Charlene Pace
Traffic
on a Monday morning on Malta’s roads is the equivalent to hell. You’ve
been stuck at the same point for about 15 minutes and as you glance at
your watch you find that by now you were supposed to be at your
workstation quite a while ago…a possible solution to this: the four-day
working week?!
During the Industrial Revolution period, labor leaders fought for the
“eight-hour day”. Until that point, it was normal to work six days a
week, with a typical work day being 10 to 16 hours. With harsher labor
laws and new technologies, a new way of life appears…[1]
Recently, companies have been testing a four-day work week in many
different contexts, with one in particular being “Perpetual Guardian, a
company from New Zealand which manages trusts, wills and estate
planning.”[2]
Between March and April of 2018 almost 250 employees of the firm worked
four days for 8 hours, but got paid for five. The company affirmed
that the experiment was a resounding success, arguing that its employees
are much more productive, if they have more time to recuperate and
balance other commitments.
Advocates of the four-day work week state that a briefer working week
aids employees looking for more flexibility, including people trying to
balance taking care of children or other relatives. “For us, this is
about our company getting improved productivity from greater workplace
efficiencies… there’s no downside for us,” said Andrew Barnes, Perpetual
Guardian’s founder in an interview in October 2018.[3] The firm will adopt this measure permanently[4].
Data collected by the University of Auckland’s Business School in the
form of a qualitative research report written by Dr. Helen Delaney on
the experiment showed the impact of reduced working hours on non-work
lives. Interviewees are making a link between being less stressed due to
shorter work hours and being able to use public transport or walk:
“…But I enjoyed that, because I’d come in and I was less stressed, so
I’d catch the bus rather than driving. So I saved some money on
transport costs actually. The odd days I went for a walk and went for a
coffee in my neighborhood rather than racing over the road….”[5]
Blog posts on debatingeurope.com the topic hit yet another nerve:
Instead of focusing on the positives a debate emerged focusing
exclusively on who will be entitled to the four-day working week. Will
service industry workers such as doctors, nurses, bus drivers, etc. be
able to join in?[6]
A question very valid for all discussions around flexible workhours and
locations and to be answered for each specific context differently.
The Maltese work on average 40 hours a week, while several other
industrialized nations work less than 40 hours, e.g. the Netherlands
(average 29 hours) and Denmark and Norway (average 33 hours). [7]
Adding on top of pure workhours the time spent to get to your office
and back (estimate 1 hour per day), approximately 45 hours a week are
spent with work-related tasks for those of us not working from home.
Flexible working hours and location arrangements have the potential to bring positive change.
PAF (Project Aegle Foundation) conducted a survey online between
November 2018 and February 2019 with various Maltese businesses, which
were asked on their understanding, regulations and attitudes towards
flexible working arrangements. Those are schemes, which offer a
variation from the traditional 9 to 5 work day and location, through
flexible timing, a compressed work week, reduced hours, leave hours and a
“results focused” work environment.
When asked if traffic congestion is affecting the productivity of
one’s business, the overwhelming majority of the participants (79 %)
answered yes.
A quarter of the businesses have begun offering flexible working
arrangements less than 5 years ago, while 22% don’t offer any similar
agreements. Individuals actively seeking flexible work arrangements are
predominantly between 20 and 40 years old, the time in your life during
which one often has other priorities such as child care.
Businesses identified major concerns in relation to flexible work
arrangements such as: disruption of the business organization,
monitoring employees and security, but they also identified benefitting
e.g. through lower employee absenteeism, better work life balance and
less time spent in traffic as employees have the option to avoid the
rush hour.
If handled in a professional way, built on trust between employer and
employee concerns may be solved rapidly. When asked if businesses would
be willing to take a look at flexible arrangements if they were offered
expert or financial assistance, most of those taking the survey
responded positively, so there is interest in the arrangement locally.
A four-day working week or the use of more flexible working
arrangements among Maltese businesses may be the next step to help
decrease traffic on our roads.
Take a look at the individual articles and our compiled data about the issue and let us know what you think on info@projectaegle.com.mt or drop us a line on our Facebook page.
PAF’s mission is to advance sustainable mobility solutions improving
Malta’s traffic situation, thereby enhancing quality of life and
environmental conditions for the Maltese population.
Charlene Pace, Research Officer, PAF
Bibliography:
· Ainge Roy Eleanor. 'No downside': New Zealand firm adopts four-day week after successful trial. Published in The Guardian on 2nd Oct. 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/02/no-downside-new-zealand-firm-adopts-four-day-week-after-successful-trial
· Delaney Helen. Perpetual Guardian’s 4-day workweek trial: Qualitative research analysis. Report published by the University of Auckland Business School on 15th June 2018.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a93121d3917ee828d5f282b/t/5b4e425c8a922dd864bd18d0/1531855454772/Final+Perpetual+Guardian+report_Dr+Helen+Delaney_July+2018.pdf
· Dodgson Lindsay. 3-day weekends could make people happier and more productive. Published in Business Insider on 1st Oct. 2018.
https://www.businessinsider.com/4-day-week-could-make-people-happier-more-productive-oxford-study-2018-10?r=US&IR=T
· Harris Briony. New Zealand firm adopts its four-day working week permanently. Published in World Economic Forum on 20th July 2018.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/working-fewer-hours-makes-you-productive-new-zealand-trial/
· Kurtz Annalyn. Best in the World – World’s shortest work weeks. Published in CNN Money on 10th July 2013.
https://money.cnn.com/gallery/news/economy/2013/07/10/worlds-shortest-work-weeks/index.html
· Should everyone have a four-day work week? With reference to the comment section. Published in Debating Europe on 14th Aug. 2018.
https://www.debatingeurope.eu/2018/08/14/should-everyone-have-a-four-day-work-week/#.XGFInzNKjcs
· Working Conditions in Malta published by Internations.org.
https://www.internations.org/malta-expats/guide/working-in-malta-15758/working-conditions-in-malta-
[1] Ainge Roy Eleanor. 'No downside': New Zealand firm adopts four-day week after successful trial. Published in The Guardian on 2nd Oct. 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/02/no-downside-new-zealand-firm-adopts-four-day-week-after-successful-trial
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Harris Briony. New Zealand firm adopts its four-day working week permanently. Published in World Economic Forum on 20th July 2018.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/working-fewer-hours-makes-you-productive-new-zealand-trial/
[5] Delaney Helen. Perpetual Guardian’s 4-day workweek trial: Qualitative research analysis. Report published by the University of Auckland Business School on 15th June 2018.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a93121d3917ee828d5f282b/t/5b4e425c8a922dd864bd18d0/1531855454772/Final+Perpetual+Guardian+report_Dr+Helen+Delaney_July+2018.pdf (p.21)
[6] Should everyone have a four-day work week? With reference to the comment section. Published in Debating Europe on 14th Aug. 2018.
https://www.debatingeurope.eu/2018/08/14/should-everyone-have-a-four-day-work-week/#.XGFInzNKjcs
[7] Kurtz Annalyn. Best in the World – World’s shortest work weeks. Published in CNN Money on 10th July 2013.
https://money.cnn.com/gallery/news/economy/2013/07/10/worlds-shortest-work-weeks/index.html
