Addval
Francisco Larraín
Ph.D. in Education, MBA. Experience in the education sector, non-profit institutions, and human resource management in private companies. Director of continuing education and postgraduate programs. Specialized in organizational and personal development, design of organizational transformation processes, and capacity development for implementing improvements.
Are we ready for a 40-hour workweek?
Reducing the workweek to 40 hours will be a central topic for the next government. This is a concern for companies and industries. Given the current situation we are experiencing, is it appropriate to demand this change from companies and employees?
Those who have voluntarily reduced their workweek have observed positive impacts on their employees’ quality of life and even equal or better business results. Most of these companies have done so by leveraging technology and improving their processes to increase worker efficiency and productivity. It’s about offering the same service or product in less time.
While these conditions are increasingly accessible, they are not easy to implement on a large scale and require an increase in professional capacity, something difficult to achieve without the appropriate resources.
Moving towards reduced working hours seems possible in a technological and efficient world, but its implementation will inevitably bring a cost, or rather an investment, that the current bill does not address. This generates greater uncertainty amidst the multiple crises we are facing, which threaten the economic sustainability of companies.
