The entrepreneur poll shows that 17% of employers would be willing to try it out, and 8% don't have an opinion. When wage reduction is also involved, willingness to try a four-day workweek increases. 37% of employer companies would be willing to try the experiment. 59% don't want to try this with a wage cut.
For the vast majority of employer companies, a four-day workweek without a salary cut is not realistic. Some employers are willing to try it. Makkula summarizes that there is a willingness to try it in companies that offer expert services.
Working hours and timing are less important in expert services than in many other sectors. The end result of the work is the most important thing in these services. A four-day workweek can be tried out in these companies if desired. Makkula points out that state intervention and central directive are not required for this.
There are some employers who believe that reducing working hours will have a negative impact on the company's operations.
59% of employer companies believe that the company's profitability would be weakened. 41% believe that the labor market situation will worsen. 39% believe that work and family life could be balanced. 22% of people believe that well-being at work will improve, and 28% believe that sick leave would decrease.
The key finding is that 77% of employers don't believe that a four-day week would improve productivity enough to pay the same salary as before, according to economist Petri Malinen.
In Finland, the private sector productivity is less and has developed more poorly than in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. In Finland, the value added per working hour is around $62 per working hour, while it is about $75 in Denmark and Sweden and almost 70 in Germany.
In Finland, productivity has practically not increased in over a decade, even though the seriousness of the problem has been acknowledged, and we have set up an independent productivity board to solve the problem. Malinen says it is unbelievable that shortening the workweek would lead to a clear increase in productivity.
The entrepreneur poll shows that only 13% of employers think that work efficiency and productivity will increase as a result of reduced working hours.
The study surveyed 1,038 small and medium-sized enterprises in Finland.