Let us take a hint from a news item reported yesterday by Corriere.it L’Economia, To talk about a revolution in our country, reduce the working hours from 40 hours a week to 36 hours..

TeamSystems in Pesaro, the main business of digitizing companies, has decided to reduce the working hours of its 2,900 employees from 40 hours per week to 36 at the same pay.

This is free for employees from Friday noon to Monday morning.

So the motto goes strong: “Do a little work to get everyone working”. But Italy lags behind in this view. In other countries, in fact, this is not an innovation, but a fact that has persisted for years.

The short working week of 36 working hours is a reality in many European countries!

In France, for example, working hours have been limited to 35 hours per week since 1998. This possibility has also been introduced in Germany: employees can choose between normal hours or shorter hours.

In Italy, very few companies have achieved this goal. The latest is TeamSystem. CEO Federico Leprox told the courier that he made the decision to help human resources find the right balance between work and personal life. Reducing working hours improves the quality of life of employees.

The revolution of the 36-hour work week is not an obligation but a choice

As the TeamSystem CEO explains, 36 hours a week is not an obligation but a choice. 20% of low paid employees will not be affected. Instead, 80% of workers will have a proportional reduction in wages.

As of now, 30% of TeamSystema’s employees have opted for a shorter week’s job.

36 hours a week work and smart work connected!

TeamSystem is actually implementing a hybrid work projectIncluding office work, short weeks, and smart working.

The company gives maximum freedom to 2,900 employees; Each employee may choose to spend 0% of their time outside the office or 80% of their time outside the office.

This freedom left to employees allows them to live their lives more freely, and when they become more calm and happy, they become more productive. They find it hard to leave the company. In an area where such capabilities (IT, digital, cyber security) are difficult to find and often difficult to maintain, this approach to human resources can be defined as successful.

TeamSystem is a healthy company with a turnover of over 500 million per year, which can pay its employees a decent salary. The CEO states: “I do not rule out that working in this way will increase the productivity of our resources but we are ready to move forward with new assignments.“.

Short Work Week: Another Way to Gain More Independence and More Productivity!

More and more companies around the world are using short working weeks with 4 working days and 3 days off. What are the pros and cons of a short work week? French, German, Spanish, Icelandic and Irish companies have already made the decision. Let’s look at the pros and cons of this new method of operation.

A 5-day work week includes 40 hours per week, with a maximum of 8 hours per day. Unusually, if the contract is within six months, it can be increased to ten hours.

The short work week tested by Microsoft was a success

In the summer of 2019, The company tested the idea in a short week and it was a real success: productivity increased by 40% !!

The Berlin company “Bike Citizens” also accepted the short work week, and the result was very positive. The basic principle of a short work week is 4 working days per week and 3 days off.

However, even during the short working week, the right to statutory leave remains at four weeks per year.

Short work week, success in Iceland too!

Dal 2015, Iceland is studying the effects of reducing weekly working hours In a larger experiment, the 5-day work week was replaced by a shorter 4-day week.

• The result of this experiment was:
• Performance and productivity remained stable throughout the 4-day week;
• The number of overtime hours has not increased excessively;
• In a short week, employees may need less sick leave overall;
• Thanks to the short work week, employees are happier because they have more free time so they can find a balance between work, privacy and family life.

Employees with fewer days are less likely to be motivated and less likely to take time off from work. They are less prone to back pain and heart problems. Says the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

On the one hand, this is due to the fact that they have more time to recover from the work day. On the other hand, people use their extra leisure time for health-promoting behaviors. This is the result of a meta-analysis conducted by researchers at Bealefeld University.

Sport, in turn, is beneficial for productivity because regular exercise has a positive effect on cognitive performance.

Overall, 4 working days a week has yielded excellent results, which is why Iceland has decided to end 5 working days a week altogether.

Spain is also booming: 4 working days and 36 hours a week

The week with 4 days and 36 working hours has therefore become an international topic of discussion Recently, Spain also decides to jump. as well as In Spain, it will last at least a year from next autumn.

6,000 employees in 200 Spanish companies would therefore work less than one day a week, but in Spain decided to keep salaries the same. Thanks to the 36-hour work week, Spain will increase its workforce: If five out of five employees choose a shorter week, the company will hire another full-time employee. It will also increase employment.

The 40-hour workweek ends, and the future is 36 hours a week

Eight hours a day, five days a week is too much for many employees, According to a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation. One in two employees is overweight and overworked.

According to this study, 50 percent of men and 41 percent of women work more than they want to. In research, these workers are called “over-employed”.

Studies show that many employees want more and more free time. In fact, many companies in Europe (very few in Italy) decide to go for a shorter week’s work without cutting wages.

In Germany, there are already companies where the working day lasts only six hours or four working days.

In conclusion We could have listened How much does a short 36-hour, 4-day work week offer?; Unfortunately, Italy lags far behind other European countries in this regard, but thanks to brave and innovative companies such as TeamSystem.

It is hoped that more and more Italian companies will be able to follow this model in the future.