Businesses in the Dominican Republic are gearing up for a voluntary trial period of a four-day work week lasting six months. This is the first time such an initiative has been implemented in the Caribbean nation.
The Dominican government announced that the program will begin in February and employees will receive their usual salary. Additionally, the work week will be shortened from 44 hours to 36 hours, from Monday to Thursday.
Luis Miguel de Camps, the labour minister, stated that the main focus is on individuals, enhancing their health and overall well-being, and encouraging sustainable and eco-friendly productivity.
Some of the companies that were anticipated to join in were Claro, a telecommunications company in Latin America; EGE Haina, a power company; IMCA, a heavy equipment business; and the national health insurance agency run by the government.
The university in the area has been given the responsibility of examining the outcomes, which also involves monitoring any changes in the employees’ well-being and the correlation between their job and personal life.
In the Dominican Republic, businesses typically schedule eight hours of work on weekdays and an additional four hours on Saturdays. However, they have the flexibility to distribute these hours as they deem appropriate, as long as it does not exceed a total of 44 hours per week.
In 2023, Britain initiated a trial of implementing a four-day work week, which was deemed as the largest in the world. This experiment yielded favorable outcomes. Similarly, certain American companies have transitioned to a shorter work week. In Chile, lawmakers have passed a bill to decrease the standard work week from 45 to 40 hours.
With Associated Press
Source: theguardian.com
