The work week four days It is still An experiment In most of the planet where companies have carried out evidence To understand what are the benefits on both sides, both for workers and for the company. In the background, the debate of the Reduction of the working dayand in a city in China they have thought that the best idea is halfway to the rest: a weekend of two and a half days, or a working day of four and a half days.
The leisure experiment. It Nikkei had. In an effort to revitalize internal spending and combat an increasingly suffocating work culture, the Chinese city of Mianyang (key industrial center of the province of Sichuan) is considering adopting a 4.5 -day work weekthus promoting a “2.5 -day weekend” model that would close offices on Friday afternoon.
With a population of 4.9 million and a powerful electronic sector led by signatures such as Sichuan Changhong ElectricMianyang represents a significant scale to test this type of reforms.
The government stimulates. The initiative, still in the coordination phase with local government agencies, responds directly to the national priority of stimulate domestic consumptionestablished in the last popular national assembly as part of a structural plan for Reequibly growth Chinese economy.
In fact, the central authorities have begun to Actively fight The phenomenon of Illegal overfoundestablishing limits to extensive days and betting on a stricter regulation of working time in cities.
Between productivity and well -being. There is much more, since the context that motivates this proposal reveals deep tensions in the Chinese labor market. In 2023, urban workers averaged 48.3 hours per weekwith a notable increase among young people between 30 and 34, the demographic group with the highest spending potential.
This pattern has been promoted for years through an intensive business culture, synthesized in the famous and controversial standard “996” (work from 9 to 21 hours, six days a week), which was officially declared illegal in 2021 by the Popular Supreme Court.
An extended standard. However, the Practice has persistedfed by an economic slowdown that has hardened the conditions for university graduates, many of whom feel forced to prolong their schedules to demonstrate commitment.
This work pressure has resulted in a phenomenon that we have counted before known as Neijuana spiral of internal competition that consumes time, mental health and real productivity, and that the government now seek to deactivate before SOCAVE even more national economic dynamism.
From the pilot to the precedent. While Mianyang studies formalizing the extended weekend model, some companies have already given The first steps. Measurean appliance manufacturer based in Foshan, has begun to recommend to its employees that Leave the office Punctually at 6 in the afternoon, a practice that although not mandatory, has become almost universal in the company.
Other technological firms Like Dji have adopted similar measures, imposing a Maximum limit from day at 9:00 p.m. Decisions that, partly motivated by external pressure and the desire to cut costs, also reflect a slow but firm turn towards a business culture less focused on Toxic hyperproductivity. Even so, even in these environments, Nikkei had That many employees continue to work after abandoning the building, prolonging technical discussions and reviews in front of the laptop into night calls, indicating that the real change is still far.
Structural challenge. It is the last of the legs that should be analyzed, because the precedent is not entirely encouraging: previous attempts to establish weeks of 2.5 days in other Chinese locations They failedabandoned in the absence of institutional commitment or business resistance. However, the magnitude of the challenge current forces rethink balance between economic competitiveness and social sustainability.
To succeed, the Mianyang case It could become a replicable model for other second -line cities, not only helping to improve the quality of life of millions of workers, but also Promote consumption (The real background objective) by creating more free time. In an economy where the growth of private spending is essential to replace the Measurement of exports and the state investment, release Leisure hours could be as strategic as building factories.
Image | Ping Lin
In Xataka | A company tested the four -day work week. Now your workers think it is best to work seven days
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