“Anyone can do it”: This is how the four-day week works for construction technician Steger

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When you walk into the construction services company Steger in Aadorf TG, you wouldn’t think that 120 people work in the company. Some sit in front of screens in bright offices, while others work in the workshop with sheets of metal and Bunsen burners. “About 35 people work in the company, the rest work on the construction site,” explains Jürg Widerin (64), owner and CEO of the construction services company. In addition to heating and plumbing installations, 24-hour service is also provided.

Blick visits the company, but not on Friday because no one works here then. Steger is counting on the four-day week from November 2022. Ten months later, it was clear that the company was committed to its new uptime model.

However, with the same wage, a day off from work does not come free. «Our employees need to be prepared to do more in these four days. We have already gone from 40 hours a week to 38 hours a week,” says Widerin. Steger’s employees work 9.5 hours a day.

Employees compensate for working five percent less with productivity and reduced operating costs. We only go to the construction site four times a week instead of five.

Significantly more applications

The CEO wanted to make the workplace more attractive again with the four-day week. This seems to have been successful: “Within six months we would receive one or two good applications. “There are two to three a week now,” Widerin explains. He has hired more than a dozen people since introducing the four-day week.

When the new model was launched, about a fifth of the workforce was initially skeptical. “More than 95 percent of employees are now enthusiastic and do not want to leave the model,” says the CEO.

Blick also asks employees: Ventilation installer Muralis T. (52) likes to use his day off for appointments. “I feel more comfortable on Monday,” says Andrea Ledergerber (57) from the management.

“We deliberately canceled Friday because it is the most unproductive working day of the week in the construction industry,” explains Widerin. The majority of Steger customers were understanding.

But there are no rules without exception: “If something is absolutely needed on a construction site on Friday, we will do it,” Widerin explains. Some employees are grateful for this, too; Thanks to overtime, they can take longer holidays. Our 24-hour staff also works four days a week.

Cheating isn’t worth it

But not everyone is complying with the new regulations: “We laid off two employees and warned two more,” says Widerin. They wrote the hours wrong and did not work 9.5 hours a day. «There are always people who don’t write things correctly. But now we control it better.”

But the four-day week had a positive impact on most workers. “We have much fewer short-term absences,” says Widerin. In other words: Its people get sick less. Additionally, nearly 40 of our employees did not miss a single day in 2023.

Widerin believes the four-day week is important for other companies as well: “Anyone can do a project like this. But everyone needs to adapt this to their own business.” He receives many questions from companies interested in this subject.

Source :Blick