THREE cities in Spain have made it into the latest list of the best for home-workers after the 80 most popular choices were revealed.
Less work, more rest and play: Spain considers introducing a four-day week
05/12/2020
SPAIN'S ministry of work is 'loosely' considering cutting the working week to four days over 32 hours rather than the standard 40 hours over five days – and opinions are divided over whether it would work.
Experts across the board largely believe the idea is a good one, but some have doubts about whether Spain is 'ready for it' and how it would work out in practice.
Nuria Chinchilla of the International Work and Family Centre, an expert in work-life balance issues, says what is needed instead is 'flexibility' on the part of employers.
“What would be really useful is if companies, as far as they are able, introduced flexible working hours according to their needs; cutting the working week to four days could actually be counter-productive – five days but with less-rigid hours is more sensible,” she says.
Employment psychologist Juan Pedro Sánchez, an expert on helping companies increase productivity, applauds the idea and calls it 'magnificent' – as long as the firm's activity allows it and productivity does not decrease.
“Undoubtedly, having an extra day off would allow us to spend more time on our personal lives and with our families and friends; this said, it's probably more important for this work-life balance to be found on a daily, not weekly, basis. We mustn't forget that work and rest are two sides of the same coin: Productivity,” he argues.
The National Commission for Rationalising Hours (ARHOE), which has been pushing for years for Spain to adopt GMT in winter and BST in summer – in accordance with its geographical location – calls the idea 'science fiction'.
ARHOE would 'never be against' a move like this, but says 'decent wages and sensible hours' should come first.
“You can't build a house by starting with the roof,” it stresses.
Head of workplace health at one of Spain's main unions, the Labourers' Commissions (CCOO), Óscar Bayona, says the proposal is 'interesting on paper' because it 'could have really positive impacts on employee health', but laments that Spain is 'light years away' from being able to make it work.
“Labour relations are becoming more and more precarious and working conditions more and more hazardous to health,” he warns.
“We work seven million hours in unpaid overtime every week. Millions of hours we're giving free of charge to our companies.”
Personal circumstances affect how successful or otherwise such a move would be, and a 'change as drastic as this' should 'never be compulsory', according to Sra Chinchilla.
“That would be really negative,” she believes.
“At the end of the day, there are so many stages in life, each with their own very different needs and obligations that we gradually acquire.”
“It probably wouldn't have the same impact on the younger members of the Millennial generation, who tend to work to live and would benefit from the extra day off, as it would on Generation X, who are more used to living to work and might not know what to do with that extra free time. Everyone has different needs,” says Juan Pedro Sánchez.
“Those who are unable to manage their free time might even feel worse off, and get bored.
“But a three-day weekend would not only improve the work-life balance, it would also lead to a possible increase in consumer spending on goods and services during this extra time off, which is good for business.”
Similar experiments in other countries largely successful
Many companies and countries have carried out experiments with working hours to try to improve general employee health and productivity, reduce stress and anxiety, and motivate their staff.
New Zealand-based legal company Perpetual Guardian allowed its staff to cut their working week to four days, with fewer hours but on the same pay – and it turned out to be such an 'absolute success', according to the firm, that it now plans to adopt it permanently.
Academic research found that 78% of the 250 employees were just as able to complete their work in four days as in five, and that they were able to manage demands of professional and personal life much easier, leading to stress levels falling by 7% and job satisfaction rising by 5%.
“If employees are committed, they're more productive,” Perpetual Guardian's head of personnel says.
“We want people to feel as great as they can while they're in the office, but also while they're at home; it's the natural solution.
“It could mean the work-life balance in New Zealand is able to change for good; the national government championed the move, called it 'very interesting indeed', and has urged all other companies in the country to 'investigate alternative models' of working hours for 'a more modern office life', promoting a better balance and improving employees' lives.”
Many unions, academics and experts have been campaigning for some time for different working structures for the 21st century, considering the typical eight-hour day to be 'old-fashioned' and that a system which 'better suits the times' should be introduced.
In 2008, the State of Utah (USA) established a four-day working week for public-sector staff, but still based upon the standard 40 hours a week; the result turned out to be 'very beneficial', it reported, with a satisfaction level of 82% among staff.
This may, however, be difficult to implement in Europe, specifically within the EU – although the maximum legal working week is 48 hours, unless the employee chooses to sign a declaration exempting him- or herself from the limit, a cap of eight hours per 24 is in place, which would render the four-day week of 10-hour days worked in Utah illegal.
Whilst it does not mean an employee is forced to clock off at exactly the eighth hour, it does mean that over a 17-week period, the average number of hours worked per day does not exceed eight, except in the emergency services, although in these cases, there must be at least 11 hours between finishing a shift and starting the next.
In all other professions and industries, there must be a minimum of 12 hours between the end of one shift and the beginning of another.
Unions in the UK called for a maximum working week of four days a few weeks back, based upon a survey they conducted which showed 45% of respondents wanted to work fewer days, but the British government has yet to respond.
Sweden has been working on the basis of a reduction in hours rather than days, but it has not worked so well – an experiment in Gothenburg involved reducing the working day to six hours for medical staff, but continuing with a five-day week, although in the end it was dubbed a failure due to the high costs involved, even though it improved the general health of the 68 employees and the service they gave to their patients.
France, at the end of 1999, bowed to public pressure – including mass protests and demonstrations – and reduced the working week from 40 hours to 35; instead of a standard timetable of 09.00 to 19.00 with lunch from noon to 14.00, office hours were reduced from 09.00 to 18.00 with the same two-hour lunch break.
The exact percentage in worker satisfaction or stress reduction was not revealed, but the general consensus was that cutting out five hours a week per person had no negative impact on productivity or production.
Cutting hours might create extra jobs
Work minister in Spain, Yolanda Díaz – on the left-wing party Podemos, which governs in coalition with the socialists (PSOE) – says she and her colleagues have 'always been in favour' of cutting labour hours.
At the moment, the idea is still at the 'social dialogue' and 'exploring' stage, but one of the reasons for its being raised, in addition to better quality of life all round, is that it could lead to more jobs being created.
Unions have long warned that companies who allow, or expect, their staff to work unpaid extra time are reducing availability of jobs, since if nobody worked any longer than they were paid to, the additional hours would need to be covered and new vacancies could be created.
Podemos believes that, in theory, if staff were to work 80% of their usual week, it would create a 20% increase in vacancies as the extra time would need to be covered; although on the flip side, it believes many employees would be able to fit their entire existing jobs into 80% of their current hours, giving them more time to relax, enjoy themselves, and spend time with friends and family.
One of the main drawbacks experts have highlighted, though, is that companies may opt to cut wages by 20% in line with the reduction in hours, and even if this was not permitted by law, would be difficult to police.
Related Topics
SPAIN'S ministry of work is 'loosely' considering cutting the working week to four days over 32 hours rather than the standard 40 hours over five days – and opinions are divided over whether it would work.
Experts across the board largely believe the idea is a good one, but some have doubts about whether Spain is 'ready for it' and how it would work out in practice.
Nuria Chinchilla of the International Work and Family Centre, an expert in work-life balance issues, says what is needed instead is 'flexibility' on the part of employers.
“What would be really useful is if companies, as far as they are able, introduced flexible working hours according to their needs; cutting the working week to four days could actually be counter-productive – five days but with less-rigid hours is more sensible,” she says.
Employment psychologist Juan Pedro Sánchez, an expert on helping companies increase productivity, applauds the idea and calls it 'magnificent' – as long as the firm's activity allows it and productivity does not decrease.
“Undoubtedly, having an extra day off would allow us to spend more time on our personal lives and with our families and friends; this said, it's probably more important for this work-life balance to be found on a daily, not weekly, basis. We mustn't forget that work and rest are two sides of the same coin: Productivity,” he argues.
The National Commission for Rationalising Hours (ARHOE), which has been pushing for years for Spain to adopt GMT in winter and BST in summer – in accordance with its geographical location – calls the idea 'science fiction'.
ARHOE would 'never be against' a move like this, but says 'decent wages and sensible hours' should come first.
“You can't build a house by starting with the roof,” it stresses.
Head of workplace health at one of Spain's main unions, the Labourers' Commissions (CCOO), Óscar Bayona, says the proposal is 'interesting on paper' because it 'could have really positive impacts on employee health', but laments that Spain is 'light years away' from being able to make it work.
“Labour relations are becoming more and more precarious and working conditions more and more hazardous to health,” he warns.
“We work seven million hours in unpaid overtime every week. Millions of hours we're giving free of charge to our companies.”
Personal circumstances affect how successful or otherwise such a move would be, and a 'change as drastic as this' should 'never be compulsory', according to Sra Chinchilla.
“That would be really negative,” she believes.
“At the end of the day, there are so many stages in life, each with their own very different needs and obligations that we gradually acquire.”
“It probably wouldn't have the same impact on the younger members of the Millennial generation, who tend to work to live and would benefit from the extra day off, as it would on Generation X, who are more used to living to work and might not know what to do with that extra free time. Everyone has different needs,” says Juan Pedro Sánchez.
“Those who are unable to manage their free time might even feel worse off, and get bored.
“But a three-day weekend would not only improve the work-life balance, it would also lead to a possible increase in consumer spending on goods and services during this extra time off, which is good for business.”
Similar experiments in other countries largely successful
Many companies and countries have carried out experiments with working hours to try to improve general employee health and productivity, reduce stress and anxiety, and motivate their staff.
New Zealand-based legal company Perpetual Guardian allowed its staff to cut their working week to four days, with fewer hours but on the same pay – and it turned out to be such an 'absolute success', according to the firm, that it now plans to adopt it permanently.
Academic research found that 78% of the 250 employees were just as able to complete their work in four days as in five, and that they were able to manage demands of professional and personal life much easier, leading to stress levels falling by 7% and job satisfaction rising by 5%.
“If employees are committed, they're more productive,” Perpetual Guardian's head of personnel says.
“We want people to feel as great as they can while they're in the office, but also while they're at home; it's the natural solution.
“It could mean the work-life balance in New Zealand is able to change for good; the national government championed the move, called it 'very interesting indeed', and has urged all other companies in the country to 'investigate alternative models' of working hours for 'a more modern office life', promoting a better balance and improving employees' lives.”
Many unions, academics and experts have been campaigning for some time for different working structures for the 21st century, considering the typical eight-hour day to be 'old-fashioned' and that a system which 'better suits the times' should be introduced.
In 2008, the State of Utah (USA) established a four-day working week for public-sector staff, but still based upon the standard 40 hours a week; the result turned out to be 'very beneficial', it reported, with a satisfaction level of 82% among staff.
This may, however, be difficult to implement in Europe, specifically within the EU – although the maximum legal working week is 48 hours, unless the employee chooses to sign a declaration exempting him- or herself from the limit, a cap of eight hours per 24 is in place, which would render the four-day week of 10-hour days worked in Utah illegal.
Whilst it does not mean an employee is forced to clock off at exactly the eighth hour, it does mean that over a 17-week period, the average number of hours worked per day does not exceed eight, except in the emergency services, although in these cases, there must be at least 11 hours between finishing a shift and starting the next.
In all other professions and industries, there must be a minimum of 12 hours between the end of one shift and the beginning of another.
Unions in the UK called for a maximum working week of four days a few weeks back, based upon a survey they conducted which showed 45% of respondents wanted to work fewer days, but the British government has yet to respond.
Sweden has been working on the basis of a reduction in hours rather than days, but it has not worked so well – an experiment in Gothenburg involved reducing the working day to six hours for medical staff, but continuing with a five-day week, although in the end it was dubbed a failure due to the high costs involved, even though it improved the general health of the 68 employees and the service they gave to their patients.
France, at the end of 1999, bowed to public pressure – including mass protests and demonstrations – and reduced the working week from 40 hours to 35; instead of a standard timetable of 09.00 to 19.00 with lunch from noon to 14.00, office hours were reduced from 09.00 to 18.00 with the same two-hour lunch break.
The exact percentage in worker satisfaction or stress reduction was not revealed, but the general consensus was that cutting out five hours a week per person had no negative impact on productivity or production.
Cutting hours might create extra jobs
Work minister in Spain, Yolanda Díaz – on the left-wing party Podemos, which governs in coalition with the socialists (PSOE) – says she and her colleagues have 'always been in favour' of cutting labour hours.
At the moment, the idea is still at the 'social dialogue' and 'exploring' stage, but one of the reasons for its being raised, in addition to better quality of life all round, is that it could lead to more jobs being created.
Unions have long warned that companies who allow, or expect, their staff to work unpaid extra time are reducing availability of jobs, since if nobody worked any longer than they were paid to, the additional hours would need to be covered and new vacancies could be created.
Podemos believes that, in theory, if staff were to work 80% of their usual week, it would create a 20% increase in vacancies as the extra time would need to be covered; although on the flip side, it believes many employees would be able to fit their entire existing jobs into 80% of their current hours, giving them more time to relax, enjoy themselves, and spend time with friends and family.
One of the main drawbacks experts have highlighted, though, is that companies may opt to cut wages by 20% in line with the reduction in hours, and even if this was not permitted by law, would be difficult to police.
Related Topics
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