Spain tests four-day week without loss of pay with 150 voluntary companies

The Delsol company, located in Spain in the middle of olive groves, specializes in the development of computer software. The tennis court or the swimming pool are not the only advantages that the company offers its employees. She instituted the four-day week for all… without loss of pay. It is the very first Spanish company to switch to four days in January 2020. A privilege for Laura Hidalgo, a mother responsible for training.

“It’s great! For me, it’s a gift to work here because the working conditions are really very good, she told the magazine ‘We, the Europeans’ (replay). I come on Monday and Wednesday and telecommute from home on Tuesday and Thursday. On Fridays, I don’t work because my department is closed, but the work remains the same because what we did in five days must be done in four. We organize ourselves differently by concentrating a little more work.”

“The well-being of employees can be seen in the very short term”

To move to the four-day week, the company had to hire twenty additional people and create rotations in the schedules. An investment of 420,000 euros… which very quickly paid off: “There are two important indicators: the first is that the company continues to grow. We have increased our turnover almost by 20% each year. And we have really reduced absenteeism. At this point, it is phenomenal, very positive”welcomes Ana Arroyo, the head of human resources.

The Delsol experience has given ideas to the government, which is proposing that other companies test the formula defended in Congress by the left-wing Más Páis party. The project includes an envelope of 50 million euros to help 150 volunteer companies: “We believe that there are a number of effects of the reduction in working time such as the well-being of employees who see themselves in the very short term, explains the deputy of this party Hector Tejero. There are other effects in this change in the culture of the company and in its organization which may be interesting to follow in the longer term. With the budget we have, it seemed appropriate to start small with a few companies, but to follow them over the long term.”

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