This could well revolutionize our daily life, our way of working, our personal well-being and have a positive impact on the environment. Spain will test the 32-hour week, or 4 working days. Will France do the same?
From 2022, Spain will test the four-day week in 200 volunteer companies. This test will last 3 years. The goal of this experiment? Evaluate the impact of the reduction in working time on the employee’s productivity, but also on his personal well-being. According to one 2018 OECD study, reducing on-time working hours can lead to many positive results for workers and businesses. “We see that there are fewer health problems at work. There are more and better jobs. The work-life balance is better.”
In addition, the more satisfied and motivated employees are, the more productive they are. The other major positive point that the 4-day week would have concerns the environment. The OECD reports that shorter working hours can help reduce our carbon footprint. “By reducing the number of working days, and therefore the number of times we have to commute between our home and our workplace, this necessarily has a positive impact on the environment.”
The 4-day week in France, a possibility?
Could France be brought to test the 32-hour week? Nothing is less certain, since October 12, 2021, during his speech as part of his “France 2030” plan, President Emmanuel Macron declared that the French work less than the rest of the Europeans “When we compare ourselves, we are a country that works less than the others, that remains true (…) We have an amount of work allocated which is not at the right level “, did he declare.
However, this claim is not entirely correct. According to a 2020 study, French employees work 36.5 hours per week (the same figure as in 1999) and non-employees, 45.3 hours (2019 data). Where does France stand compared to the rest of Europe? According to a 2018 study taken over by BFM-TV, the French had worked 36.9 hours per week that year. This figure placed them third in the ranking of European countries in terms of hours worked, ahead of Italy (36.5 hours) and Denmark (29.3 hours). Despite the advantages of the 4-day week, is France really ready to lower its working hours? The question remains open.