For quite some time now,  many company bosses, managers, trade unions, academics, journalists, and workers in Europe have been talking about the four-day work week. 

And recently, Germany’s Volksbank or the People’s Bank has taken the lead in adopting this new working structure. This might well be what the future of the service industry in Europe will look like.    

The four-day work week is a system where an employee works only for four days instead of the traditional five days at 100 percent salary. Some workers at Germany’s Volksbank are already under this structure. 

While some of the cooperative bank’s branches rave about the four-day work week, however, there are also some  criticisms. 

As in any new undertaking, the four-day work week’s pros and cons have also been discussed in many business circles. Countries such as Belgium and the UK are also setting examples. They, too, have reported positive effects of the shortened working week. And at least five marked advantages of a four-day work week were highlighted: 

1. more productive working days;
2. less corporate stress;
3. higher job satisfaction;
4. less frequent absences due to illness; and, most importantly,
5. a significant contribution to work-life balance. 

Encouragingly, about fifty German companies are currently testing the model as a pilot project. And various cooperative banks have been relying on the four-day work week for some time now. But scepticism also remains widespread.

Unsurprisingly, a whopping 81% of German workers want a four-day work week. To support that, a 2023 study by the Hans Böckler Foundation found overwhelming endorsements of this new work model.

Workers and employees said that they wanted more time for themselves and their family – fostering a better work-life balance. Simultaneously, the cooperative bank needs one thing above all else: new skilled workers. In order to get these and to improve their success in Germany’s labour market, the desire of German employees for a shortened working week is now being pursued by employers. 

And it makes companies more attractive in an increasingly tight labour market. Consequently, the labour market issue on the skill shortage has been hotly debated for months.

The Volksbank branch in the southern city of Kaiserslautern is among those betting on for a “free Friday”. Already in the summer of 2022, the bank introduced a 34.5-hour week by reducing working hours by 4.5 hours per week – while the workers’ pay remains the same.

By shortening the working week with the same salary, banks become more attractive to future job applicants, and the move is particularly well received by young employees – the Generation Z. 

Self-evidently, the four-day work week that is already in place at the Volksbank resulted in reduced staff turnover. However, the introduction of the four-day work week also meant that many branches of the Volksbank are now closed on Fridays. Customers who urgently need to contact the bank on Fridays, can do so via e-mail, the website, or by phoning a call centre.

Yet, Volksbank’s Kaiserslautern branch is not alone. Employees at PSD Bank in the northern city of Braunschweig and Volksbank Euskirchen near the city of Cologne can now also sleep-in on Fridays, see their GP, attend to state office, pursue their hobbies, and spend more time with family. Other banks that also rely on the four-day work week or have introduced a reduction of weekly working hours, are the Volksbank in Düsseldorf-Neuss and the Sparda-Bank in Berlin.

On the downside however, most employees with a four-day work week in one of the cooperative banks receive reduced annual leave entitlements. While the salary remained unchanged, annual leave days at Volksbank Euskirchen, for example, have decreased from 30 to 24 days per year. 

Meanwhile, at Auricher Raiffeisen-Volksbank, employees could decide whether they want to continue working five days a week or only four. The second option means having less annual leave days.

In the meantime, not everyone sees a four-day work week at Germany’s Volksbank as a purely positive development. Nevertheless, the cooperative bank itself – which offers several different working time models – see three positive developments. These are: 

1. more applicants for vacancies;
2. more satisfied employees; and,
3. customers understood the changes.

But there are also criticisms against the four-day work week model. They point out that Germany’s “demographic development” – will mean that less workers are entering the labour market. 

They argue that with less workers, the remaining workers will have to work more and to put simply, that does not allow for a reduction of work time to work less. They argue that the opposite is needed.  

Whilst Volksbank’s top management admitted that the four-day work week could work for individual banks, however, management also thinks that this model might not work for the entire sector. Critiques also fear that the current shortage of skilled workers can be exacerbated rather than compensated for by introducing the four-day work week.

Meanwhile, at Germany’s Essity corporation, the works council played a decisive role when it comes to introducing the four-day work week model. Essity’s most popular product is the much loved paper handkerchief  “Tempo” – a kind of German Kleenex. The pros and cons of the four-day work week were discussed by Essity’s employees in the city of Neuss, two years ago. 

Around that time, management had moved the manufacturing of the famous Tempo – to the southern city of Mannheim. In return, the Neuss factory received the processing of other products. 

Initially, there was a rather sharp increase in the work’s volume which led to work strains on the side of employees. Soon, sick leave days shot up. In fact, there were days when 14% of the workers were on sick leave.

At that time, the company operated on the 35-hour work week. The relatively high levels of sick leave can also be directly attributed to management making constant changes to the work roster. 

This was extremely inconvenient not only to the company’s staff. Some line managers were also unhappy. Management then moved to what the company called a “drive through operation” which involved working seven days a week. 

Simultaneously, ideas on both sides – management and workers – for solving the problem has drifted further apart. Employee representatives called for more staff. Meanwhile, Essity’s management favoured a return to the 38-hour work week.

As a possible solution, Essity’s works council proposed a new shift model to provide relief in operations without incurring additional costs. The works council used this strategy as a tactical move. When devising its strategy, the works council had set itself three goals to be achieved:

1. The works council needed to prove to management that workers could reduce the number of working days;
2. It also wanted to show that it is possible to reduce the number of days on sick leave;
3. It also needed to show that the four-day work week would make work at Essity more interesting and that this will have a positive impact on potential and newly hired employees. 

The works council’s plan was also designed to deal with the aforementioned shortage of skilled workers at the factory. Independence preferring, personal freedom seeking, and work-life balance favouring young workers – Generation Z – in trainee positions were particularly not enthusiastic about the rigidity of management’s shift work system. As a consequence, the works council had to show how the company can keep young people in the company.

Worse, over the past years, many had noticed an overall decline in the length of employment in the company. Workers, the works council, and management used to celebrate the 25^th and even the 40^th long-service anniversary of workers. 

Nowadays, this is happening less and less often. In fact, when employees find that the working conditions aren’t right, they tend to look for a new employer rather quickly. Just like almost any other company in Germany, Essity has plenty of competition in the region of Neuss.

In order to increase their chances of winning the strategic bet with management, the works council relied on external help. Essity’s working time committee sought advice from the local trade union – the IG BCE – as well as external experts on working time systems. 

Of course, the committee also considered the wishes of the staff during several of Essity’s workshops that planned the changes in working time.

The works council used a special tool to calculate what converting towards the four-day work week model would mean. First of all, there has to be an increase in costs due to additional staff. This didn’t make the negotiating position of the works council any easier. 

But in the long term, the changeover would be cost-neutral, taking into account all factors, including reduced staff turnover and a reduction of sick leave. These facts finally convinced management.

As a result, the new working time rules have been in force since the 1^st of January 2023. On the upswing, workers have been “super-satisfied”, says the works council. Today, many workers do not want any other working-time model. 

The advantages of the new system for all parties involved became apparent very quickly. With the new shift model, everyone works 32.5 hours a week. 

The highlight is that the four-day work week is still being discussed everywhere. Meanwhile, back at tissue maker Essity, the manufacturer is getting already very close to its new working-time model. Their model of flexible working weeks would – over time – average out no more than 4.2 days per week. 

Overall, workers in Germany’s paper industry – approximately 40,000 employees – are still working 38 hours per week.

But it is not only the reduced workload that makes the new shift model a successful system. Sick leave has dropped significantly since the beginning of 2024. Many workers are already taking advantage of the new model.

The new shift model is well received both inside the company and externally. Essity has increased its attractiveness as a modern employer and its improved working conditions have become the ‘talk’ in the Neuss region. In addition, the company recently had no problems in recruiting 50 new employees.

The Four-Day Work Week in Portugal

Last year, 41 Portuguese companies took part in a six-month four-day work week pilot. The trial of the four-day work week was accompanied by a research study. Today, the results of this study are available. 

A new survey shows that the impact after the first four months: 95% of companies rate the experience with four-day work week as positive.

These experiences are in line with a 2021 book – Friday is the New Saturday – that outlines a vision for the four-day work week as a better way to organize the economy in the 21^st century. 

In 2022, the Portuguese government has invited the book’s author to coordinate a four-day-a-week pilot project.

Many companies joined into the project. They expect a competitive advantage from the four-day work week, particularly when it comes to finding and retaining qualified personnel. The project did not include any form of state subsidy for participating companies. Yet, they were supported by an expert team during the introduction of the four-day work week. The goal of the four-day work week project was threefold:

1. to shorten the real working time;
2. to have one more day off; and,
3. all this without a reduction in wages.

In the end, no single model of working-time emerged. Some companies closed on Fridays, others sent part of the workforce home on Fridays, and Mondays. Still, others introduced a rotating system. This is especially true for companies that have to maintain their operations between five or even seven days a week. 

These companies work with what we call mirror teams. This means that there is always someone who knows what their colleagues are doing on site. And then there are also some companies that only partially introduced the four-day work week. They worked five days one week and four days, the next. The project supported this to make it easier for companies to transition into a four-day work week.

To fully maintain operations with fewer hours, one site, – a kindergarten – decided to hire an additional educator. Overall, this remained the exception. In general, 75% of the companies have changed their operational processes. This meant that:

• some form of work tasks has been shortened or completely abolished;
• workplace communication has been better structured;
• technology has been better used; and, 
• specific time blocks have been created in which work is done. 

This means that no e-mails will be answered during off time, and no telephone calls from colleagues will also be answered. During the three-month preparation phase, the team repeatedly advised that the four-day work week did exactly that: off means off. In addition, it was the four-day work week project that created the need to structure everyday working life better.

It might sound surprising, but the four-day work week actually increases productivity. Yet, these changes to work organisation could hardly be made without the workforce. The four-day work week gives the workers an incentive to participate in work-related affairs. 

Overall, weekly working time decreased by 12%. Some companies extended the four remaining working days by half an hour each day. Others were shortened only every other week. Many ideas for the restructuring of work processes came from employees themselves.

The overall assessment of the four-day work week project was positive. The introduction of four-day work week and adjacent systems extended to around 1,000 people working in 41 companies. The research team surveyed 200 participants. Before the four-day work week, 46% said that it was very difficult to reconcile work and personal life. Today, only 8% say that. In addition:

• 65% of respondents said, that they now spend more time with their family;
• 60% devote more time to their hobbies; 
• 45% spend more time with friends;
• feelings of anxiety and trepidation has decreased by 21%;
• fatigue have decreased by 23%;
• sleep disorders have been reduced by 19%; 
• depression has declined by 21%;
• burnout is down by 19% compared to before the project was introduced; and finally, 
• sick leave has been falling.

Initially, Portuguese trade unions were rather reluctant when the project was introduced. Trade unions tend to be rather conservative in their understanding of work. Worse, trade unions in Portugal were focusing more on a general reduction in working hours. Their goal was the 35-hour work week. 

Yet, the four-day work week is much more flexible. It changes the workflows and individualised working hours depending on the company. On the downside, this also means a fragmentation of everyday life.

Initially, Portugal’s move towards the four-day work week was an initiative and was promoted by companies and management. Since the four-day work week came from the side of management, trade unions were reluctant to participate in a project like this. 

Meanwhile, Germany’s mighty IG Metall trade union has also been supportive of the idea of a four-day work week. Since IG Metall occupies somewhat of a pioneering role – not only for Germany – the support of IG Metall and the result of the Portuguese’s four-day work week project will have implications across European working time arrangements moving towards the four-day work week.

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