[Czechia] Four-day workweek gaining popularity

The possibility of a four-day workweek is gaining popularity in Czechia and companies that have introduced the four-day workweek on a trial basis are reporting an increase in employee satisfaction without a dip in productivity, Expats.cz reports.

Sherpas - a Prague-based digital marketing agency - introduced the four-day workweek as a pilot project in 2019. Four years on, Sherpas has declared the pilot a success, with satisfied employees and a more efficient workspace, according to a recent report on CNN Prima News. Prague-based advertising firm B&T numbers among other local companies that have reported success with a four-day work week.

"When we first introduced it, it was a novelty that we were just trying out," Sherpas Director Luboš Plotěný said. 

"There was a fear that we would go back to the original schedule, but given that we have been doing it for four years, the fear has completely disappeared."

Plotěný said the company has been able to achieve in four days what they used to in five without issue. The benefit of a four-day workweek has also reportedly been a big draw for job applicants with Sherpas receiving three times the number of applicants to fill vacant positions since they made the change.

"I can go shopping in peace, I can take care of my family, I can visit offices and doctors. Everything that needs to be done during the week, I [can take off] on Friday," Sherpas employee Jana told CNN Prima.

The four-day workweek is gaining popularity across the Czech Republic, especially among younger employees, Jaroslava Rezlerová from employment agency ManpowerGroup said. Adding that potential employees see a four-day work week and flexible hours among the greatest benefits an employer can offer.

"It's a demand that came up after Covid," Ms Rezlerová told CNN Prima. "In recent years, people have started to appreciate their free time."

"People ask potential employers how flexible their working hours are. Another big benefit is when people have the opportunity to get [higher] education. They are also interested in whether there is a place at work where it is possible to put children. And then just the benefit of free time."

Companies in Czechia are experimenting with the four-day work week under their own initiative, there has reportedly been little movement to make a change at the government level in recent years level despite pressure from trade unions.

However, officials know a change is on the horizon 100 years after the five-day workweek became the standard.

 "We will have to gradually shorten working hours, otherwise there is a risk that people will lose their jobs due to the advancing digitization and robotization," former Czech Labor Minister Jana Maláčová said in early 2022.

Source: Expats.cz

(Link and quotes via original reporting)

The possibility of a four-day workweek is gaining popularity in Czechia and companies that have introduced the four-day workweek on a trial basis are reporting an increase in employee satisfaction without a dip in productivity, Expats.cz reports.

Sherpas - a Prague-based digital marketing agency - introduced the four-day workweek as a pilot project in 2019. Four years on, Sherpas has declared the pilot a success, with satisfied employees and a more efficient workspace, according to a recent report on CNN Prima News. Prague-based advertising firm B&T numbers among other local companies that have reported success with a four-day work week.

"When we first introduced it, it was a novelty that we were just trying out," Sherpas Director Luboš Plotěný said. 

"There was a fear that we would go back to the original schedule, but given that we have been doing it for four years, the fear has completely disappeared."

Plotěný said the company has been able to achieve in four days what they used to in five without issue. The benefit of a four-day workweek has also reportedly been a big draw for job applicants with Sherpas receiving three times the number of applicants to fill vacant positions since they made the change.

"I can go shopping in peace, I can take care of my family, I can visit offices and doctors. Everything that needs to be done during the week, I [can take off] on Friday," Sherpas employee Jana told CNN Prima.

The four-day workweek is gaining popularity across the Czech Republic, especially among younger employees, Jaroslava Rezlerová from employment agency ManpowerGroup said. Adding that potential employees see a four-day work week and flexible hours among the greatest benefits an employer can offer.

"It's a demand that came up after Covid," Ms Rezlerová told CNN Prima. "In recent years, people have started to appreciate their free time."

"People ask potential employers how flexible their working hours are. Another big benefit is when people have the opportunity to get [higher] education. They are also interested in whether there is a place at work where it is possible to put children. And then just the benefit of free time."

Companies in Czechia are experimenting with the four-day work week under their own initiative, there has reportedly been little movement to make a change at the government level in recent years level despite pressure from trade unions.

However, officials know a change is on the horizon 100 years after the five-day workweek became the standard.

 "We will have to gradually shorten working hours, otherwise there is a risk that people will lose their jobs due to the advancing digitization and robotization," former Czech Labor Minister Jana Maláčová said in early 2022.

Source: Expats.cz

(Link and quotes via original reporting)