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After the corona pandemic, many saw it as a solution to the shortage of skilled workers. But in reality there is a problem with the 4-day week.
The 4-day week was sold as a “game changer” in the fight against the shortage of skilled workers. The Krafft hotel group in Basel also had high hopes: the employees would have more free time. The staff also expressed this in a survey.
But it was precisely this staff who wanted the 5-day week back. «The days were very long. With the break, the employees were at work for almost twelve hours a day,” says the Krafft Group’s HR manager, Melanie Horni. Some have switched back to the old system.
Legend:
Melanie Horni, HR manager at the Krafft Group: “The days were very long.”
SRF/Nina Gygax
The problem: Most people understand a 4-day week as a reduction in working hours. But that wasn’t possible for them, says Horni. In a hotel business, a 4-day week means 42 hours in four days. And that already costs more: “We are open seven days a week – someone has to cover these shifts.”
The kitchen team wants to stay there
Only the kitchen team at the Hotel Krafft would like to stick to the 4-day week for these reasons. The room hour was abolished there in the summer. This means that instead of taking a three-hour break in the afternoon, the kitchen team stayed on site until late in the evening.
This hour in the room is often not even perceived as a break, says Krafft head chef Lorenz Kaiser: “Even if you’re gone for three hours in the afternoon, it feels like you’ve been there all day.” That’s why the kitchen team wouldn’t have noticed the longer day as such.
No more going back to the 5-day week
The Park Hotel in Winterthur had similar experiences. There, too, only the kitchen team stuck to the 4-day week. This even helps to avoid overtime, says director Philipp Albrecht: “If we didn’t finish after lunch service, the room hour was lost. Now the kitchen team stays there all afternoon anyway.”
The changeover took time – after about a year the processes were in place. But now no one wants to go back to the 5-day week.
Legend:
Caroline Straub is investigating the effects of a 4-day week at the Bern University of Applied Sciences.
Bern University of Applied Sciences
Caroline Straub, professor at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, is leading a pilot study on the effects of the 4-day week. This lasts from March to August 2024 and is intended to provide insights into the feasibility of reducing working hours in Swiss companies.
Better sleep
Studies that have already been completed have shown that a four-day working week can have positive effects, says Straub.
Employees who only work four days showed better job satisfaction, improved health and higher loyalty to the employer. The quality of sleep was also positively influenced.
Impact on businesses unclear
However, these studies still provide little results about the effects of a 4-day week on the organizational level of companies. “Companies are asking themselves: Can we even afford this and what is the productivity of individual employees?” says Straub.
Nevertheless, the first studies are an interesting starting point for companies that want to improve the working conditions of their employees. Further scientific studies could provide even more precise findings.
The Schweizerhof in Lenzerheide has only tested, but not introduced, the 4-day week. Room hour is also very popular there, says business owner Claudia Züllig. «With us you can be on the ski slopes in fifteen minutes. The employees would rather go out for three or four hours instead of working ten-hour shifts.”
The guest determines the working hours
But the biggest challenge remains the same in all companies, whether in the mountains or in the city: the employees have to work when the guests come. “The guests can’t eat faster just because we would like the days to be shorter,” says Philipp Albrecht from the Park Hotel Winterthur.
Legend:
The four-day week still applies here. Krafft chef Lorenz Kaiser in the kitchen.
SRF/Nina Gygax
Ultimately, every company has to find its own solution. In the fight against the shortage of skilled workers, the 4-day week is a possible piece of the puzzle, but not a panacea. “It sounds good, but we noticed that there are many hidden challenges,” says Melanie Horni from the Krafft Group.
More work-life balance
The 4-day model remains an exception, even in the catering scene. This is confirmed by Maurus Ebneter, President of the Basel Innkeepers Association. However, it has been noted that many employees only want to work part-time, as in other industries. There is also a change in values in the catering industry towards more “work-life balance,” says Ebneter.