Germany launched a six-month four-day workweek trial that will allow employees at 45 companies across the country to work one less day per week for the same pay, reports Euronews. The initiative is led by Berlin-based management consultancy Intraprenör together with the collaboration of the non-profit organisation 4 Day Week Global (4DWG). Advocates of the shorter workweek hope that working four days a week will make workers happier and more productive at a time when Germany is struggling with slower productivity growth and a labour shortage.

According to supporters of the four-day workweek and most workers who already tested it, working one less day per week would increase workers’ well-being and motivation, making them more productive. Working fewer hours per week might also convince those who are not willing to work a full week to enter the workforce, helping to reduce the current labour shortage which is affecting industrialised countries around the world. Germany is currently struggling with a lack of workers in skilled high-growth sectors. Last November, the DIHK Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that half of German companies were struggling to fill vacancies. This caused the country to lose more than €90 billion in the past year, over 2% of Germany’s GDP, according to DIHK’s deputy chief executive Achim Dercks.