The two technology companies that apply the four-day work week without losing productivity

Is it possible to introduce a four-day working week in Spain without lowering wages? Telefónica and Desigual announced last year their decision to offer a third weekly rest day. The measure had something of a trick: in both cases, the agreement implied a reduction in salary, which turned it into a reduction in working hours. But two companies in the technology sector have done so with all its consequences. Two years ago Software Delsol, a Jaen-based company with 185 employees dedicated to the development of computer programs, became the first Spanish company to adopt a four-day, 36-hour work week without lowering wages. In September, CIB Group, a German origin with subsidiaries in Las Palmas and Valencia, followed in its footsteps. In the absence of confirmation in Spain, the experiment has already been a success in other countries:the Japanese division of Microsoft adopted it as a test for a month and productivity grew by 20%.

“It is still too early to be able to extract specific data,” explains Yolanda Roca, spokesperson for the marketing department of CIB Group, which has two subsidiaries in Valencia and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, by email. “We believe that yes, we have not noticed negative effects in terms of productivity, and it may even have increased. The company has noted a decrease in absences during working hours for private procedures or medical appointments, since employees now try to use Fridays for these issues. And one last point: "The measure attracts new candidates: there has been a notable increase in applications."

Those who have drawn conclusions are the managers of DelSol. “The experience is positive”, assures Ana Arroyo, the person in charge of Selection and Development of People. He explains that the program required an investment of 420,000 euros and the workforce was increased by 20%. "Absenteeism was reduced by 20% in the first year compared to the previous year, given that people stop using company hours for their personal tasks. In addition, camaraderie and commitment to the company has increased." Arroyo assures that the billing has grown 20% annually since the four-day week was implemented.

The CEO of CIB Group, Ulrich Brandner, recently assured through a press release that he is "aware" that not all companies can "easily" implement this model.

"It depends on several factors, but one that develops software is very plausible," says the CEO of this multinational.

Recently, a study carried out in Iceland in which 2,500 employees participated who saw their hours reduced (to 35 or 36 hours per week) while maintaining the same salary.

The conclusions show that the workers, thanks to the fact that they could dedicate more time to socializing, carrying out leisure plans that satisfied them or better organizing household chores, felt less stressed and with more energy during the working day.

“Of course it is possible to implement it, it is already being done. What is wrong is to impose, to oblige, and for this to be a universal policy for Spanish companies”, José D. Canseco, professor at EAE Business School, recently stated in an article in

. “Not in all companies we can carry it out, those companies with a greater technological component or where digitization has been adequately developed, will have it much easier.

The current law says that the maximum working day of a worker is 40 hours per week of effective work. It is an annual average, so it is legal to work 42 hours some weeks, and others, 38. The sectoral agreement can define a new maximum, but this can never exceed the limit set by the Workers' Statute. In Spain there is no law that regulates the 32-hour working day. In this scenario, what is negotiated in each case with the companies takes on special importance.

"The most interesting thing about the proposal," explains Carlos Gutiérrez, head of Trade Union Studies and Training at Comisiones Obreras, "is that it has placed the issue of the working day on the agenda, which has been 40 hours for a long time, although It has been shrinking over the years." In his opinion, “the reduction of the week constitutes “another form of distribution of productivity”, and he stresses that it is key that this entire process “is negotiated with the workers within the collective bargaining”.

Cost is the main stumbling block for this measure.

For this reason, last March, the Government announced a pilot test that will allow 200 companies to experience the four-day work week without cutting the salary of their employees.

To do this, it is expected that each company will receive an average of 250,000 euros per company to compensate for the expenses incurred, thanks to 50 million euros from European funds for the recovery of the economy after the impact of the pandemic.

This project, however, has not yet been launched almost a year after it was announced.

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