Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.
by Carol-Ann Jordan and Jacqueline Belgrave
Dear HR,
My company has had flexitime for a while. They should take the next step to a four-day work week but don’t seem to be even looking at it. Is it something that can work in Barbados?
It has been more than a century ago that we celebrated working a five (5) day work week.
The May Day public holiday we still celebrate in Barbados was the date that marked the push to reduce the working hours of the workforce for the same pay.
In the USA, the automaker Henry Ford was among the first to switch to a five-day workweek.
This was in 1926. Today, there is a move to reduce the work week even further from a five-day week to a four-day week.
Even though employees may have had a four-day work week in their wish list for quite some time, the idea of such a move is still quite novel.
A four-day week was approved for workers in Belgium in February of this year. It was introduced in Iceland after a four-year trial period (2015 to 2019), after which trade unions successfully re-negotiated working patterns.
Workers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand are currently participating in a project which seeks to determine the benefits of shortening the workweek.
First, when considering the implementation of a four-day work week, there needs to be clarity about how the work week would actually be shortened. There are two models which are considered.
In the first model, one day is simply removed from the work week – the employee’s pay is unchanged and the company expects no less than the same level of productivity.
Under this model, no hours are added to the employee’s work day – one day is simply removed.
This is the model used in Belgium and Iceland and is being considered by the countries participating in the project.
In the second model, employers look at compressed time i.e. moving from an eight hour day, five days per week to ten hours per day for only four days per week.
While employees will still work forty (40) hours each week, the forty (40) hours are fitted into four days instead of five. An example of a compressed schedule is a shift from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Secondly, the employer then has to determine whether employees will all be given the same extra day off (i.e. will the company be closed down on Fridays or Mondays), or will the extra time off be allocated so that the remains open all five workdays.
According to supporters and promoters of the four (4) day work week, there are several advantages to this change. They believe that reducing the number of days people work in a week could:
1. Increase productivity by reducing employee burnout,
2. Improves employees’ work life balance.
3. Increase employee productivity, overall happiness and loyalty.
4. Empower employees and communicate trust.
5. Reduce employee expenses (e.g. paying less for bus fare, gas and lunch money in some cases.
6. Reduce the company’s carbon footprint (e.g. reducing the use of lights and air-conditioning units during the additional off time).
However, there are also disadvantages associated with the reduced work week:
1. It does not suit all industries. Some sectors require a seven-day-a-week presence, which could make a short working week impractical. Examples include emergency services and public transport services.
2. Employers may not want their businesses closed for an additional day and will have to schedule the work week to ensure operations and service to the public are not compromised.
Trying to ensure that all employees are not off on the same day can lead to scheduling issues which may result in lower employee morale.
A four-day work week allows businesses to focus on productivity and efficiency within their companies.
It requires that they look at their key drivers and the actual output that their companies are delivering instead of looking at the number of hours worked.
For a shortened work week to be successfully implemented the organisation’s culture must be one characterised by trust. In addition, everyone must understand and agree that the initiative is going to be undertaken with the expectation of maintaining performance standards while also delivering the stated benefits for employees.
Once this culture exists in businesses in Barbados and employers can be convinced of the benefits associated with its introduction, then the four-day work week can possibly be introduced in the industries whose operations are conducive to this type of work week.
About Lifeline Labour Solutions: Lifeline Labour Solutions is a boutique partnership providing people management solutions to workplace challenges Partners Carol-Ann Jordan and Jacqueline Belgrave are established practitioners with a wealth of knowledge and experience in Employment Relations, Labour Relations and Human Resource Management between them. Email: info@ lifelinelabour.com; Tel: 1(246)247-5213
