Farewell to the tag?

Because of the pandemic and smart working, the short work week has been talked about in the West for several years now, amidst more or less strong reticence. Companies that are testing this possibility are numerous, especially in the United States and Europe. In the United Kingdom, for example, a pilot test was conducted involving 70 companies from different sectors. Eighty-six percent of them said they intend to keep the short week even after the experiment ends.

• Short week does not reduce productivity, says study(Nyt).

Outside Italy

But the news has landed in other countries as well. Last year in Spain, the government led by Pedro Sanchez launched a pilot project aimed at reducing working hours from 39 to 32 while keeping wages unchanged. In Portugal, the short work week has not been an experiment but a normality for quite some time. Then there is Belgium, where the executive has even introduced the “right to disconnect” after working hours. The benefits of the short week, after all, are numerous not only for working people but also for companies and institutions. The first among them is in terms of energy consumption and money: fewer people in the office in fact means savings on utility bills for companies, while for employees there is a net cut in transportation costs.

The exceptions

Leading the way in Italy was Intesa Sanpaolo, the first institution in the banking sector to launch the equal pay short week(La Repubblica). The idea is to allow employees to work 4 days a week instead of 5, working 9 hours a day instead of the current 7 1/2 hours, and maintaining 100 percent of the pay expected with the traditional week. In the heart of Turin, the Corriere reports, there are also other small businesses that are trying to introduce a new way of working: free smart working and short weeks, as long as you bring results.

• Can the short week be sustainable in Italy?(Ants).
• But is Intesa San Paolo’s really a short week?(Start).