The government begins discussing this Thursday how to change an issue that has been in the works ever since. 1983 This does not interfere: maximum working day. The Ministry of Labor has called on employers and unions to discuss how to get around the current 40-hour working week limit. 38.5 hours. It is a path that other European countries have long followed, and it is not new for Spain either, as social actors in some sectors of the economy have long agreed on shorter working hours.
Leaving work a little earlier each day, concentrating all this reduction on the last day of the week, creating hour pools to reduce working weeks from time to time, allowing more vacation days in the summer or throughout the year are some of these formulas. some Spanish employees already enjoy it.
The impact of a change in these characteristics would not be small. According to data collected by the Ministry of Labor, today 55% of employees covered by a collective agreement work maximum work weeks exceeding 38.5 hours. This dimension will become even larger in 2025 when the target is to reach 37.5 hours per week. According to the same Labor Party data, 90% of those working there will be affected.
The broad impact will require a wide range of responses, according to different actors consulted for this report. “We have to keep in mind that every industry, profession, and profession is organized in many different ways. Even within the same company, programs can and do differ. For example, customer service is not the same as someone working in administrative services. There can be no imposed formula,” says the professor from the department of human and organizational management at Esade. Conxita Folguera.
Recipes may differ, but the benefits of reducing the working day are clear, based on other experiences in economies similar to Spain, according to collective bargaining expert and professor of economics and business administration at UB. Patricia Elgoibar. “Working fewer hours increases performance, provides equal opportunities between men and women, reduces stress and the risk of burnout. But it is also positive for companies, because it reduces.” discontinuity and improves the ability to retain talent, resulting in lower costs,” he says.
About the second “some pedagogy is missing“, he admits, but it’s worth it because the benefits in such countries Sweden, United Kingdom anyone GermanyThis is demonstrated by the situation where sectoral negotiations have implemented cuts of less than 40 hours for years. “Beyond the political decision, there is scientific evidence that shows us that this is possible and positive,” he concludes.
Hit the road every day before work
The most direct formula for reducing working hours is to subtract a few hours from each working day. minutes of the day. Either leave earlier or enter a little later. Something some companies already do and achieve without major restructuring, but by suppressing traditions that do not always contribute to productivity, such as long meal breaks or breaks that are not agreed upon or allowed (like the classic) cigarette break Or hold a meeting around the coffee machine, according to Foment del Treball’s labor relations director. Javier Ibars.
“We are not against reducing working hours; we want it to be one-sided and generalized,” says the employer leader. Anger of business representatives towards the second vice president, Yolanda Diazthis is remarkable and for days he and the president of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, They change thorns among the people. “If you go to a table where the result is already marked, where is the social dialogue? It’s like when you go to the football field and they tell you what the end is,” Baskli was quoted as saying. Galician.
Experts and unions interviewed also acknowledge this, stating that the reduction of working hours would be much more effective and easier to implement if the agreement was tripartite rather than opposed by companies.
Leave early on Fridays
On Fridays, especially after the pandemic, in some offices, all it takes is a ball of straw to pass through empty cubicles. Partly because remote workThis is partly because many companies are already implementing compact schedules that allow employees to work a few hours less and leave work for lunch. A formula better suited to freelance professions such as law firms. architects or lawyersnot among public-facing traders or factory workers who work in shifts and need to optimize the rhythms of the machines.
“The main problem is that the reduction of working hours is implemented and people can enjoy it. Unfortunately, in many companies the 40-hour week is not respected; here the regulation of recording working hours is very important and it is important to have more Labor inspectors,” noted the trade union policy secretary of the UGT of Catalonia pulling: Nuria Gilgado.
Shorten weeks from time to time
An option that is more typical in chain work and that many factories already implement is the hourly change. Inside industry Many companies work according to the speed of the machines and the arrival of orders, as well as taking into account the costs of opening and closing assembly lines. This means that sometimes working nine hours a day and saving makes more money. watch bag and then do weeks of four days or less.
According to this formula, it is especially important to distribute work calendars in a timely manner so as not to overshadow work reconciliation due to very different working weeks and rotating shifts. It also affects prevention of risksBecause very long daily shifts, even if you take longer rest afterwards, can be dangerous to your health and increase the likelihood of accidents. Catalonia CCOO Union Action Secretary, Christina TorreNote that, unless otherwise agreed by agreement, the maximum daily shift is currently 9 hours and a 12-hour rest between one shift and the next must always be observed.
More vacation days
Currently, most collective agreements provide for the annual ordinary working day in a sector. So, it is not important whether it will be 40 hours or 38 hours a week, but whether it will be 1,750 or 1,720 hours a year. This allows companies to redistribute working time, especially in activities that are more variable and heavily weighted. seasonal. For example, structureIt cannot be held at the same time due to weather and daylight problems. Summer What winter.
Continuing with the construction example, reducing the weekly hours to 38.5 hours in the province of Barcelona may have no effect, since the number of hours per year is already lower than this rate. However, it will definitely be there when it is reduced to 37.5 hours, because the current rate stipulated in the agreement there will be above this annually. One option that these types of activities offer employees to reduce the workday is more working days. holiday (mercenary)especially during periods when you cannot work.
More paid leave days
Another option, instead of taking more vacation days on set dates, would be to offer paid vacation days if the employee agrees. Barcelona’s metal industry, for example, agreed to introduce paid leave in its latest agreement. freely 12 hours per year, to be chosen by the beneficiary and without requiring any justification.
Although not only the maximum working day affects this compromise, but also its distribution. For example, in large textile or supermarket brands it is common for most workers (as the majority are women) to work less than 40 hours a week, but they work six out of seven days. This poses a clear obstacle to reconciliation.
The philosophy behind reducing working hours is to improve the balance between employees’ personal and professional lives. Academic literature on the subject agrees that the less time spent on work, the more time employees spend on their families or hobbies, resulting in greater happiness and better results. sanity. This was, for example, one of the notable conclusions reached by pilots around the world regarding the four-day workweek.