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Greg Volynsky is a student at Harvard Law School.
In Today’s News & Commentary, an experiment with a four-day workweek begins in Germany.
On Thursday, a New Zealand-based nonprofit began its experiment with a four-day workweek in Germany. The nonprofit, 4 Day Week Global, has previously piloted a four-day workweek with 33 companies in the United States and Ireland, declaring the project a “huge success.” Forty-five companies in Germany are taking part in the six-month program, which started on February 1.
The pilot comes amid a twofold labor crisis in Germany: labor shortage and inflation. The job-vacancy rate is high, while unemployment is low. Employees across industries are seeking higher wages and planning strikes, including the national construction union, which represents 930,000 workers and is seeking a 20 percent pay increase. And, as Bloomberg reports, the problem is likely to get worse, as falling birth and immigration rates are expected to further shrink the workforce.
The four-day workweek has been hailed by some as one path forward. Proponents argue that the shorter workweek will reduce burnout and increase productivity, upholding steady economic output, and attracting workers from around the world. The nonprofit 4 Day Week Global claims that all companies that participated in their initial pilot plan to continue with a four-day workweek.
Writing in 2010, Robert Bird of the University of Connecticut argued that the four-day workweek is neither novel nor beneficial. Bird surveys evidence from the 1970s, when many claimed that the four-day workweek “has arrived,” and concludes that the four-day workweek boosts employee morale only temporarily. Only about half of studies from the period found that the shortened workweek had a positive economic impact, as measured by productivity and absenteeism. The compressed workweek creates longer workdays and increases pressure on shift workers, leading one-third of firms that adopted the compressed workweek to revert back shortly.
Utah adopted a four-day, ten-hour-per-day workweek in 2008; in 2011, Utah retreated to a five-day workweek, after an audit found that the change failed to achieve lawmakers’ objectives and residents complained about lack of services on Friday.
Could this time be different? Bill Gates thinks so.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
June 30
Explaining the turnaround in Starbucks-union negotiations; overtime rule implementation against Texas enjoined; California reforms PAGA
June 28
Gig driver classification deal reached in Massachusetts; Amazon drivers in Illinois strike over ULP; CEO pay accelerates.
June 27
The economy and immigration expected to play a central role in the upcoming presidential debate and Washington gets involved in AI regulation of the entertainment industry.
June 26
California judge fines companies for child labor violations; IATSE reaches tentative deal with studios; Texas judge likely to block Biden Administration's overtime rule
June 25
Supreme Court grants petition to hear a case on the scope of ADA standing; Texas federal district court blocks DOL rule expanding wage requirements for construction contractors, and South Korean Hyundai workers authorize strike.
June 24
Workers across the country face extreme heat exposure with minimal government protections; Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2 reaches a tentative agreement with Con Edison narrowly avoiding a strike; the Tenth Circuit grants a continuation of a freeze on a wage increase for some federal contractors