4-day working week to become official: 86% firms give a thumbs up after trials, Indian govt authorizes too
More working hours, but more leaves and everyone including the employees and companies seem to be up for it!
A study conducted on initial trial basis to assess the feasibility of a four-day working week has found overwhelming support from the participating MNCs. Reportedly, 9 out of 10 companies stated that they were willing to extend the four-day work week policy beyond the six-month ‘trial’ period.
As per reports, the research was carried out by researchers from Boston College and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in which more than 73 organisations participated in the six-month long assessment, ranging from a local fish shop to larger companies from myriad sectors such as retail, technology, food, and hospitality.
The test began in UK in June and within three months, the companies have come on board with the new policy.
If you do the maths, in a four-day working week, employees get paid 100% for 80% of their normal working hours.
Out of the 73 firms, 41 responded to a survey midway through the scheme. The results concluded that 86% of those who were surveyed will continue with the four-day week policy after the trials are done.
However, some organisations have found this four-day week trickier.
Six-month pilot programs with over 180 companies are currently underway in a half-dozen countries. Employers typically transition to four-day, 32-hour schedules (with variations depending on role and industry), with no reduction in pay.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has already proposed the new labor laws from July 1 that will allow companies to have four days working instead of five or six.
For widespread use, we might have to wait for a few months but it is expected such rules will become a norm for all companies, starting 2023.
