Piloting a 4 day work week in Swiss corporations
Is a 4 day work week without a reduction in pay feasible for Swiss corporations?
Factsheet
- Lead school Business School
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Institute
Institute for New Work
Institute for Applied Data Science & Finance - Research unit New Forms of Work and Organisation
- Strategic thematic field Thematic field "Sustainable Development"
- Funding organisation BFH
- Duration (planned) 01.03.2024 - 31.12.2025
- Project management Prof. Dr. Caroline Straub
- Head of project Prof. Dr. Caroline Straub
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Project staff
Prof. Dr. Caroline Straub
Prof. Dr. Isabelle Zinn
Prof. Dr. Christian Zihlmann
Prof. Dr. Daniel Spurk - Partner Veit Hailperin Unternehmensberatung
- Keywords 4 day work week, working time reductions
Situation
Rapid technology advancements, labor market changes, and shifts in workers attitudes and values in recent years have sparked debate among academics and policymakers regarding the sustainability and desirability of the current full-time working model (in most countries 36-40 hours per week) and alternative ways of organizing working time in the future. One alternative way of organizing working time is the 4DW (30-32) hours per week) without a reduction in pay. Despite emerging as a relevant topic in public debate over the last few years, the issue of work-time reductions has not been studied enough so far.
Course of action
Mixed-method design
Result
With this research project we aim to examine: (a) the longer-term effects of work time reductions at the individual, team, and organizational levels . (b) the success factors such as the design of work time reductions in combination with supportive work interventions. (c) and to collect empirical data for specific job categories considering the specific context of Switzerland.
Looking ahead
Insights into the feasibility of work time reductions in Swiss corporations
