Can Indians Hope To Get A 4-day Work Week In 2024?

After a successful four-day work week trial in 2022, more than 90% of participating businesses in the UK opted to continue with the four-day week, and some adopted it permanently.

Companies in the United States and Japan have also experimented with a 4-day work week.

Entrepreneur

Can India hope to see a 4-day work week in the next year?

What do professionals have to say about a 4-day work week?

Here is what professionals across sectors believe:

Even in a 5-day workweek, work still spills into the weekend

A standard workweek in India is typically 5 days, with some industries and companies having a 6-day workweek. Even with a 5 day work week, work still spills over into the weekend. So, a 4-day work week doesn't seem like a reality in India.

Longer hours of work on working days

Further, limiting work to 4 days a week may mean working for longer hours on the working days. Professionals are unsure whether employees would be willing to work up to 10 hours a day.

Unsplash

4-day work week not possible in all sectors

While a 4-day work week could be homogenised for the corporate sector and even for the government bodies, but often neglected is the huge segment of unorganised workers that India has.

The improper enumeration of the unorganised worker segment makes homogenising changes challenging. Further, in sectors like construction, it may not be feasible to have a 4-day work week since it would affect project timelines.

How do Indians feel about a 4-day work week?

A study conducted by American experience management company Qualtrics in May 2022 showed that majority (86% of respondents) of employees in India believe a four-day work week could improve work-life balance, mental well-being (84%), make them feel more loyal to their employer (85%), and be more productive (84%).

Unsplash

However, implementing a 4-day work week in India may violate labour codes.

Adopting a 4-day workweek in India depends on various factors, including cultural norms, labour laws, industry practices, and the specific needs of businesses and employees.

The feasibility of such a change in India depends on the regulatory environment, company policies and productivity considerations.

So, it seems that employees in India will have to continue working 5 days of a week in 2024.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.