Portugal
In total 41 companies took part in a 4 day work week trial
4 Day Work Week in Portugal
Portugal has recently initiated a government-backed four-day workweek trial. This 6-month pilot program, which began in June 2023, involved 41 private-sector organizations and more than 1000 employees.
The trial aimed to assess the impact of reduced working hours on various aspects, including employees mental health, work-life balance, economic performance, and social and environmental effects.
The trial was coordinated by 4 Day Week Global in collaboration with researchers from Birkbeck, the University of London, and Henley Business School.
Participants in the program were committed to maintaining full pay for their employees while reducing their weekly working hours.
Portugal 4-Day Workweek Trial Results
The Portugal trial has yielded significant positive results. Workers have reported improvements in work-life balance, reduced stress, and lower levels of burnout. Moreover, companies have seen an increase in creativity and overall performance.
Employers Outcomes
- Positive company evaluations: 95% of companies participating in the trial have evaluated it positively so far.
- Stable or increased revenue: Companies reported that revenue increased or stayed the same.
- Enhanced recruitment: Companies have found it easier to attract new talent.
- Increased workplace happiness: The degree of apparent happiness in the workplace has increased, with employees enjoying a better
work-life balance. - Improved work quality: The capacity and quality of work have increased with the greater number of days off.
- Managing workloads: To handle greater workloads, employees have increased their productivity during the shorter workweek.
- Productivity and turnover: Productivity and turnover are at least the same or higher, demonstrating the effectiveness of the reduced workweek model
Employees Outcomes
- Reduction in weekly hours: On average, the four-day week involved a reduction in weekly hours by 13.7%.
- Company evaluations: 95% of companies participating in the trial have evaluated it positively so far.
- Actual hours worked: Workers reported a reduction in the number of hours per week actually worked by 11.3%, dropping from 41.1 to 36.5 hours.
- Mental health improvements: The frequency of negative mental health symptoms decreased significantly:
- Anxiety levels fell by 21%
- Fatigue decreased by 23%
- Insomnia or sleep problems reduced by 19%
- Depressive states dropped by 21%
- Tension lowered by 21%
- Loneliness declined by 14%
- Work exhaustion: Levels of work exhaustion were reduced by 19%.
- Work-life balance: The percentage of workers who found it difficult or very difficult to reconcile work and family responsibilities fell from 46% to 8%.
- Family time: 65% of workers spent more time with their families after the reduction in working hours.
- Job satisfaction: 85% of workers stated they would only agree to move to another company with a five-day work week if they received a pay rise of at least 20%
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Working Hours in Portugal
The typical schedule of a work day in Portugal is a maximum of 8 hours daily and 40 hours a week. In some cases, the work day might get longer than a typical 8-hour routine, but that has to be decided between the employee and the employer.
It has to be continued from Monday to Friday. The businesses have not accepted a four-day workweek in Portugal as a norm yet.
The working hours extend from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with an hour of lunch break. If the lunch break is 2 hours, the timing extends from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Based on Statista’s results, over the years, the average weekly working hours in the country have remained approx. 39 hours a week, which is higher as compared to the other world countries.
Image Source: Statista
Overtime in Portugal
The work outside of a typical work shift is defined as "overtime". The companies cannot render overtime services all around the year. It is only permitted when the increase in work doesn't justify new hiring by the company. Also, the overtime must not exceed 2 hours a week or 150-175 every year.
This overtime is compulsory for the employees when the company needs it unless they have a legitimate reason to avoid it.
The overtime pay in Portugal is 125% of the normal pay for the first hour and 137.5% of the normal wage rate for the upcoming hours.
Vacation Policy in Portugal
The full-time employees are entitled to 22 paid leaves every year. Also, the contracted workers have the entitlement of 2 off days every month.
Besides these holidays, every employee is entitled to 13 National holidays in Portugal. There are holidays unique to specific locations in Portugal.
Part-Time Working in Portugal
The International Labour Organization highlights that 32% of the total employed workforce consists of part-time workers in Portugal.
Over the course of 10 years, the inclusion of workers in the part-time workforce has decreased significantly. This could be because of the growing employment opportunities as a full-time employee.
Remote Working in Portugal
According to the stats, around 19% of the total employed population is working remotely in Portugal. The trend started during the pandemic but has been practiced by different companies and businesses since. The majority of these workers are in the IT and insurance sectors.
Specialists and Intellectual workers also prefer remote work in Portugal as they believe it triggers better work-life balance and innovation.
Also, the Lisbon Metropolitan area, Portugal, has recorded the most employees working remotely.
Although the trend prevails, if a worker doesn’t want to work remotely, the employer cannot force it upon them. Besides, the responsibility of setting up the remote workplace at home for the employee is the sole responsibility of the employer.
An employee can even be entitled to remote work if he/she has a child under 3 years of age or suffers from a chronic disease. In some cases, the employees reserve the right to work remotely even if their child is up to 8 years old, but certain criteria must be met.
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