Copenhagen municipality to offer employees trial four-day week
Copenhagen Municipality is to give its employees in a number of divisions the option of trialling a four-day working week.
Starting this spring, dental hygienists, teachers, social workers, nurses and other professionals will be given the choice of cramming their weekly working hours into four days rather than five in 14 selected workplaces in the municipality, broadcaster DR reports.
The trial was adopted by the municipal background last year following a proposal by Troels Christian Jakobsen, an elected member of the city council with the Alternative party.
“It’s super important for Copenhagen Municipality that we provided good conditions in particular for people working in care jobs. It’s hard to find enough teachers child carers so it’s important to improve the quality of their working lives,” he said.
The concept of switching to a four-day week is not a new one in Denmark.
Municipalities in Esbjerg, Vejen and Odsherred have already offered their staff the option of a longer weekend.
Flexible working hours are meanwhile a trend that has come to stay, according to Janne Gleerup, a labour researcher at Roskilde University.
Gleerup told DR she was pleased to see the idea being tried in Copenhagen.
“Because [they’re doing it in] many different areas, and the work is very different, there will also be some different forms of flexibility you can try out, so it’s not one size fits all. And other municipalities can learn from your experiences,” she said to the broadcaster.
The Copenhagen Municipality trial is scheduled to run until the end of the year with an option for extension in 2025.
Comments
See Also
Starting this spring, dental hygienists, teachers, social workers, nurses and other professionals will be given the choice of cramming their weekly working hours into four days rather than five in 14 selected workplaces in the municipality, broadcaster DR reports.
The trial was adopted by the municipal background last year following a proposal by Troels Christian Jakobsen, an elected member of the city council with the Alternative party.
“It’s super important for Copenhagen Municipality that we provided good conditions in particular for people working in care jobs. It’s hard to find enough teachers child carers so it’s important to improve the quality of their working lives,” he said.
The concept of switching to a four-day week is not a new one in Denmark.
Municipalities in Esbjerg, Vejen and Odsherred have already offered their staff the option of a longer weekend.
Flexible working hours are meanwhile a trend that has come to stay, according to Janne Gleerup, a labour researcher at Roskilde University.
Gleerup told DR she was pleased to see the idea being tried in Copenhagen.
“Because [they’re doing it in] many different areas, and the work is very different, there will also be some different forms of flexibility you can try out, so it’s not one size fits all. And other municipalities can learn from your experiences,” she said to the broadcaster.
The Copenhagen Municipality trial is scheduled to run until the end of the year with an option for extension in 2025.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.