The city of Valencia will take advantage of the peculiarities of the festive calendar of April and May -with three holidays that fall in lines- to carry out a monthly pilot project on the 32-hour working day. Since it will be a holiday on April 10 (Easter Monday), 17 (San Vicente Ferrer), and May 1st and after declaring April 24 as a local holiday, Valencia will join several weeks in the calendar with only 4 working days . This will allow, according to the words of the mayor, Joan Ribó, “to be the first city in the world to evaluate the pilot program of the 32-hour weekly work day”.
The mayor has indicated that "the purpose of this initiative is to carry out a study for a month and use the conclusions to make a report that evaluates the impact of applying it and its consequences". Thus, he believes that the report can be useful for administrations authorities, companies, unions and entities to promote the improvement of the quality of life and work.
"The experience of Valencia could mark a roadmap for the future of work and the rights of people to a decent and quality job that allows them to reconcile and improve their own well-being. We will ask ourselves if this working day improves health and well-being of people, if climate change indicators improve and what impacts and collateral effects it has on the city and people”.
Ribó has reviewed the experiences of Lithuania, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, Iceland, Portugal and Japan, among others. Along these lines, he recalled that in the British experience "61 companies have participated in a trial for six months on a 20% reduction in working hours for all staff without reducing wages". Among the results, he highlighted, "While the vast majority of companies maintained full-time productivity goals, 71% of workers also reported less exhaustion and 39% less stress. Sick leave was reduced by 65% and 92% of these companies that participated intend to continue”.
The pilot program will consider the impact of the 32-hour work week spread over four days based on the study of three major areas: health and social well-being, the climate emergency and the economy. In this sense, issues such as the use of time, the reconciliation of work life, the feeling of well-being, rest, the impact of the measure on greenhouse gases, air quality, silence, consumption energy, traffic, the public transport network, domestic tourism, hospitality, commerce and purchases in shops and stores, among other issues.
The analytical tests will be accompanied by qualitative and quantitative interviews with key agents and, randomly, with a significant sample of city residents. The results are expected to be available next July.
