The four-day week, a false good idea?

2023-05-31 16:49:00

From the United States to the United Kingdom via Iceland or Spain, the idea of ​​a four-day working week is gaining ground. In these countries, many companies in the private sector, but also public administrations, have been experimenting with this mode of organization for several months. In Belgium, for example, employees can decide to work their week full-time over four days.

For or once morest: should we switch to the four-day week? (Mélanie Tisserand-Berger once morest François Asselin)

In Europe, MEP and economist Pierre Larouturou (New Deal) won a pilot project in Parliament in Strasbourg to make this experience better known.

In France, if around 400 companies and 17,000 have already tested it, the Medef and the CPME have recently vetoed it. Thus, in this context, the generalization of a four-day week is probably not obvious. Everything will depend on the sector, the size of the company and the type of job.

“The key is productivity”

Since the pandemic, productivity in France and Europe has stalled without economists being able to provide a really clear answer. Between the retention of labor in companies, partial unemployment aid, the massive hiring of apprentices, economists have put forward several factors in recent months. However, faced with this worrying fall, the four-day week might be a solution.

In the euro zone, the fall in productivity is becoming an increasingly worrying phenomenon

This is, for example, the idea defended by the economist Pedro Gomes, a teacher at the University of Birbeck in London and adviser to the Portuguese government on labor issues. “The key to the 4-day week is productivity”he explained during a conference organized by the national center for arts and crafts (CNAM) this Wednesday, May 31. “More rested people work better on other days”.

This labor issue specialist accompanied the Portuguese government to experiment with it between June and September 2023. He considers that the company must modify “its organizational processes by reducing the duration of very time-consuming meetings, by adopting technologies”. According to the economist, the four-day week allows more added value “by reducing intermediate costs such as energy bills or absenteeism”. In addition, this organization makes it possible to “reduce burnout and stress”. But, he recognizes that certain companies like certain employees brake four irons. “The testing period is crucial”he points out.

Pioneering companies in France

The questions of quality of life and meaning at work have returned to the center of debate since the pandemic in 2020. Without experiencing large waves of resignations as in the United States, Europe has recorded the departure of thousands of employees in sectors already under pressure such as hotels, catering or construction. As a result, some companies have taken the plunge. This is, in particular, the case of IT Partner, which specializes in cybersecurity. “At the beginning, people were not thrilledadmits CEO Abdénour Ainseba. When I presented this idea to the Comex, some were taken aback”.

And the results “The first year, the results weren’t very good with our customers. But as we communicated on this experience, our customers accompanied us”. The most complicated period “to manage was the summer, between the four-day week and paid vacation, we came close to disaster”. But following a year, his business has found “its cruising speed”.“People aren’t really working more hours, but they’ve reduced the lunch break. On the other hand, the days are intense”he concedes.

Still in the Rhône-Alpes region, the company Elmy, supplier of green electricity to businesses and individuals, has drawn a rather positive balance sheet. “Overall, we thought the four-day week would bring regarding a better work/life balance. Taking a step back allows innovation and more creativity,” explained HRD Camille Darde.

In this company, which has approximately 120 employees, the four-day week has meant “by a reduction from 39 hours to 35 hours per week for executives and from 35 hours to 32 hours for employees, maintaining 100% of the salary, and no impact on leave”. On the other hand, the surveys carried out internally with the teams showed that more than four employees out of 10 worked on their day off between 1:30 am and 3:30 am.

The “flop” of Ursaff in Picardy

In some sectors, the experience can turn into a nightmare. Announced with great fanfare by the government in the spring, the 4-day week at the Ursaff in Picardy was “a flop”. “We missed a subject on part-timers”concedes Anne Sophie Rousseau.

On January 1, 2023, only three people had adopted the four-day week out of more than 300 employees, knowing that executives are excluded from the scope (54 fixed-rate executives and 40 managers). “Nine-hour working days prevent people from picking up children from school or nurseries. They are still very long and there is less flexibility. There is a very rigid character to the four-day week”she adds.

The people who adopted her had “either very old children, or no children”. But the contribution collection body does not intend to give up. The objective is “to continue experimenting”. “Launching a campaign in March is not the idea of ​​the century. We are going to reopen a campaign at the beginning of September to find an organization in relation to the school. It is also a question of relaxing certain rules ”. In the field, feedback can give companies and administrations cold sweats. But the directions who testified say it’s hard to go back.