So companies won’t be able to strongarm workers into putting in 12 hours a day, four days a week simply to justify a longer weekend. “It was framed to regulate the sector and provide benefits to employees, not employers. “The code only specifies the maximum number of hours employees can work, not the minimum,” points out Urvi Mohan, a labour lawyer practising in New Delhi. That means, to have a four-day work week, a person would have to work 12 hours a day. The average workday is anything from eight to 10 hours, not exceeding 48 hours a week. Implementing a four-day workweek nationally is also likely to violate India’s labour codes that came into effect from July 2022. Managers stay late, so their teams do too A 2017 LinkedIn report also found that it is common for Indians to work beyond scheduled hours, on off days and when they’re home, putting in the extra effort to stay ahead of colleagues. In a 2016 ManpowerGroup survey of 19,000 millennials, conducted in 25 countries, Indians came out on top, clocking 52 hours a week. Indians, particularly, tend to work longer than others. Young workers responded with mass protests, forcing the government, thankfully, to reconsider. In March, South Korea planned to raise the maximum working time to 69 hours a week, because companies complained that the current 52 weren’t enough to meet deadlines. Plus, if a company is the only one in its field implementing a four-day work week, while competitors clock in five or six days, it amounts to lost business, lost profit. When targets and projects are squeezed into fewer days, pressure is higher, making those workdays typically longer. How the four working days are utilised is central to how well a shorter workweek does. “This approach reflects a growing demand for a more sustainable work culture that promotes happiness, health, and more work-life satisfaction among employees.” When targets and projects are squeezed into fewer days, pressure is higher and those workdays are typically longer. “By focusing on essential tasks during the first four days of the week, and reserving Fridays for self-care and quality time with loved ones, professionals are finding new levels of fulfillment and success,” she says. Susan Matthew, HR director of LinkedIn India, says their research on Indian workforce shows that the idea is gaining ground. It’s a prized enough perk that employees in the UK trial said that “no amount of money” would convince them to go back to working five days a week. And employers suffer no setbacks giving workers an additional weekly off, either in rotation or en masse. Workers sleep better and have less stress. It’s a chance to unwind properly, without the pressure of a quick reset, it’s better for mental health, allows more leeway to enjoy time with oneself, family or a new hobby. For employees, the longer weekend is more than a day off. The study in the UK, and similar initiatives in the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia and Belgium, have proven that the idea works. So, why isn’t it the norm yet? And what about India? In 2019, Microsoft tested a four-day work week, with no loss in pay, in Japan. The idea has been floating around for a while. France famously introduced the 35-hour week in 2000, to reduce record high rates of unemployment and to right the country’s work-life balance. Spain is currently offering to subsidise the wages of companies that take part in its upcoming experiment. Sweden and Iceland have conducted similar trials. Sweden, the UK, Australia, Iceland and Belgium have trialled the four-day work week and found that it’s better for employees’ work-life balance. When the UK conducted the world’s largest trial for a four-day work week between June and December last year, it found that most participating companies decided not to revert to the regular five-day standard.
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