Källenius spoke out against a 4-day week.
For the traditional company Stihl, the 4-day week “with full wage compensation is out of the question”.
Others, however, see it as an opportunity to create incentives for potential employees and increase motivation through more flexibility.
But how does the 4-day week actually affect employees' work performance?
A pilot project currently underway is intended to clarify this.
This runs until August and is regularly accompanied by scientific surveys.
The evaluation and publication of the results are planned for October 2024.
The study will implement the 100:80:100 model already used by the non-profit organization 4 Day Week Global.
In concrete terms, this means: 100 percent salary with 80 percent working hours for the commitment to 100 percent of the work performance.
81 years of Wolfgang Grupp: 20 photos that show the entrepreneur through the ages
81 years of Wolfgang Grupp: 20 photos that show the entrepreneur through the ages
Can a switch to a modern model such as the 4-day week be successful?
The time will tell.
According to researchers, a 4-day week is definitely feasible without the company having to accept a drop in performance.
However, such a model cannot be easily implemented for every company.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
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Category list image: © IMAGO / Eventpress