Title Uncertainty over the Four-Day Weekend Experiment
The demand for a four-day workweek with full wage compensation by IG Metall has been withdrawn in light of the current economic climate. The move has sparked mixed reactions from experts who view the model critically in the present economic situation, although the debate on reducing working hours continues to be contentious.
Two years ago, IG Metall entered wage negotiations in the steel industry with a call for employees to work only 32 hours a week. However, considering the tense economic situation, the trade union has now abandoned its push for a four-day workweek.
IG Metall chairwoman Christiane Benner told the Bild newspaper that a four-day week with full wage compensation is no longer on the union's list of demands. "That doesn't make it any less sensible," she added, pointing out that it is employers who are currently decreasing working hours, to the detriment of employees.
Guido Zander, managing partner of SSZ Consulting and a labor market expert, finds it surprising that the trade union is now retreating from this demand. He sees the comprehensive introduction of the four-day week as infeasible, considering that employees should have freedom in determining their own work schedules. Enzo Weber, a working time expert, shares a similar view, suggesting that the rigid four-day workweek should be replaced by self-determined working hours.
Economist Zander sees efficiency and higher productivity as the key to achieving a four-day workweek in the economy through increased automation, digitalization, or AI. He admits that high sick rates in shift operations necessitate relieving employees if the economic situation allows it.
Germany will soon need more working hours to replace the baby boomer generation retiring, according to Holger Schäfer from the German Institute of Economic Research. Schäfer is critical of the idea of a four-day workweek, stating that it would not solve the problem of the decreasing number of potential labor forces if individuals work even less during a time of economic stagnation and rising costs.
If a four-day week with full wage compensation were to be nationally implemented, companies anticipate negative effects on the German economy, with 94 percent of the 823 companies surveyed stating they would lose value creation. Almost seven out of ten respondents also fear that work would pile up, potentially leading to a loss of international competitiveness.
The four-day week model is not extensively adopted, with 82 percent of companies yet to test it. However, around half of the respondents see opportunities in the four-day week, such as making their company more appealing to job seekers and skilled workers. Nevertheless, only six percent believe that the skilled worker shortage can be addressed with a four-day week.
Sources: ntv.de, dpa
In the face of financial and economic constraints, IG Metall has withdrawn its demand for a four-day workweek with full wage compensation, as employers start to reduce working hours instead. Yet, some experts like Guido Zander suggest that efficiency and higher productivity could enable the implementation of the four-day workweek in the economy through technological advancements like automation, digitalization, or AI, which could also alleviate high sick rates in shift operations.
