Spain seeks volunteers to start testing four-day workweek

Spain is about to ask hundreds of companies to participate in one of the biggest tests of whether a four-day workweek can be implemented without hurting the economy.

While initiatives elsewhere have been largely small-scale and initiated by individual companies, the President, Pedro Sanchez, agreed to allocate 50 million euros ($ 59 million) to a three-year national program.

This is the idea of ​​a small left-wing political party called More countries, who convinced the Socialist-led government that implement a 32 hour work week, then evaluate the experience. The party leader, Íñigo Errejón, expects approximately 200 employers to voluntarily register for the trial, which would start in the fall.

Errejón said in an interview in Madrid that a hundred years have passed since the last time the working day was shortened, that is, when the right to eight o’clock has been earned. Added that over the past 100 years, we have continued to produce more with fewer labor hours and yet This ability to produce more through technology has not created more free time for people.

Errejón, 37 years old defended the four-day workweek even before the covid-19 pandemic, but he says that now it is more plausible in Spain because the crisis has shown that it is possible to have greater flexibility in the workplace.

However, He acknowledges that he faces an uphill battle to make this more than an experience. Sánchez agreed to the pilot test in January on the condition that Más País vote in favor of the administration’s spending plan under the European Union’s stimulus fund. Since then, ministers and other senior officials have said that a four-day work week is not a political priority.

Joaquin perez rey, Secretary of State for Employment of Spain, said that the important thing is not the number of days you work, but the work-life balance, and that this will not be resolved with one day less.

The idea of ​​a four-day work week is gaining ground in some parts of the world. Unilever tests in New Zealand, and Japanese lawmakers are discussing a proposal to grant an additional day off. German tech company Awin he started to cut hours while maintaining wages and benefits last spring, and says that sales, employee engagement and customer satisfaction have increased.

The challenge of Spain has long been plagued by high unemployment, low productivity and one of the highest proportions in Europe of workers on precarious and temporary contracts. The Bank of Spain has called the labor market “dysfunctional”.

According to Errejón’s program, employees will receive the same salary even if they spend fewer hours. Unless they dramatically increase their productivity, companies will pay their workers more to do less.

Government funds compensate businesses by covering the cost of hiring additional workers or installing new technology, but only temporarily, to ease the transition.

Errejón says that this essay at least it will provide valuable information to researchers. But he’s also hopeful that he can set the stage for a four-day week in areas where the pilot shows businesses and workers are benefiting.

© 2021 Bloomberg LP

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