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German logistics firm begins trialing 4-day working week

A logistics company from Düsseldorf has decided to test a 4-day working week for employees. A pilot has been running since the beginning of this year.

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The trial is being run by Cargo Truck Direct, a road transport company with just over 30 employees.

The aim of the trial is to learn how such a system works, both from the perspective of employees and the employer. After 8 weeks, an evaluation of the 4-day week will be conducted and a decision made on whether to continue or return to the conventional system.

How does work in the new system look like?

The weekly number of hours was reduced from 45 to 40 hours, with the monthly salary staying the same. While productivity is important, amid the current labour shortage, the company believes attractiveness of work comes to the fore.

Is a 4-day working week in the TSL industry even possible?

“It’s implementation is definitely difficult,” says Andreas Hohnke, managing director and founder of Cargo Truck Direct. He admits that the preparation took him a long time, not least because he does not know any other company in the industry that could serve as a model. The new system applies to employees of all departments.

The challenge was to plan the changes in such a way that all tasks could be performed with the same number of employees – without negative consequences for customers.