BERLIN - A trend that is gaining traction in Germany is companies that are looking to balance between worker shortages and the need to stay competitive.
Among the pioneers of the four-day week is KlimaShop, a purveyor of heat pumps and air-conditioning systems based near Augsburg in southern Germany.
Instead of working 40 hours a week across five days, employees now spend a total of 38 hours at work over four working days.
Otherwise put, each of KlimaShop's 30 employees works an hour-and-a-half more for each day they are in the office, while having an extra day to themselves each week.
Management consultancy Intraprenoer is leading the first large-scale experiment with the shorter schedule in Germany together with the organisation 4 Day Week Global, which has already run similar trials in other countries, such as the United Kingdom.
Starting in 2024, up to 50 companies of varying size are set to test the new hours, with the aim of avoiding a drop-off in productivity.
Intraprenoer, which already "abolished Friday" for its workers in 2016, said it has 33 interested candidates for the trial.
But an increasing number of businesses in Europe's largest economy have already taken the leap.
According to a study by the Hans-Boeckler foundation, fully 81 percent of Germans would support a shift to a four-day week.