A 4-day work week, are workers happier?

Less work, less money, but more happiness and higher productivity. That is the argument of the supporters of the 4-day work week in Germany.

IMF highlights challenges facing Germany's economy. (Source: Getty)

While Germany, like many other countries, is struggling to find workers, dozens of companies are experimenting with allowing employees to work four days a week.

As of early February 2024, 45 companies and organizations in Europe's largest economy have tested a four-day workweek for six months. Workers will continue to receive their full salaries. The initiative was launched by consulting firm Intraprenör in collaboration with the non-profit organization 4 Day Week Global (4DWG).

Proponents argue that a four-day workweek would increase worker productivity and thus help ease the country's shortage of skilled labor. Germany has long been renowned for its industriousness and efficiency. However, productivity in Germany has declined in recent years.

Shorter working hours are not necessarily laziness. At its core, productivity is measured by dividing economic output by hours worked. Over the past few years, high energy costs have hit companies’ output, leaving them – and the country – with lower productivity scores. If companies could maintain current output with fewer hours worked, this would naturally lead to higher productivity levels. But could it?

Proponents of the argument argue that employees working four days instead of five days will be more motivated and therefore more productive. This model also has the potential to attract more people into the workforce by attracting those who are not willing to work five days a week, helping to alleviate labor shortages.

This theory has been put to the test outside Germany. Since 2019, 4DWG has been running pilot programs around the globe—from the UK and South Africa to Australia, Ireland and the US. More than 500 companies have participated in the trials, and early results appear to favor shorter working hours.

Looking at a trial of nearly 3,000 workers in the UK, researchers from Cambridge and Boston found that nearly 40% of participants said they felt less stressed after the experiment, and the number of resignations dropped by 57%.

Sick leave will also be reduced by two-thirds. Recent figures from the German health insurance company DAK show that workers in Germany will take an average of 20 sick days in 2023. Based on these statistics, the German Pharmaceutical Companies Association (VFA) said that sick leave will cost Germany €26 billion ($28 billion) in 2023, which will reduce economic output by 0.8 percentage points.

In a four-day work week trial in the UK, researchers also observed an average revenue increase of about 1.4% in 56 of the 61 participating companies. The majority expressed a desire to maintain the four-day work week.

However, for research work that requires higher expertise, it cannot be affirmed that this experimental work regime is effective in Germany.

Labor market expert Enzo Weber conducted a survey at the University of Regensburg and the Institute for Employment Research and found that the pilot project had a number of problems.

Speaking to DW , Mr. Weber said that only companies with jobs suitable for a four-day work week signed up for the trial. Therefore, the results cannot be applied to the entire economy.

Mr Weber also doubts that shorter work schedules will increase focus on work. Fewer hours could mean less social and creative work. In this study, the effects may not be felt immediately, as the studies were only tested for six months.

Other skeptics point to the challenge of measuring productivity. Reducing working hours can lead to structural changes, and affect employee engagement. It is unrealistic to expect a 25% increase in productivity in exchange for a 20% reduction in working hours, says Holger Schäfer, a researcher at the German Economic Institute (IW) in Cologne.

A four-day work week could mean higher costs for companies if “spreading working hours over just four days is not compensated by increased productivity,” said economist Bernd Fitzenberg of Germany’s Institute for Employment Research (IAB).

“This kind of work regime is particularly difficult in service sectors, especially when it comes to fixed hours with clients or people who are being cared for,” said Mr Fitzenberg, and is particularly difficult to implement in sectors such as nursing, security services or transport. “If you enforce such regulations across all sectors in the same way, it could impact competitiveness,” he said.

Despite the opposition, the four-day workweek is still attractive, even for established industrial companies. Germany’s largest union, IG Metall, is now in favor of experimenting with shorter working hours for a period. The steel industry, for example, is currently implementing a 35-hour workweek.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/mot-tuan-lam-viec-chi-4-ngay-nguoi-lao-dong-co-hanh-phuc-hon-259724.html