The four-day week: argument for attracting talent or false good idea? Opportunity to optimize your processes or organizational constraint? Vector of improvement in well-being at work or increase in workload? Employers’ opinions are often decided on the issue!
Nothing like proof by example to “demystify certain beliefs”according to Philippe du Payrat, co-founder of 4jours.work, which represents 4 Day Week Global in France. In this case, that of Germany, which has just ended its six-month national pilot (between January and June 2024), is edifying.
Why did these 45 German companies which took part in the experiment want to test the four-day week? Firstly to make themselves more attractive (cited by 89% of the panel), but also to improve the well-being of their employees (77%) and increase their productivity (57%).
On all three counts, the test was rather conclusive. This is why 73% of the companies that participated decided to perpetuate the four-day week at the end of the experimental phase. What conclusions can be drawn from the second largest wave of testing of the four-day week across Europe, as France prepares to launch its own pilot in December?
Improved physical and mental health of employees
Across the Rhine, 90% of companies noted an improvement in the general well-being of their employees after the transition to the four-day week. This new organization was notably accompanied by a reduction in stress and more time devoted to sleep and physical activity.
Surprisingly, German scientists decided to measure stress levels using a connected watch and taking strands of employees’ hair! Generally speaking, employees used this day off extra to take care of them, devote themselves to their hobbies and increase social interactions.
Stable or increasing productivity
In these companies, by reducing weekly working hours, the level of production remained the same. Which means that the teams maintained or even increased their productivity. In detail, based on 38.7 hours of actual work per week:
- 46% of companies have reduced their weekly working hours by 4 hours
- 20% from 4 to 7 a.m.
- 34% more than 7 hours
“These figures dispel the prejudice, also prevalent in France, according to which it is the hourly volume that determines the company’s turnover. By moving to a four-hour week, companies have lost neither profitability nor competitiveness”notes the co-founder of 4.jours.work.
Less absenteeism and turnover
The HR indicators are also green. German employers recorded an 11-point drop in absenteeism rates over the duration of the pilot. 53% of managers also believe that this experience has had a positive impact on the retention of their employees.
Processes redesigned to gain efficiency
How have companies managed to maintain their level of production without this leading to additional workload? 65% of them reduced distractions, 63% improved their processes, 52% rethought meetings, 32% boosted concentration periods, 25% used digitalization solutions.
The four-day week can suit everyone… as long as you find the right model
The German companies which took part in this experiment belonged to sectors as varied as consulting, industry, IT, health and even the media. 60% of the guinea pig companies experimented with it at the scale of their organization, while 40% preferred to do it at the level of a service or a type of profession.
Most companies have opted for one less working day per week, while others have preferred to eliminate half a day of weekly working or alternate between four and five day weeks.
This proves that there is a whole range of adaptation of the four-day week depending on your activity and your corporate culture. “Moreover, among the companies that wanted to perpetuate the four-day week, 15% adapted its terms after the test phase”specifies Philippe du Payrat.
An observation shared by the French parliamentary mission dedicated to the four-day week in France, the results of which were communicated on October 16. “Overall, it works everywhere and particularly in sectors where one might have thought a priori that it would be more complicated. I am thinking in particular of public works or production professions,” said Stéphane Viry, Liot MP, co-rapporteur of an evaluation mission on this subject. According to the authors of the text, the four-day week “deserves to be implemented, wherever possible”even if “It’s not a panacea. This is why we do not need a law to make it obligatory.”
Today, in France, only 150 companies have chosen to move to a four-day week.
A French pilot launched in December
“The results of the German pilot are interesting because the panel of companies shares many similarities with the French sample: average volume of weekly working hours, size of participating companies, employer motivations, initial productivity,” Philippe du Payrat list. “Through this pilot, we wish to democratize the 4-day week, in particular among French SMEs, by providing comprehensive training (legal, HR, strategic, operational) with the support of EM Lyon Business, CFE CGC and B-Corp, among others. »
Would you like to participate in the pilot? Go to 4jours.work. And if you’re wondering if you’re ready to move to a four-day week, do your homework.
