The request came from the employees themselves: “They came to me and asked if it would be possible to reduce working hours in our company. Some are in poor health, others do voluntary work in their free time,” says Christian Ebner, managing director of Elektro Kagerer, based in Pasching and with a branch in Linz. The new working time model has been in force since March 1, 2022: It stipulates that the 150 employees work 36 hours full-time, divided over four days and with full pay compensation. Friday is a day off. The model would be voted on before it is introduced.
- also read: Where the four-day week works – and where it fails
Ebner reported on his experiences on Tuesday at a press conference in Vienna together with Renate Anderl, President of the Austrian Chamber of Labor. The introduction was not easy from a legal point of view, especially if working hours are to be reduced but the employment relationship remains full-time: “It would be desirable if there were a legal framework.” At Kagerer, individual agreements were made with the employees, and a works agreement was made with the works council for the workers.
The experience has been consistently positive, said Ebner: “We would do it again at any time.” This is also evident from an evaluation carried out by the working time research company Ximes on behalf of the AK: 75 percent said that the balance between work and private life is significantly better than before. 64 percent mentioned improvements in leisure time, 55 percent were more satisfied with their work overall. Overtime has even fallen slightly compared to the time before the reduction. Two out of three respondents (66 percent) say that they have not had to work more at any point in the past three months – they managed their workload in a four-day week. 22 percent say that they have had to work a little more in a maximum of three weeks during this period.
“}”>
Image: Elektro Kagerer
Source: Nachrichten
