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In some parts of the world, different organizational systems seek to impact towards a healthier work environment.
Spain, Iceland, Denmark and Germany have already started to implement the 4 days a week or 32 hours scheme.
In Mexico, the “decent vacation” initiative was approved, with which they will now be entitled to 12 continuous days of paid rest.
The labor scheme in Mexico it is different from many other countries in the world, since some have already tried to implement a reduced working day. Countries like New Zealand, Spain and Iceland have found new results.
Mexico begins to take a leap towards new approaches, however, this was one of those discarded, as a business sector argued that the performance and operating costs would be unsustainable. Hence the initiative of “decent vacations” gained so much strength in recent months.
Scheme of decent vacations in Mexico
On Tuesday, the bill of “dignified vacations” was voted in the Senate, with which the Federal Labor Law (LFT) discussed approval of this initiative. With 17 votes in favor, four against and two abstinences, this was sent to the Plenary of San Lázaro.
This is how on December 8, unionized workers mobilized in protest before the Chamber of Deputies, with the intention of demanding that the law extend the term of continuous vacations. After they agreed that there would be six continuous days and 6 discontinuous vacations upon completing the first year of work, finally the protesters commanded by the leader of the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC), Isaías Gonzálezpressured the deputies who decided to extend the holidays 12 continuous days.
This is what the modification to article 78 of the LFT says:
Article. 78. Of the total period that corresponds to him in accordance with the provisions of article 76 of this Law, the worker will enjoy 12 days of continuous vacation, at least. Said period, at the discretion of the worker, may be distributed in the manner and time required.
With this new change, the proposal would enter into force on January 1, after all the parliamentary groups in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies agreed to the new wording of the reforms regarding dignified vacations.
Before that, a Mexican employee obtained six days of vacation upon completing his first year in a corporation or in an institution, having the right to take them after six months, and in fact, Mexico was considered one of the countries with the fewest days paid vacations per year.
The vacation period in Mexico is still one of the shortest in the world, only put into perspective by countries like China and Canada. This had been understood through studies such as that of the Global Center for Public Policy Analysis (World Policy Analysis Center), which indicates that the country is also one of those with the lowest labor productivity index. In addition to this, it is less than the average of all OECD countries, of 1,726 hours a year, that is, 20 percent less than the Mexican working day.
For this reason, there is a lot of hope among the workers around this new model, although many still wonder if perhaps a better solution would have been to reduce the working day, either by hours a day or 4 days a week. Some countries have already adopted this system for a long time.
Labor scheme in the world
Although, in most countries of the world, the scheme of five working days a week predominates. However, some visionary countries and companies are betting on a model of four working days for 100 percent of salary. One of the cases that went around the world was that of Andrew Rose, the CEO of a company that began to implement this model and some important ideas with the intention of having significantly positive results.
Among the initiatives that he proposed, in addition to working 32 hours instead of 40, are eliminating unnecessary meetings, optimizing work time, closing email when employees perform a task, among other things. And it is that, according to his logic, employees who can enjoy their free time, their hobbies and have a healthy activity outside of work, are employees who will be able to perform their work in a better way. For the CEO, the adaptation was difficult, but in the long run it turned out to be the best idea he could have, because sometimes working less is the way to work better.
Some of the countries that have joined this initiative are the aforementioned Spain, Iceland, New Zealand, and we add Belgium, Germany and Denmark. In addition to this, taking as an example Germany, according to its Federal Vacation Law, there is a fundamental right to enjoy paid vacations and paid holidays, this being 4 weeks a year. Working five days a year would give you 20 days off. Now, with this new model, vacations are reduced on average, but days off are increased by working one day less.
In Spain, we have that this was one of the countries that joined the initiative in the first place, thank you to the government incentive of 10 million euros to the 200 companies that participated in said test. The 32-hour work week or four days has managed to benefit between 3,000 and 6,000 workers.
In Mexico, it is very common for companies to force you to “put on your shirt”, working extra days than what is suggested, however, in Denmark, this is not well seen. We have that the working day is 37 hours, although the average of the inhabitants works only 32 hours. In that country, working overtime is insulting.
In the United Kingdom, the possibility of this scheme being implemented has also been raised, however, at the moment the decision has not yet been made. The truth is that positive effects have also been seen from those who have already begun to appreciate it.
Therefore, these two approaches have their advantages: in principle, having more vacations can mean that the worker has, at least once a year, the ability to enjoy their vacations whenever they accumulate more stress and thus return with much greater energy and attitude to work. On the other hand, having more rest days during the week could also give you more and better healthy habits, thus creating an important balance in your daily life.
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