The Avanti Association proposed to the head of the Ministry of Labor of Russia to introduce a six-day working week
In Russia, a six-day work week should be introduced to reduce the burden on the economic sector and increase the resilience of the economy in the face of Western sanctions. About this head of the Ministry of Labor Anton Kotyakov declared in the Association of Entrepreneurs for the Development of Business Patriotism “Avanti”.
The authors of the initiative explained the need to extend the working week by the need of the financial and economic system to receive additional investments, “to achieve a technological and industrial breakthrough, strengthen economic sovereignty and reduce dependence on foreign institutions.” As an example, they cited the years of the Great Patriotic War (WWII), when workers worked six or even seven days a week, and only by 1967 the country returned to the five-day work. Also, according to Avanti, there are six days in Nepal and Iran, and in Belgium and Turkey it is allowed to work not 40, but 48 hours a week.
Thanks to the clear actions of the government and the Central Bank, the economy and the national currency of Russia not only withstood the blow, but also demonstrated resistance to stress. Nevertheless, at present, the need of our financial and economic system for additional investments remains.
Avanti is not the first to propose the introduction of an extended work week in Russia. In August 2021, Nikolai Arefiev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Industry, Innovative Development and Entrepreneurship, a member of the Communist Party faction, in response to initiatives to increase the number of days off, said that the time had not come to think about rest, and the tools that would allow the transfer of production for four days, not now.
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“We do not need to think about a four-day working week, but about an extension. About working on Saturday and Sunday, but pulling the country out of ruin, because there is complete ruin all around. The country is falling apart, and we are thinking how not to work at all, ”the deputy explained.
However, some criticized the initiative. For example, in the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) declaredthat the six-day period could lead to a decrease in labor productivity, worsen the health of workers and, in general, risk causing serious damage to the economy.
More recently, there have been proposals for a four-day work week. Choosing between a six-day and a four-day period, of course, I am in favor of a four-day period, but on the condition that the employee’s income and labor productivity do not decrease. As for the six-day period, one must understand that this will be a certain burden on the employer, on the economy, and on the health of citizens.
Shortening the working week is a global trend
The countries of the world have been working for more than a year to increase productivity and create comfortable working conditions. Thus, the Icelandic experiment to introduce a four-day work week ended with “a stunning success.” Despite reduced work hours, productivity remained unchanged, with employees reporting reduced stress levels and improved well-being. After that, more than 90 percent of the staff in the country was transferred to a reduced work week.
From June 2022, a similar experiment began in the UK. About 3.3 thousand employees from 70 companies took part in the 4 Day Week UK project. Most of them (92 percent) after the end of the experiment completely switched to a shorter work week. At the same time, the revenue of companies that introduced the four-day period increased by almost a third.
In Spain, businesses were motivated to introduce a reduced working week with payments of up to 150,000 euros. This money was allocated to train employees to increase their productivity, and this compensated for less time on the job. Meanwhile, Belgium has allowed employees to ask employers to switch to a four-day work week instead of a five-day work week while maintaining salaries.
When was it proposed to introduce a four-day period in Russia?
For the first time, the reduction of the working week in Russia was discussed in 2019. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that such a practice should be accompanied by an increase in labor productivity and the preservation of wages. The Federation of Independent Trade Unions supported the idea, drawing on world experience in reducing working hours. For the second time, Medvedev returned to this idea in April 2021. He proposed to conduct an experiment and involve some regions or groups of companies in it, as well as to carry out the reform gradually, reducing working days by an hour, two or three.
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