ested in several countries around the world, the four-day work week has aroused curiosity and even involvement of companies in Portugal. Among the biggest challenges of its implementation is the need to work more and more in an asynchronous way while maintaining a cohesive and collaborative business culture.
Iceland tested it - and in four years it has been proven that productivity during a 32-hour week is equal to or better than productivity during a forty-hour week, with employee stress levels dropping considerably.
Japan tested it - and it took only one summer to conclude that productivity increased by 40%, according to Microsoft data - not to mention the decrease in electricity costs (by 23%) and other expenses associated with daily life in an office, as well as the increase in efficiency in meetings and tasks.
Closer to home, in the Netherlands, work weeks of 35 and 32 hours have been a common reality since the 1980s: figures show that 40% of the working population, both in the public and private sectors, works fewer hours a week than the traditional 40.
Spain has not yet tested it but plans to do so soon. And, in Portugal, there are already companies thinking about it or taking the first steps towards this.
A topic of debate for some years now, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the idea that professional and personal life should be realities with clearer borders, while the dematerialisation of the “office” is already a reality. Also for this reason, the four-day workweek is highlighted - in both the business and the media front -, and gathers curious people - and fans, of course.
A topic of debate for some years now, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the idea that professional and personal life should be realities with clearer borders, while the dematerialisation of the “office” is already a reality. Also for this reason, the four-day workweek is highlighted - in both the business and the media front -, and gathers curious people - and fans, of course.
After successful experiences registered all over the world, in Portugal there are also companies testing the 32-hour-week model. Does a shorter week increase employee satisfaction? How is such a model implemented? Do fewer hours of work mean less pay? What about productivity? Is it affected by the measure?
The 15-hour workweek that economist John Maynard Keynes envisioned for his grandchildren's generation is a reality that hasn't happened – but have we been farther from having three-day weekends?
The path, experts say, belongs to each company. Therefore, the choice must be personal and cultural, suggest the guests of ReFLEXions by Coverflex on the theme “4-day workweek: privilege, risk or opportunity?”.
The path, experts say, belongs to each company. Therefore, the choice must be personal and cultural, suggest the guests of ReFLEXions by Coverflex on the theme “4-day workweek: privilege, risk or opportunity?”.
Irene Rua, from Doutor Finances, and Miguel Garcia, from the company New Work, have already tried and tested the model in their respective companies; with Pedro Antunes, from CCA, we discussed strategies and legal frameworks for the measure.
We summarised in bullet points everything we already know about the topic:
- Ready to walk this path? A 4-day workweek is a “road of stones” that has to be done by each company; however, it is also seen in light of a much larger dimension: that of flexibility, which empowers people.
- There is no single implementation model: the logic of 32 hours of work per week can be accompanied by a wage cut, proportional to the hours worked, an adjustment of vacation days - for example - or even an equal remuneration for better time management and adequacy to the tasks performed, leaving more room for employees to have more time to dedicate to personal tasks.
- Is someone interested? At New Work the measure was implemented since the entry of the German company in Portugal: however, people never showed great interest; in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, where the company has its headquarters and offices, respectively, about 25-30% of people adhered to the measure, with a proportional salary cut. At the end of the year, the company awards bonuses and usually the cut value is reinstated in that bonus.
- Every situation is different: can the industry determine how easy this measure is to implement? Somehow, yes. Specialists place as early adopters companies that, for example, work in the area of information technologies, as they are more used to remote, asynchronous and collaborative work. More traditional sectors will be the ones that will face more challenges in the implementation of this measure. “In services, it's easier to organize work times, and present the work done at the end of the day, which is what matters. It doesn't mean that this is impossible to implement in the primary sector”, simplifies Pedro Antunes.
- Agreement is the ground rule: the change of the working schedule always presupposes an agreement between the company and the employee. But the way companies begin to look at the possibility of the 4-day workweek tends to be particular: some opt for a wage cut, others tend to negotiate a reduction in hours in exchange for a freeze on wage increases, others still look to concentrated working hours as a possibility. “There has to be a change in mentality and negotiation to find a model of commitment and self-responsibility, which are key. It is easier to adapt companies to a reduction in hours and to these adaptability regimes”, legally speaking, points out Pedro Antunes.
- When to test? At Doutor Finances, the month of August was chosen for a working week reduction pilot. The initiative, which was based on the "improvement of life" of people, will now be evaluated "critically" to assess three pillars: "whether it served the interests of people, the company, and whether we managed to maintain the level of excellence in our services".
- Make a list of the challenges: When it comes to implementation, productivity is not the only concern for companies. Collaboration, asynchronous communication and culture are some of the aspects to take into account - and to consider - when it comes to thinking about a different work logic from the one we are used to. “We carried out internal studies, through which we realised that there is a huge gap between what companies offer and what people want”, points out Miguel Garcia. “Promoting these ideas among employees, explaining what the company needs in return, is super important. Ensuring that the teams continue to function, and even the relationship with people, is one of our biggest concerns”.
- The destination is the path: Irene Vieira Rua, Miguel Garcia and Pedro Antunes consider that the measure to reduce the working week is, more than an end in itself, a path. “There are other intricacies here, it's not just a number”, they explain.
You can check the entire conversation here.
