France is the latest country to join the bandwagon in trying out the famous four-day working week.
But unlike most other countries that have piloted the system for a select few companies, France is looking to open the program specifically to divorced parents who share custody of their children.
The French scheme, first reported by The Times of London Monday, will kick off in September and apply to a select group of public employees. In practice, parents who only have custody of their child during certain weeks can work for four days instead of five, under the new schedule.
The 35-year-old Gabriel Attal, who earlier this year became France’s youngest prime minister, spoke of having experimented with the four-day working week in the past. Under his plan, employees would spend more time in the office on weekdays, so that the time worked does not fall from the planned 35 hours.
Attal first introduced the four-day week about two years ago, when he was France’s budget minister. He now hopes to expand the system to apply to the entire French workforce, Times reported. It is not yet clear whether the hours will be permanently reduced or compensated by working extra on other days of the week.
Other economic reforms proposed by Attal include changes to the minimum wage system and tax cuts for the middle class.
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France urgently needs more flexibility among co-parents: an estimated half a million children (or 12% of the total) in the country change their parents on a weekly basis, the newspaper reported.
According to the French institute for demographic studies INED, some studies have shown that children of separated parents can have a negative impact on their standard of living. The new four-day system could help adjust parents’ schedules so they can spend more time with their children while doing their regular work.
The plan will be discussed at a government seminar next week.
Four-day working week across Europe
The appetite for a four-day working week in France has been growing for years: at the turn of the century, a 35-hour week was introduced. Since then, the balance has shifted among the French who are warming up to the idea of fewer working days. Around 10,000 workers already work the four-day working week, The world reported.
There are big benefits: One French company, LDLC, tried the compressed week and noticed that revenue increased by 40% without the need to hire additional talent, according to the World Economic Forum.
Some of France’s European neighbors have had a few years’ head start. Belgium, for example, introduced a reform that gives people the right to work four days instead of five. Several other countries, including the UK and Iceland, have experimented with a shorter working week and seen extremely positive results. Employees said they were less exhausted and more productive with the new system.
Germany launched a trial of the program earlier this year.