Overview
- From a six-month pilot involving 45 organisations with full pay and University of Münster oversight, roughly 70% still use reduced hours, often in adapted formats rather than a rigid four-day week.
- Reported outcomes include gains in innovation and creativity (74%), higher employer attractiveness (74%), stronger retention (56%), and more applications (53%), with no measured drop in productivity.
- Employees on shortened schedules overwhelmingly cited better work–life balance (94%) and experienced significantly lower psychological strain versus a control group.
- About 30% reverted to five-day schedules, which researchers attribute to economic uncertainty, order peaks, or structural conditions rather than employee dissatisfaction or departures.
- Responses split along familiar lines: employers’ group BDA questions affordability and social-security impacts, IG Metall defends reduced hours, and IAB data indicate only about 3% want part-time solely for leisure.