Well-being increases when working hours are reduced, finds Germany-wide study

Well-being increases when working hours are reduced—while productivity remains the same or even increases moderately. This was supported by a Germany-wide study conducted by the University of Münster under the scientific direction of Professor Dr. Julia Backmann and co-led by Dr. Felix Hoch.

“The four-day week led to a significant positive change in life satisfaction, which was mainly due to the additional free time,” remarked the researcher. Before the pilot project, 64% of the employees therefore expressed the desire to spend more time with their families. After the introduction of the four-day week, this figure was reduced to 50%.

Since the beginning of 2024, 45 organizations from various sectors in Germany have been taking part in a six-month pilot project by the Berlin consultancy Intraprenör and the organization 4 Day Week Global to trial the four-day week. On October 18th (Friday), the researcher presented the first scientific results together with Carsten Meier, co-initiator of the pilot project and Managing Director of Intraprenör.

By taking part in the study, the participating organizations hoped to find answers to the questions of whether the four-day week can lead to an increase in employer attractiveness, better employee health and a sustainable future direction and insights on how the changes might affect productivity.

“Although there were slight increases in key financial performance indicators such as turnover and profit, these were not significantly different from the previous year. Nevertheless, the unchanged key metrics indicate possible productivity gains despite the reduced working hours,” explained Backmann.

Survey results by top management and employees supported the assumption that performance and productivity improved during the trial. “Both sides noticed an increase in productivity.”

The reduction in normal working hours was not achieved at the cost for increased overtime hours. Instead, employees implemented several measures. More than 60% cited reducing distractions and streamlining processes, while just over half changed their meeting culture by reducing the frequency and length of internal meetings, for example. A quarter of respondents introduced new digital tools to further increase efficiency.

“The potential of reduced working hours seems to be hidden under complicated processes, meetings and a lack of digitalization,” explained co-initiator Meier. “Organizations need to do the necessary transformation work to fully realize the benefits of a four-day week.”

Employees reported significant improvements in their mental and physical health, Backmann said. The employees reported less stress and burnout symptoms. Physiological data were measured using smartwatch devices in the study.

The introduction of the four-day week led to an increase in daily activity levels, as measured by the number of steps taken and physical activity. In addition, the employees in the four-day week slept an average of 38 minutes longer per week than the control group. Measured minutes of stress per day were significantly lower in the four-day-week group than in the control group.

Although the organizational data showed a slight reduction in monthly sick days, the difference was not statistically significant compared to 2023. In contrast to similar studies abroad, the team of scientists from the University of Münster also found no evidence that the four-day week had a positive impact on environmentally conscious behavior or the carbon footprint. On the contrary, it was found that domestic travel increased.

The results suggest that the four-day week in Germany will not end with the project. More than 70% of the participating organizations indicated that they would like to continue, either by extending the test phase or by fully implementing a four-day week.

Method

The research involved three waves of data collection. The research team conducted interviews and quantitative surveys with employees and organizations and collected physiological data, for example, by using smartwatch devices and measuring the stress hormone cortisol in hair samples. Organizational key metrics were also collected and analyzed. Control groups within the organizations who did not implement the four-day week were also surveyed.

The organizations themselves decided how they wanted to implement the four-day week—60% of them applied it to the entire workforce. Larger organizations introduced the four-day week only for certain employees or teams. The models differed in the extent to which working hours were reduced and the flexibility of days off. The majority (85%) granted one fixed or flexible day off per week.

The participating organizations covered a wide range of sectors, including consulting and services, manufacturing, care, IT and media. The size ranged from companies with less than 10 employees (15%) to large organizations with more than 250 employees (14%). The majority of the organizations were small (10–49 employees) and medium-sized (50–249 employees) companies.

The organizations were able to take part in up to 15 digital workshops, for example, on identifying the right work time reduction model and optimizing work processes. They also had the opportunity to participate in digital and face-to-face networking meetings to share experiences and insights.

While 51% of the organizations met the official start date of 1 February 2024, others started between January and June. By October 2024, 41 organizations had either completed or were close to completing the test phase. Of the original 45 organizations, two dropped out due to economic challenges or lack of internal support for the four-day week—both of which were large companies.