BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th July, 2021) The idea of a 4-day working week is being tested by companies and governments across Europe, but it is not easy to implement reduced hours due to social challenges, European experts tell Sputnik.
Researchers from Iceland unveiled results of a long trial of a four-day working week on Monday and called it an overwhelming success. Spain announced a pilot project for companies interested in the idea in March. Some other countries have been debating shorter hours with mixed results.
Vincent Vandenberghe, a professor of economics at UCLouvain University in Belgium, said moving to shorter hours was easier now that the arduousness of work has decreased significantly thanks to technology and robotics, while the question of unemployment has become less pressing.
"The issue of unemployment is less pressing today. Our societies are no longer fighting against mass unemployment. We have even entered a labour shortage in many countries such as Finland, Germany or the Netherlands. The concept of work performance is evolving," he said.
Vandenberghe argued that companies would naturally want to make up for the increased flexibility, for example by adapting working time to the order book or asking employees to always be within their reach in case of emergencies.
The society will need time to adapt, he said further. Specifically, trade unions will need to revisit their demands to factor in the new flexibility.
"Unions must evolve and move away from purely hourly demands for the same salary. business leaders are ready for more flexibility but this needs to be discussed; they want to maintain their margins. Politicians are cautious, but this is changing, because it is the labour shortage that is the problem of the day, not mass unemployment anymore," Vandenberghe explained.
Charles Gave, an economist and financial adviser who heads the Institute of Liberties in Paris, predicted that there will always be a few large industrial sectors, such as steel industry or public services, where trade unions will continue to "practice arm wrestling" to protect the interests of union members, but freedom should always come first, he argued.
"Why is it necessary to impose a week of 4 days? Freedom should be the name of the game! I believe much more in a negotiation in every company... As Cardinal Richelieu famously said, 'Man is a mule who spoils himself at rest.' In other words, we need to work to structure our existences," he said.
Benjamin Biard, who heads the Centre of Research on Socio-Political Issues in Brussels, pointed out the relatively small scale of the Icelandic experiment, which might have problems projecting its findings onto bigger economies.
"Iceland is almost as a whole a service company that can afford the introduction of four days a week without any real difficulty. It is also a very small country: no long and difficult collective bargaining" he said.
Vandenberghe agreed that larger nations with many industrial enterprises, such as Germany, France and Spain, have less flexibility in adapting to the scheme.
