Portuguese companies doing four-day week cut hours by 13.7%

Companies in Portugal that introduced the four-day week reported a 13.7% average drop in weekly working hours, according to the results of a pilot project presented by the study’s coordinators on Tuesday.

According to the document, 41 companies are experimenting with the four-day week in Portugal, covering more than 1,000 workers, of which 21 companies started the test in June 2023, with 332 workers.

“On average, the four-day week involved reducing weekly working hours by 13.7% (from 39.3 to 34 hours, as reported by the companies),” according to the report presented by Pedro Gomes, professor of economics at the University of London, and Rita Fontinha, professor of strategic human resource management at the University of Reading.

However, the study indicates that the workers who took part in the experiment reported a smaller reduction in the number of weekly hours worked by 11.3%, from 41.1 hours to 36.5 hours.

In the majority of companies (58.5%), employees have one day off per week, with 41.5% of companies opting for a nine-day fortnight, alternating a four-day week with a five-day week.

In 20% of the companies, the day off is coordinated to Friday, i.e. “only in eight companies was Friday the new Saturday”, and the rest opted for different formats, said Pedro Gomes.

More than 70% of the companies have adopted organisational changes, such as reducing the number and duration of meetings, creating work blocks or adopting new software, say the study’s coordinators, which indicates that 95% of the companies rate the test positively.

The four-day week also had an impact on workers’ mental health, with the anxiety index decreasing by 21%, fatigue by 23%, insomnia or sleep problems by 19%, depressive states by 21%, tension by 21% and loneliness by 14%.

Levels of exhaustion from work fell by 19%, and the percentage of workers who found it difficult or very difficult to reconcile work and family fell from 46% to 8%. The majority (65%) of workers spent more time with their families after the start of the reduction in working hours.

The report also indicates that 85% of workers “would only agree to move to a company with five-day working hours if they received a salary increase of more than 20%”.

When presenting the report, Pedro Gomes said that the biggest difficulties companies had encountered in implementing the project were defining productivity metrics, managing the four-day week during holiday periods and the difficulty of changing the internal culture to avoid wasting time.

“The four-day week, however radical it may seem, is a legitimate management practice and can solve real problems for companies,” he added.

Secretary of State for Labour Miguel Fontes believes the four-day working week is “one of the most innovative projects in Portugal”.

Labour, Solidarity and Social Security Minister Ana Mendes Godinho, who closed the presentation ceremony, thanked the companies and workers who “ventured into the unknown” by joining the initiative and said that this is a “winning” project already being replicated in Belgium.

(Denise Fernandes, edited by Cristina Fernandes Ferreira | Lusa.pt)