Germany tests 4-day work week for six months

From February 1, more than 45 companies in Germany have been testing out the 4-day work week. The trial will run for six months. Germany joins other European countries in recognising the effects of a shorter work week on employees and employers.

Germany's struggle to revive its sluggish economy is set to take an experimental turn as a host of companies take part in a pilot to work a 4-day week, with labour unions claiming that it could not only leave staff healthier and happier, but also more productive.

Belgium became the first country in Europe to legislate for a four-day week, making it law in November 2022. Employees in Belgium can decide whether to work four or five days - the total work hours remain the same though.

A six-month trial of the four-day work week was conducted by 4 Day Week Global, a non-profit organisation, in 2022 in the United Kingdom resulting in significant findings. 73 companies and 2,900 companies took part in that trial, and at the end of the trial 90 per cent of the employers said they would continue with the system.

The Germany trial is also being piloted by 4 Day Week Global, with Intreprenor, and largely involves companies whose work can be adapted to a shorter workweek.

Based on an OECD report released in 2023, Germany already had one of the shortest working hours per worker at 1,341 hours a year. In comparison, workers in the all OECD regions worked an average of more than 1,700 hours a year.

German industrial output extended its slump to a seventh month in December, underlining the struggles gripping Europe's largest economy. The inflation and employment backdrop remains more positive.

Some analysts and some government leaders expect that the trial would not help while Germany is already going through a slump, but results from other trials across the globe have yielded extremely positive results.