The four-day working week, set out in a new labor market bill, is emerging as a possible solution to make work more flexible and facilitate the transition to office work, in the context of more and more employees returning to work. pre-pandemic thing.
Thus, half of employers would find it possible to operate their company with a work schedule of only four days a week, in the form of a legislative proposal in which the working day would increase from 8 to 10 hours, and 60% believe that this is a good time to move to a four-day work week, according to a survey conducted by the BestJobs recruitment platform.
However, opinions are divided on the effects. Thus, 25% consider that the running costs of the company would decrease, but they also see the risk of decreasing the volume of work done.
“The labor market is at a point where, more than ever, the mental health of employees is at the forefront, and employers are open to addressing solutions to make labor more flexible, following the model of other European countries. After experiencing the remote working model and seeing that it works, we are now one step closer to testing the 4-day work week, which would give employees an extra day off, even if, in its current form, it would not change their workload “, says Ana Vişian, Marketing Manager of BestJobs.
Regarding the effects on employees, 1 in 4 employers consider that they would be happier due to the extra day off, but 12% fear that this program could quickly lead to exhaustion due to the increased workload in one day. For work.
On the other hand, almost 8 out of 10 employees are open to work only four days a week and I think this is a good time to adopt a shorter working week, but 55% of employees are afraid to increase their working day. at 8 to 10 o’clock, imposed in this scenario.
At the same time, almost 71% of employees consider that the 4-day work week would suit their current job and their activity. However, 41% consider that the main disadvantage is the higher workload of the 4 days, as a result of the extension of working hours, and 45% feel that in the event that such a way of working will be adopted in the company they work for, there will be more pressure on them to finish everything faster.
Even if 3 out of 4 employees are inclined to believe that their employer would not allow such a program, they also see many benefits for their well-being, such as improving work-life balance (70%), more time free to prioritize mental and physical health (68%), increase productivity while at work (29%) and reduce the risk of exhaustion (25%).
According to the survey conducted by the BestJobs recruitment platform, the main thing that respondents would do on the day off, if they adopted the 4-day work week would be to spend time with loved ones, doing family activities (58%). Rest also occupies an important place for 42% of the respondents, and the top of the activities that the employees would do on the day off, if the 4-day work week were adopted, is completed by the recreational activities. Another 47% say that on holidays they would solve administrative tasks that they cannot handle during the working days.
The survey conducted by BestJobs was conducted between March 2 and 24 on a sample of 1,113 internet users in Romania.
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