Italian
La settimana lavorativa di quattro giorni è stata al centro del più grande programma pilota nel Regno Unito ed i risultati sono stati presentati nel parlamento del Paese.
Hanno partecipato al programma 61 aziende.
56 di queste hanno esteso alcune variazioni della settimana lavorativa di quatto giorni.
E 18 la hanno adottata completamente.
Tra chi l’ha apprezzata, c’è la Società Reale di Biologia.
Il dottor Mark Downs è il presidente dell’organizzazione.
Ha dichiarato che ora il suo staff richiede meno giorni di malattia.
"We see there's actually been a decline in the amount of sick days taken during the period of the trial. We were starting off sick leave at around about four to five days perhaps per person per year on average. It's down to less than two at the moment."
Una delle impiegate del dottor Downs è Tessa Gibson.
Racconta che lavorare un po’ di più per quattro giorni alla settimana non solo ha benefici per la sua salute mentale, ma l’aiuta a sfruttare meglio le sue giornate.
"Weekends can be quite hectic, the two-day weekend. So it's been quite nice to have that extra day. You see your friends and family on the two days when they're also free, and then you get that extra day off during the week, just to do all your chores or just to have that time to yourself to relax. So it's really made a big difference to my mental health."
Modificare il modo in cui la gente lavora sta catturando l’attenzione ai più alti livelli di impresa in tutto il mondo.
Il neozelandese Ben Fletcher è Senior Partner a McKinsey and Company, una società globale di consulenza aziendale.
Durante il summit sul lavoro organizzato dal giornale Financial Review, ha dichiarato ad una platea composta da personaggi altamente influenti che le imprese migliori sono quelle che si adattano velocemente.
"Come to today wanting good ideas, great inspiration for what you can do. A bit of help on what we can do to shape the future of work together. I think it involves modern organisations that are resilient and healthy here, and able to transform at pace."
Per uno spaccato su come potrebbe essere una settimana lavorativa di quattro giorni, si può esaminare il caso di Symbiote, un’azienda di software di Melbourne.
Sotto la guida del direttore Owen Windsor, l’azienda ha adottato la settimana lavorativa di quattro giorni.
Windsor ha dichiarato che il suo staff è più soddisfatto e che la produttività non è calata.
Nota anche che le trasformazioni su come si lavora, apportate dalla pandemia, hanno giocato un ruolo nella settimana lavorativa di quattro giorni.
"It's going extremely well, honestly. It's been something that we, as a team, have really particularly enjoyed. It hasn't changed the way that we work, necessarily, with our customers. Productivity is still great. But people are just a lot happier with the workplace at the moment. And I think, too, that, particularly, coming out the other side of COVID, it was a really nice relief for people to have a little bit of extra time to do things that they want."
Windsor sostiene che il suo personale ora è più concentrato e che sfrutta appieno il tempo che passa al lavoro.
Ha descritto un’azienda che ora è più efficiente.
"People are.... I won't say committed, because it's not that they weren't committed previously. It's just that you have a bit more focus in what you're doing, because you're here a little bit less. We've modified the way that we do meetings. We're a little bit leaner on the way that we perhaps do things that would have been time-wasting activities previously. And we just operate a little bit tighter than we probably have previously."
Windsor riflette inoltre sulla settimana di quattro giorni nel contesto delle attuali condizioni del mercato del lavoro.
La disoccupazione è relativamente bassa e i datori di lavoro devono fare di più di quello che facevano in precedenza per attirare e conservare il personale.
English
The four-day working week has just been subjected to the world's largest pilot program in the United Kingdom - and the results have been presented to the country's parliament.
61 companies took part in the program.
56 of those have extended some variation of the four-day week.
And 18 have taken it on permanently.
Amongst those who liked it was the Royal Society of Biology.
Dr Mark Downs is the organisation's Chief Executive.
He says staff now take fewer sick days.
"We see there's actually been a decline in the amount of sick days taken during the period of the trial. We were starting off sick leave at around about four to five days perhaps per person per year on average. It's down to less than two at the moment."
One of Dr Downs' employees is Tessa Gibson.
She says working slightly longer hours on four days per week not only aids her mental health but ensures she gets more out of her days off, too.
["Weekends can be quite hectic, the two-day weekend. So it's been quite nice to have that extra day. You see your friends and family on the two days when they're also free, and then you get that extra day off during the week, just to do all your chores or just to have that time to yourself to relax. So it's really made a big difference to my mental health."
Changing the way people work is getting attention at the highest levels of business around the world.
New Zealander Ben Fletcher is a Senior Partner at McKinsey and Company, a global management consulting firm.
He's told an audience of highly influential people at the Australian Financial Review newspaper's Workforce Summit the best businesses are those who can adapt quickly.
"Come to today wanting good ideas, great inspiration for what you can do. A bit of help on what we can do to shape the future of work together. I think it involves modern organisations that are resilient and healthy here, and able to transform at pace."
For an insight into what a four-day working week in Australia might look like, one can examine the case of Symbiote, a Melbourne-based software company.
Under the leadership of Managing Director Owen Windsor, the company has adopted a four-day working week.
He says staff are happier, and productivity has not decreased.
He also notes that the transformation in work practices that the pandemic brought about has played a role in the four-day working week.
"It's going extremely well, honestly. It's been something that we, as a team, have really particularly enjoyed. It hasn't changed the way that we work, necessarily, with our customers. Productivity is still great. But people are just a lot happier with the workplace at the moment. And I think, too, that, particularly, coming out the other side of COVID, it was a really nice relief for people to have a little bit of extra time to do things that they want."
Mr Windsor says he finds his staff are now more focused and making the most of their time at work.
He describes a company that is now more efficient.
"People are.... I won't say committed, because it's not that they weren't committed previously. It's just that you have a bit more focus in what you're doing, because you're here a little bit less. We've modified the way that we do meetings. We're a little bit leaner on the way that we perhaps do things that would have been time-wasting activities previously. And we just operate a little bit tighter than we probably have previously."
Mr Windsor also speaks of the four-day week within the context of the current labour market.
Unemployment is relatively low, and employers are having to do more than they previously did to attract and retain staff.
Report by Sunil Awasthi
