After Grupo Hada’s announcement of reduce your work week to four days, (from Monday to Thursday), the issue of what the future of work will be in the post-pandemic has been put on the table again in Colombia.
Although there are many conflicting opinions on this subject, which highlights both the positive and the negative aspects of the measure, the truth is that the country has been in a process of transition to gradually reduce the working day.
(Read: Hada and other companies and countries with 4-day working days).
And that is evidenced by Law 2101 of 2021, sanctioned by President Duque, which seeks to go from working 48 to 42 hours a week. Likewise, this law indicates that by 2026 all companies in the country comply with this provision.
However, for some companies, going back to the case of Grupo Hada that implemented “flexiviernes”, measuring the worker by the number of hours he spends sitting at his desk is already a thing of the past. Since other interests now prevail, such as the well-being of the worker, that he has a good balance between his personal and work life and, above all, that his work is measured by the achievements and results obtained. All this without affecting the salary.
“We must start from the fact that we do not live to work, but rather work to live. That certainly motivated us to think about how to evolve. So I don’t care about the number of hours an employee works, because we don’t measure collaborators by hourly buttocks, but by results, by their achievements.”, Mauricio Trujillo Posada, executive vice president of Grupo Hada, said in an interview, who also stated that the company’s 750 employees are happy.
Contribute to the happiness and well-being of employees Within companies, it is undoubtedly one of the pillars that most reinforces the reduction of working hours, and it is not for less, studies have shown that feeling good in the work environment helps improve productivity.
Does a work schedule sound to you according to your age?
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(Read: Hada and her 4-day workday: ‘We want people to be happy’).
An experiment in Iceland, developed between 2015 and 2019 and in which 2,500 employees participated, made it clear that the reduction of the working day to four days, without affecting the payment of wages, productivity improved.
Among the conclusions, it is highlighted that workers did not feel as much stress and that they had more energy because they had more leisure time. The experiment has been described as a “resounding success” by specialists.
For Iván Daniel Jaramillo Jassir, researcher at the Labor Observatory of the Universidad del Rosario, in an increasingly automated world It seems logical that more companies align themselves with this objective and undertake this type of pilots.
“Today we see that more organizations are adopting more flexible measures, for example, working on Fridays until noon. This transition is due to maturity and a true adaptation. It would be worth having spaces to talk through our own channels and that can be negotiated. Spaces that seek a better balance should be promoted”, explained Jaramillo Jassir.
But beyond contributing to the well-being of each individual, there are those who think that this reduction in working time would boost other economic sectors.
César Luque, a labor lawyer and union adviser, stated that with more workers with time off, the acquisition of more services in cultural matters would be generated, entertainment and others, thus creating new businesses and jobs in other sectors of productive life, as is the case of tourism, and service businesses.
“However, in Colombia at the same time, a profound reform of the economic structure is required,” added Luque.
(Keep reading: The culture of telecommuting: A complex web of preferences).
More companies are adopting more flexible measures, such as working Fridays until
noon
CONTRASTS
For its part, we must not ignore the fact that all processes are different in the labor field, that applies to both workers and employers, not to mention the activities to be carried out, since many require time in factories or face-to-face care.
In other pilots carried out, for example in Spain, companies such as Telefónica, which have wanted to implement this type of conference under a voluntary initiative, have expressed their interest in including this, but cutting the salary of workers. This complicates the decision of whether it is convenient to reduce the number of days to work.
According to the expert on labor issues, Adrian Garlati, director of the Economics program at the Javeriana University, the debate on the reduction of the working day should also include other fronts, such as which sectors would benefit from this flexibility; and whether it should be more of a business initiative than a state-imposed measure.
(What’s more: The United Arab Emirates will have a 4.5 day working week).
“Companies are rethinking whether they should have people in person at offices or whether they have to work Monday through Friday. It is good that many companies take it as their own initiative, I think that it should not be imposed by the state, it would not be healthy for many sectors. Commerce, which must have staff serving the public, is not the same as technology companies. Definitely depends on the type of activities.Garlatti said.
MICROSOFT ALSO JOINED THESE INITIATIVES
In 2019, Microsoft approved a 4-day week for its workers in Japan, after an experiment that resulted in a 40% increase in productivity.
Among the exercises that were carried out, it stands out that the managers urged the staff to reduce the time they spent in meetings, which was how they suggested that these should not last more than 30 minutes, as well as not spending so much time answering emails.
Among the effects of the labor pilot, 90% of the employees stated that after this initiative there was an impact on their lives.
JOAHANA LORDUY
