New Generations Turn to the Four-Day Work Week, There Are No Formal Barriers in Croatia

The four-day work week is a desire of an increasing number of young people striving for a balance between their professional and private lives, while employers state that there are no formal barriers to its implementation, and union representatives warn of caution and the avoidance of ten-hour workdays.

In a four-day work week organization, employees work four days for eight hours each, while receiving pay for five days. This reduces the number of working hours in a week from 40 to 32.

The idea of shortening the work week is not so new, and a pioneer, as in many other industrial solutions, was Henry Ford.

In 1926, he shortened the work week in his factories from six to five days. Ford realized that if workers had a weekend, i.e., two days off, they would want to buy a car to go somewhere. Essentially, he understood that people needed more time to spend their earned money, and he wanted to sell as many cars as possible to his workers.

Although many thought such a move would reduce productivity, the opposite happened. Workers showed greater productivity and loyalty than before.

Ford’s move resonated across America and sparked a large number of strikes where workers demanded a five-day work week.

The eight-hour workday and 40-hour work week became standard practice in various industries around the world from the early 1940s.

This would last for decades, but due to technological advancements, and recently the pandemic and remote work, as well as the reluctance of millennials and Generation Z to work overtime, the idea of further shortening the work week is beginning to gain momentum. In some countries and industries, the shortage of workers is also pushing employers to shorten the work week.

Union Representatives: Striving for Balance Between Private and Professional

The four-day work week is also being discussed in Croatia. Many companies have introduced remote work, mostly in the IT sector, which allows for greater work flexibility than others.

The president of the Independent Croatian Trade Unions Krešimir Sever warns that the four-day work week should not be organized as four days of ten working hours.

– After a ten-hour workday, a worker has no time for anything else during that workday – Sever told Hina, emphasizing that the implementation of a four-day work week would only be good if working hours were reduced from 40 to 32 hours, but he claims that this is difficult to achieve in Croatia.

– Employers would not react well, as they already complain when we advocate for a reduction in working hours – he said.

There should be a balance between private and professional life, as a rested person who has time for themselves alongside their job is likely to refuse job offers from others even if they offer a raise, Sever believes.

Employers: New Legal Solutions Needed

From the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP), they state that the introduction of a four-day work week has long been allowed, but that the Labor Law stipulates that full weekly working time is 40 hours, and that the employer can distribute it over four, five, or six days.

If an employer wants to introduce a four-day work week, there are no barriers to that, they say.

– If there is an agreement between workers and employers to work 35 hours a week, or four days a week, we see no reason why such an organization of work should be hindered by legal provisions; however, the same should apply to an agreement, if there is interest from both sides, to work more hours than ‘prescribed’ – they stated from HUP.

They note that the pandemic has accelerated digitalization, brought significant changes to work organization, such as remote work, but also a greater understanding of the balance between private and professional life.

The development of technology has brought platform work, job sharing or employee sharing, casual work, or work via vouchers. All of these are forms of work that are a reality and should not be administratively limited, they say from HUP.

– At the same time, we are facing a significant labor shortage, primarily due to demographic processes. In such a situation, it is essential to allow significantly greater flexibility for both workers and employers – they said.

Therefore, HUP insists on the adoption of new legal solutions that will reflect the actual state of the labor market.

Since Croatia is tourism-oriented, it is difficult to shorten the work week due to a lack of labor, employers say.

– All of this, of course, should not prevent companies that achieve productivity gains and can offer more flexible working conditions from reducing the number of working days and thus investing in the satisfaction of their employees – they assert from HUP.

They note that in Croatia, daily breaks are included in working hours, which is not the case in most other EU countries, so Croatians currently formally work 37.5 hours a week.

Overtime Work Is Not a Guarantee of Wealth

The idea that we can achieve wealth through overtime work has never been directly proven.

We can look at things differently, CNBC reports. Not all wealthy people are rich solely because of the amount of work and time they have invested.

After the pandemic, the movement of mass resignations (The Great Resignation), quiet quitting (Quiet Quitting), and the intensified introduction of the four-day work week emerged, as employees, similar to those in Ford’s factories, want enough time for themselves and their leisure time, without questioning efficiency and productivity at work.

The founder and CEO of 4 Day Week Global Charlotte Lockhart stated to CNBC that this is precisely what lies behind the four-day work week movement. She says that the five-day work week will go down in history just like the six-day and seven-day work weeks.

– In the 21st century, we see that people do not want to and will not work such hours when they see that it can be done differently – Lockhart told CNBC.

The four-day work week is considered the future of work, which will ultimately lead to a better society.

A study by 4 Day Week Global on 33 companies with a four-day week in the USA, Australia, and Ireland showed that satisfaction and productivity increased by an average of 8.4 percent during the six-month study, and by 37.55 percent compared to the previous year’s period.