Four Day Working Week
Having been more than a century since Chicago factory workers won fixed labour protection with the slogan “Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, and eight hours for what we will”, the work week is once again up for debate globally.
The Spanish government has accepted a proposal by the small leftwing Spanish party Mas Pais to trial a four day working week. The government has agreed to this pilot project of a 32 hour, four day working week and the idea has gained global interest with the hope of increased productivity, improved workers mental health and a positive impact on climate change.
Hector Tejero of Mas Pais has proposed that the project should run over three years at a cost of €50 million where over 200 companies with workers of up to 3000 to 6000 employees can trial a four day week with minimal risk. It is proposed that the costs to each company would be covered at 100 percent the first year, 50 percent the second and 33 percent the third year. This investment is set to be financed through Spain’s share of the EU Coronavirus Recovery Fund.
“With the four-day work week we are opening up the real debate of our time” says Inigo Errejon of Mas Pais.
It is hoped that this project may commence this coming Autumn with Spain being the first country in the world to have a trial of this magnitude backed by a government. Progress in talks regarding the trial are being closely watched by many countries worldwide.
A 44 day strike in Barcelona in 1919 resulted in the country becoming the first in western Europe to adopt the eight hour working day.
Trade union Forsa, Ireland’s biggest public service union, in November 2020 has asked for pilot projects here in both the public and private sector to explore the viability of a four day working week without the loss of income and productivity. The union which represents more than 80,000 workers in Ireland has also said that remote working in Ireland should continue to be developed as it improves work flexibility benefiting workers, employers and the economy. The Vice President of Forsa, Eurgene Gargan has said that a reduced working week would not necessarily mean a decrease in productivity. With more people working from home than ever before, revolutionary changes to working practices like the reduction to a four day work week are becoming more feasible. Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 may possibly become a thing of the past.
The director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University, Dr Jan-Emmanuel De Neve believes that changes being made due to the pandemic could be the first step towards a revolution that would see a four day work week become a reality for more people.
In both big corporations and small businesses, the four day work week community has been growing but never has the model been trialled on a national scale.
Environmental Benefits of a Four Day Working Week
The positive outcomes of a reduced working week go far beyond the obvious personal benefit of a day less at work. Fewer miles spent commuting to the workplace will reduce emissions from traffic. The reduction of the need for office space as less people are required to attend the office results in less computer usage and so a drop in energy consumed by businesses. Microsoft’s trial of a four day working week in 2019 saw electricity costs drop by nearly 25% and workers who took Fridays off printed 60% fewer pages. Aside from the positive effects on pollution, changes to working patterns also break the work-spend cycle where instead of spending free time on shopping, workers tend to engage in other activities such as exercise, house repairs or cooking which all have low environmental impact. When the 35 hour shorter working week was implemented in 2000 in France it was shown workers reduced carbon expensive trips and spent more time with family and utilised public spaces.
Better Work Life Balance
Work life balance pays an important role affecting worker’s mental health which allows people to be happy in their job and satisfied with life. Study has shown that the current five day working week provides productive hours of only a fraction of that time. Life commitments to childcare, healthcare and everyday tasks add to workers stress as these appointments are not possible outside of work hours. A four day work week allows workers to attend necessary appointments without impacting on the working day. Hobbies and interests are built upon leading to greater work life balance.
Productivity
Employees attention moves from hours and length of time at work to a focus on quality of work produced in a four day working week. It is hoped that with a focus on quality and not quantity that businesses will be in a position to pay staff the same level of salaries and in return will receive greater productivity and creativity in the reduced hours. It is considered that time spent at the workplace is not what the employees should be paid for but rather their productivity and work outcomes.
According to Hector Tejero, “The key is flexibility, some workers might prefer to have four days, or others might prefer to spread their 32 hours across five days. What’s important is that the idea has been put on the political agenda.”
