- Christian Lindner, the German finance minister, panned the concept of a four-day workweek.
- Lindner said no society in history has “increased its prosperity by working less.”
- 50 German companies are set to trial a four-day workweek starting February.
A top politician in Germany has panned the concept of a four-day workweek for full pay, saying it’s a hindrance to prosperity.
“Never in history has a society increased its prosperity by working less,” Christian Lindner, the German finance minister, said late Friday at an event in Switzerland, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.
“The key to our prosperity remains hard work,” added Lindner, who heads the pro-business Free Democratic Party.
It’s not the first time Lindner has panned the idea of a four-day workweek. He expressed similar thoughts earlier this year, as reported by local German media. Germany’s finance ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.
His comments come amid a wider global debate about a shorter work week following flexible work schedules during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Germany’s workers, too, appear to have reservations about the four-day workweek, according to a survey conducted by Germany’s trade union-affiliated Hans-Böckler Foundation released in May.
More than two-thirds, or 73% of the 2,575 German employees surveyed by the foundation, showed they want a four-day workweek — only if their pay remains the same. Just 8% would accept lower wages, while 17% rejected a four-day workweek altogether.
Still, Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is set to trial a four-day workweek from February 1, with 50 companies in the country taking part, German public broadcaster ZDF reported on August 30.
It follows the UK’s trial of a four-day workweek between June and December 2022, with 3,300 workers at 70 UK firms participating in the experiment. In the experiment, the employees slashed their weekly hours by 20% but did not have to take a pay cut.
Of the 61 companies that participated in the UK trial, 56 said they would continue, while 18 said they would make it a permanent arrangement. Researchers found fewer workers resigned or took sick days off during the trial period when compared to the year before. Businesses that shared sales figures also reported higher revenues in the same period.
Workers, too, felt the benefits of a four-day workweek — about 70% reported lower levels of burnout.
Kieran Woof, a senior science-policy officer at the Royal Society of Biology, told Insider’s Beatrice Nolan in March that having a four-day workweek means means ” you go back into the working week a lot more energized and mentally a lot more prepared and motivated.”
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