While the debate is not new, the issue of the four-day work week has resurfaced recently, especially following the announcement by the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. In case of victory in the next provincial election, he would be prepared to launch a pilot project.
Acting as a precursor and going against the traditional conception of the world of work, i.e. the five-day week divided into 40 hours, the National Union of Garage Employees of Quebec (SNEGQ), affiliated with the Central of Democratic Unions ( CSD), made the four-day work week one of its strong demands in… 1999.
One would tend to think of the four-day work week as a newly cherished ideology by millennials and young shoots (start-ups), but 22 years ago, the National Union of Garage Employees of Quebec fought with valid arguments to obtain it.
This avant-garde struggle, which seemed utopian, translated into victory, becoming a fundamental working condition for hundreds of garage workers in Quebec today.
The four-day week consists of 36 hours and offers nine-hour workdays instead of eight. Employee schedules, from Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday, are adjusted so that there is always someone present. For those who have experienced it at SNEGQ, with a decent salary, this additional day of respite will have been the way to better reconcile family, personal and professional life. This is one of the many advantages that our union still has today, it’s just a matter of changing our mentality: when we want it to work, we are able to find solutions.
Quality rather than quantity
After all these years of experience in this innovative vision of work, our position is clear: all workers in Quebec should be able to benefit from the four-day work week and there is no good reason not to implement it, it only takes willpower. Beyond its benefits for the employee, concentration and safety at work are thus reinforced: fewer hours, less fatigue. What if we focused on quality rather than quantity? So convinced of its benefits, the SNEGQ even offers a four-day work week to its own employees.
It is undeniable that in this period of great upheavals in our daily lives, the importance given to quality of life has increased. We wonder, among other things, about work-family-personal life balance, the right to disconnect, or the attention we should pay to our mental and physical health. Beyond an ideal once considered impalpable, being able to find a balance between career and social, active and family life has become a priority, particularly for the new generations entering the labor market. In this context of labor scarcity highlighting the glaring issue of attracting and retaining staff, it is now high time to “innovate” in the working conditions that we offer.
What do you think? Express your opinion