Talks underway

After a two-day week: part-time jobs in shifts

105 of the 320 employees who only work at weekends are staying - one of them is Senada Viduljevic.(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

"If you're innovative, you can achieve an incredible amount," says Jörg Theis. The head of automation specialist B&R caused quite a stir with the two-day week. Now the company from Eggelsberg (Upper Austria) is working on a new model and wants to offer part-time jobs in shifts soon.

The company had already considered extending the two-day week. "But it was agreed that it would end after a year - and I'm sticking to it," says B&R Managing Director Jörg Theis. The automation specialist from Eggelsberg caused a stir last year with the introduction of a weekend shift, for which additional employees were brought on board who earned the same as a full-time job with a 20-hour week.

The induction period was extremely short, there were very few sick days - we therefore had to hire fewer people than expected.

B&R-Geschäftsführer Jörg Theis

The company counted 700 applicants, 320 were accepted for the model, which has now expired.

"We're not planning to do it again so quickly," says Jörg Theis about the weekend shift, which came to an end in February.(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

"It was a special campaign for a special topic, because we had a huge backlog of orders at the time," says Theis, who believes a comeback of the two-day week is unrealistic at the moment. "There are no plans for us to do it again so quickly," says the 53-year-old manager.

"In the end, we were very sad in the team," says Peter Wilson. The 49-year-old from Wilhering had worked for B&R at weekends for a year. Switching to the traditional shift model at the Innviertel-based company is not an option for him and he is looking for a job.(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

Even though 105 employees are switching to the traditional shift model, B&R still has around 80 vacancies in Eggelsberg: 50 in development and 30 in production. "However, we are now finding it much easier to recruit people than before because many people have heard that we are innovative," reveals Theis. And he wants to continue to live up to this reputation.

Part-time jobs planned during shifts
The Innviertel-based company now also wants to offer part-time jobs during shifts. "That used to be a no-go," says Theis, "but we're working on it and want to implement it." Talks are currently underway with the works council led by Manuel Schmitzberger. Theis is aware: "As an employer, you have to be aware that things have to change. Working from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. is no longer an option. We need more flexibility, even if it means extra work."