[srini1785]

From what I know (and went through), the Germans were already working only 4.5 days per week. Friday afternoons were "Schoenes Wochenende" (Have a nice weekend) anyway . Its just official policy now.

To even move from 6 to 5 working days uniformly there should be for an employee,

1. Enough savings to enjoy the finer things in life.
2. Interests/ Hobbies and proper facilities to pursue them.
3. Understanding Management which wants to invest in employees wellbeing.
4. Less TV Channels and more outdoor entertainment.

and I can go on. I don't think that we tick all boxes.

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Germany to try 4-day work week from February 1 for the next six months

Germany is all set to try a 4-day work week from February 1, 2024, for the next six months.

Before this discussion continues, just wanted to point out the headline of the post and the linked news article is totally misleading. Entire Germany is NOT going to try a 4-day work week.

Quoting from the linked news article below.

The six-month trial for a 4-day work week would begin on February 1, and 45 companies are set to participate in it. The pilot is being led by 4 Day Week Global, a non-profit based in New Zealand.

The sample size and characteristic of the pilot company is hardly representative of the third largest world economy .

ps - I work for a Germany headquartered IT firm; there is zero talk of any 4-day week.

[msdivy]

5-day work week in certain industries & 6-day work week in others are set norms. Most of the world is aligned to this schedule. The production, finance, marketing, sales, services, support, maintenance business functions are aligned to this schedule. This is the accepted balance between business owners & employees.

There could be a few niche industries where their employees can work 4-day or 3-day a week. There could be few individuals who can work 4 hours a week.

It will require a revolution to change this norm. I don't think it will happen.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by srini1785

From what I know (and went through), the Germans were already working only 4.5 days per week. Friday afternoons were "Schoenes Wochenende" (Have a nice weekend) anyway . Its just official policy now.

The work week culture described above is similar in ANZ as well. To some extent it is even true of France. Most of Western Europe- in Retail and similar, shops and all are shut at 6 pm all week except maybe Fridays when they stay open till 9 or 10pm and of course remain shut all day Saturdays and Sundays. Then there is the ‘Siesta’ prevalent in some countries.
Some may remember in 1980’s and 1990’s Bangalore and Pune, Retail used to be shut in the afternoons and Sundays. Establishments in parts of Pune were closed on Thursdays.
The age of consumerism and instant gratification has changed and continues to change all this but mostly in poorer countries like ours where people cannot afford to take time off from a financial stand point. Holidays etc for working people are a relatively new phenomenon here in India.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

From what I know (and went through), the Germans were already working only 4.5 days per week. Friday afternoons were "Schoenes Wochenende" (Have a nice weekend) anyway . Its just official policy now

Whether it's official policy or not, this attitude towards work will be the downfall of the Germans and many other EU nations. The Germans already have the lowest annual average hours worked than any other country in the OECD.

https://data.oecd.org/emp/hours-worked.htm

[pickdj]

Well, I work for one of the very few (maybe only) companies in India who have an exclusive 4-day work week. There is no catch, none. There are no log-in/log-out time restrictions, no need to follow a shift, no need for minimum number of hours per week, none of that. Everyone follows the 4 day week, sales, customer support, delivery,admin; everyone. We are aggressively work-from-home/anywhere and the only ask is 4 days per quarter in office.
And no, we are not a startup. About 700+ employees across the world. Have been here for many years. It's all on the honor system and it works beautifully!
Before you scoff, hear me out.
About 6 years ago, when we decided to try this out seriously, we first tested this for a quarter. Post the quarter, we took serious feedback from some of our largest and most demanding customers and they overwhelmingly loved it! Employees were happier, productivity was way up and attrition rates were low single digits (Pre-covid ofcourse).
Personally, I can vouch for the fact that my productivity has never been higher and my work-life balance has never been better.
Happy to answer more questions if asked. My advice is to go for it!

[am1m]

Originally Posted by pickdj

Before you scoff, hear me out.

Going by the WFH thread, I'm sure enough of that will happen. (Somehow, threads where people buy 50-lakh cars or 20-lakh bikes (the preserve of a few) progress as intended, but one about remote work/better work-life (affects several) will always get derailed with comments/reminders about "privilege"! )

Originally Posted by pickdj

Happy to answer more questions if asked.

Thanks, have several:

* For the 4 in-office days a quarter, are those company-wide? As in everyone in each office comes in on the same days?
* How does fresher/new team member on-boarding work? In-office or remote?
* Any idea if the IT team has had to deal with increased cybersecurity issues with remote work?
* Is your company publicly traded? (On any stock exchange.)
* Is the top management Indian?

Thanks in advance for any information! (And understand if you don't respond to any question to avoid sharing company/personally identifiable info.)

[pickdj]

Originally Posted by am1m

Going by the WFH thread, I'm sure enough of that will happen. (Somehow, threads where people buy 50-lakh cars or 20-lakh bikes (the preserve of a few) progress as intended, but one about remote work/better work-life (affects several) will always get derailed with comments/reminders about "privilege"! )

LOL. Not going there

Copying some of your questions and my answers

* For the 4 in-office days a quarter, are those company-wide? As in everyone in each office comes in on the same days?
NOPE. it is not mandated for everyone to come in at one time. You can plan for any 4 days. However many times distributed teams feel its better to coordinate a time when they all come in. Admin ensures that other teams don't come in at that time to ensure we use the office space we have. A big advantage is that it saves us from investing in a huge office.

* How does fresher/new team member on-boarding work? In-office or remote?
Hybrid. Mostly remote but with some in-office work at the start. But we want them to quickly develop the discipline needed to WFH without monitoring.

* Any idea if the IT team has had to deal with increased cybersecurity issues with remote work?
Oh Boy! We get those a lot. From Phishing attempts to someone impersonating senior leaders asking for 'gift cards'. LOL. But I think this is true for all IT teams in the current age.

* Is your company publicly traded? (On any stock exchange.)
NOPE.

BR