Four-Day Workweek? World Economic Forum Weighs The Merits Of The ‘Upper Class’ Working Less

The attendees of the World Economic Forum Davos, Switzerland – There were growing calls for a 4 day workweek, as well as the challenges this arrangement could pose, according to a discussion held in Davos. companies.

In recent years, proposals for a 4-day week with eight-hour days have increased. This has led to an international study Participating companies saw increased revenues despite improved metrics regarding employee well-being. Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, led a panel event During the conference, officials discussed the global rollout.

Karien van Gennip (Dutch Employment Minister) acknowledged that the conversation about the four-day workweek is not over. “very much a discussion for the upper class.” After virtual commutes became more commonplace for white collar workers following the lockdown-induced downturn, 67% were able work entirely from home. This compares to 48% of educators, and 35% of healthcare professionals according to a study. poll Gallup.

“If you look at many of the jobs that are service jobs, they are still in-person service jobs,” van Gennip said. “It’s much more difficult to go toward those flexibility hours and also, if you would go to a four-day work week, if you consider the discussions we also have on minimum wage and on living wage, then you have to be quite serious about what it means for the pay per hour.”

Randstad CEO Sander van’t Noordende nevertheless asserted that implementing flexible work arrangements is a “business imperative” Many companies.

“Talent is scarce, and you almost start to treat your talent as your customer,” The Dutch executive in human resources consulting made the observation. “Work-life balance is a critical thing that people are looking for as well.”

According to another survey, around 45% of workers blame lackluster flexibility for leaving their jobs. Only 48% mention childcare problems. survey Source: Pew Research Center. Christy Hoffman, General Secretary at UNI Global Union confirmed her participation on the panel. “scheduling is really important for low-wage, predominantly women workers” Sectors where virtual or flexible employment is less feasible.

Hoffman stated that Japan and the United States are not equal. “by far the worst” Compared to the rest in the developed world, when it comes to working hours. “It’s sort of considered barbaric in other countries that you get two weeks off per year,” She said that western Europe has a tradition of four weeks’ paid vacation.

Grant contrasted the idea of a 4-day workweek with Elon Musk’s criticism of flexible work arrangements. Musk has required that his employees complete their tasks in the office. The billionaire informed Workers at Tesla, an electric carmaker, work remotely. “no longer” It is acceptable to comment on social media about those who don’t agree with the new policy “should pretend to work somewhere else.” He also told Twitter employees who work “on location physically” It is superior to all other arrangements.

The costs of virtual work arrangements for employers are also evident: 85% say that shifting to hybrid work is a good idea. “has made it challenging to have confidence that employees are being productive,” According to a study Microsoft

Van’t Noordende noted that “time will tell” It is not clear if the cultural sea shift at Twitter will succeed.

“If people want to work seven days per week in a very intense environment to build a great company, be my guest. They should absolutely do that,” He stated. “But I am wondering, because now he bought Twitter, which is a more established company with a certain culture, can he change that culture to the startup culture that he sort of built the other businesses with? It’s an interesting experiment.”