Productivity is maintained with a 4-day work week

A key finding of the UK project is that reducing working hours to an average of 32 hours on full pay does not necessarily lead to a reduction in productivity. The analysis by the researchers from Boston and Cambridge showed just the opposite: the performance of the approximately 2,900 participating employees tended to increase – in addition to other positive effects such as lower burnout percentages or higher employee loyalty. 56 of the 61 employers wanted to keep the four-day working week after the end of the test phase.

More well-being and better health
The results of the UK study are largely consistent with the findings of a study published in 2022 commissioned by the organization “4 Day Week Global” in Ireland and the US. 33 companies from different sectors participated in the survey, mainly from the IT and telecommunications sector. In practice, a four-day working week was introduced in the companies. According to this study, productivity did not decrease either. The personal well-being and health of the staff improved.

Two major tests in Iceland, which took place between 2015 and 2019, were quite successful. In total, some 2,500 people from the public sector participated in the trial. There, too, the reduction in working hours – which was reduced to 35 to 36 hours per week – had no negative impact on productivity. In addition, the participants reported a noticeable reduction in their stress levels, better work-life balance and overall better health.

Good experience with other short-time working models
In addition to studies that have already been completed, similar projects are currently underway in many countries. The corresponding models of short-time work vary – a “real” four-day work week with 32 hours per week at the same salary is not always the goal in these attempts. For example, France recently announced its intention to test the introduction of a reduced working week (35 hours) in public administration. In Spain, on the other hand, experiments have been started in small and medium-sized companies, with the aim of reducing staff working hours by at least ten percent. A more flexible working time model has already been introduced in Belgium. And trials are scheduled to begin in Wales and Scotland this year.

AMS boss sees no “general answer” in four-day weeks
Such concepts have not yet been rolled out or tested on a large scale in Austria. So far, attempts have mainly been made at the level of individual companies, for example at the window manufacturer Weinzetl in Wiener Neustadt (Lower Austria), as the “Kurier” reported in May 2022. Experts are also divided on whether and to what extent a four-day work week could be introduced nationally in this country. The head of the labor market service, Johannes Kopf, was skeptical about this on Monday in the “ZiB 2”. Broader implementation is difficult, especially in light of the prevailing labor shortage. Due to demographic developments, there will generally be fewer people on the labor market in the medium term. The four-day work week can therefore be a solution on an individual level, but not a “general answer”.

The Wifo labor market expert Julia Bock-Schappelwein advocates thinking more holistically about the subject. In an interview with the APA, she referred to a best practice study by the economic research institute, according to which flexible working hours are just one of many possible starting points for improving working conditions or making employees more attractive as an employer. Levers exist, among other things, in corporate culture or in qualification measures. From the point of view of the companies, the question always arises as to why changes are sought. At the moment, companies are not only struggling with the shortage of labor, the expert spoke about current uncertainties such as ongoing problems in the supply chain and a volatile order situation.