Study: Compressed 4-Day Week Has Positive Effects for Employees

The 4-day week is a highly controversial topic in Austria. However, it is usually implemented in a less radical way than some people fear. In compressed working time models, the total weekly working time is not (significantly) reduced, but only condensed. In many carpentry shops, installation companies and in the construction industry, for example, the short/long-week model, in which every second Friday is free or shortened, is common. Another form of compression is four longer working days of around nine to 10 hours per day with a three-day weekend break from Friday to Sunday.

Eva Zedlacher from Webster University and Martina Hartner-Tiefenthaler from the Vienna University of Technology investigated the effect of such compressed working time models with Fridays off on work and life satisfaction in their joint research project "Four-is-More?!". To this end, around 500 people in over 20 companies in Lower Austria and Vienna were interviewed or surveyed several times about their experiences with the new working time model.

What are the main findings of the study? In short, most employees are very satisfied with the compressed 4-day week. Almost all employees see advantages in their professional lives, but especially in their private lives. These assessments remain stable even a year later. Because of these perceived advantages, employees feel committed to the company. This sense of commitment also has a positive effect on identification with the company and motivation to perform, the study leaders conclude.

Production Companies With Compressed Working Hours

The "Four-is-More?!" project was funded by AK Lower Austria (Project Fund Work 4.0) and the City of Vienna (MA 7). Participating companies that have successfully switched to the compressed 4-day week in recent years include Metalltechnik Fuchs, Betonwerke Seidl, Weinzetl Fenster und Türen, Windkraft Simonsfeld, Karrosseriecenter/Autohaus Wais, and the carpentry firms Griessner and Schneider Forstner Interior.

Another example of a success story is the construction and real estate company HANDLER, which has around 500 employees and is headquartered in Bad Schönau. The project team led by Hermann Pernsteiner, Dieter Hofer and Katharina Handler explains, "With our very diverse workforce, there were naturally different expectations and concerns. We therefore recommend a longer trial period and the involvement of all employees and the works council before the new working time model is actually implemented. The university's support also significantly increased confidence in the results."

Some of the participating companies also give their employees the option of switching back to a five-day week at short notice if necessary, or working on Fridays at their own request in order to be able to finish off any outstanding tasks in peace. This flexibility is already standard practice at z+p Ziviltechniker GmbH in St. Pölten and at the engineering firm kppConsultING in Schrems, for example. Despite the high approval rate for the new working time model in both companies, z+p managing director Dieter Nusterer knows: "You can't please everyone."

Disadvantages: Longer Working Days can Jeopardize Equality

The compressed working week in male-dominated companies also has its downsides – at least for certain groups of employees. The longer working day proved to be a considerable challenge, especially for fathers and other people with care responsibilities: there was no time for the playground or dinner with the children – a work-life balance problem that is usually given little consideration when developing working time models in male-dominated organizations. Due to the longer working day, many fathers compensated for the lack of daily visits to the playground with extended weekend trips. However, care tasks that could not be postponed, such as cooking, had to be delegated to someone else – in most cases, the children's mother.

Study co-author Jana Mikats sees these strategies as a potential risk to equality in families: "Especially when the partner is on parental leave or not working full-time, fathers see themselves as involved fathers because they spend more time together on the weekend, but they participate even less in daily childcare tasks during the week." The compressed working time model is most challenging for single parents, who are deprived of any time for their own activities due to the longer working day. The researchers therefore agreed: Equality in families can best be achieved or promoted by reducing the number of full-time hours per week. Even a few hours make a difference here.

New Study Focusing on Reducing Working Hours

In a follow-up project, the researchers are now investigating the effect of a substantially shorter working week. To this end, they are looking for companies that are willing to reduce their standard weekly working hours by at least four hours: participating companies will receive input via workshops and scientific support in the form of surveys during the minimum six-month trial phase of a four-day week. The project is being carried out in cooperation with the Institute for Organizational Development, which has already supported many companies in Switzerland in the effective implementation of the 4-day week.

If you have any questions about the study or are interested in a trial phase of the 4-day week, please contact:eva.zedlacher@webster.ac.at , martina.hartner-tiefenthaler@tuwien.ac.at

The current study on fathers in compressed working time models is available for download (with paywall): Blue-collar fathers' temporal strategies for childcare in a compressed 4-day workweek and implications for gender equality: Community, Work & Family: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access 

Media Coverage:

Compressed four-day week has positive effects for employees

The four-day workweek is a controversial topic in Austria. However, it is generally implemented less "radically" than many opponents fear: In so-called compressed working time models, the total weekly working hours are not (significantly) reduced, but merely condensed. How does this impact work-life balance and what are the implications for society? Business and Management professor Eva Zedlacher, PhD, researches compressed workweek models and the impacts of condensed work schedules on societal well-being.

Read more about this research on ORF and in Die Presse and Morgen.Moment (in German).