Health and productivity
Four-day week: New study shows many advantages
Updated 10/18/2024 – 4:01 p.mReading time: 3 min.
Shorter working hours with the same salary improves the mental and physical health of employees. And employers also benefit.
In a pilot project in companies in Germany, the four-day week led to less stress among employees. “The employees reported significant improvements in their mental and physical health,” explained the management consultancy Intraprenör, initiator of the pilot project for the four-day week. At the same time, the companies’ performance and productivity did not suffer from the reduced working hours.
Since the beginning of the year, 45 companies across Germany have taken part in the pilot project, 41 of which have now completed the test phase or are about to, according to Intraprenör. The extent of the reduction in working hours varied depending on the company; some granted 20 percent fewer weekly working hours for the same wages, others only ten percent, some even less. According to the information, 85 percent had one “full day off per week”.
After the introduction of the new working time model, many companies changed their processes. One measure: They had fewer or at least shorter internal meetings.
“The four-day week led to a significantly positive change in life satisfaction, which was mainly due to the additional free time,” explained the scientific leader of the study, Julia Backmann. According to this, before the project, 64 percent of employees expressed the desire to spend more time with their family. After that it was still 50 percent.
The reduced amount of work also led to “an increase in daily activity levels, as measured by step counts and physical exercise.” In addition, the employees with fewer working hours slept an average of 38 minutes more per week than the control group without reduction. The number of stress and burnout reports has been significantly reduced.
For the study, the scientists conducted interviews, evaluated fitness trackers and tested hair samples for the stress hormone cortisol.
- Read also: Why constant stress makes us sick
The study focused primarily on the impact on employees. But: There were also “slight increases” in the companies’ profits and sales. However, compared to the previous year, these are “not significant”. Possible productivity gains are at least conceivable, explained Backmann. Employees and managers “tend to” notice an increase in productivity.
In some cases only individual teams from companies took part in the pilot project, in other cases the entire workforce. According to Intraprenör, the companies came from the service, manufacturing, care, IT and media sectors. The study involved 900 people. Of the original 45 participating companies, two canceled their participation due to “economic challenges or a lack of internal support for the four-day week.”
Carsten Meier from the consultancy Intraprenör sees the study as a contribution to a social debate to redefine work. “We need a new understanding of performance in Germany – one that doesn’t stick to working hours but focuses on results and goals.” You need a working world that is economically successful and innovative and at the same time helps employees to be healthy and offers them an attractive working environment.
Professor Backmann restricts that the study is not about promoting a comprehensive introduction of the four-day week across all sectors, but rather testing it as “a possibility for an innovative working time model and its impact”.
The employers’ association BDA expresses criticism. “In an international comparison, we Germans already work the least over the year,” says BDA Managing Director Steffen Kampeter, pointing out that companies that compete internationally have consciously decided not to take part in the experiment. “Ultimately, a four-day week with full wage compensation would just be a massive wage increase that most companies cannot afford.”
Instead of talking about working less, talk about distributing the hours in a week more flexibly. “Wherever it suits, working more Monday to Thursday and taking Friday off – that should be possible if employees and employers agree on it.” With a view to the weak economy, FDP federal politician Reinhard Houben notes: “So far, no economic stagnation has been overcome by less work.”
The German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB) is rather cautious about the issue. Board member Anja Piel says that it must first be clarified what exactly is meant by a four-day week. “If you only work four days with full wage compensation and the workload does not increase, this can ideally lead to greater job satisfaction and higher productivity.” She warns of a “deceit” if the same workload were spread over fewer days and employees would be even more caught up in the hamster wheel of everyday work than before.