By Sahar Moussa and Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: The pandemic has created a major shift in workplaces around the world. Many employees were able to work remotely and working hours were reduced to avoid spreading COVID-19. This new experience proved and that an employee does not necessarily always have to stay eight hours at the office to be productive. These options are now becoming part of the mainstream - but not at all workplaces.

Meanwhile, several countries have started discussing the possibility of shortening the workweek to four days, while others have already done so. Belgium is giving employees the right to ask for a four-day workweek under a proposed shakeup of its labor laws. The change would allow employees to clock up 38 hours of work over four days instead of five, opening the possibility to permanent long weekends without salary reduction.

Sharjah already switched to a four-day work system with a three-day weekend, including Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Some reports suggested that Saudi Arabia could also be studying a four-day workweek, but authorities later denied this news. Are people in Kuwait receptive of the idea of a shortened workweek? A Kuwait Times survey on social media showed 84 percent of respondents are in favor of a four-day workweek in Kuwait.

Advantages of a shorter workweek

Experts believe that working fewer hours leads to happier, healthier and more engaged workforces and increased mental wellbeing and physical health. Research also shows that people get more done when they work fewer hours, and less done when they work longer hours. "Four days per week will improve productivity and happiness for the people," one commenter wrote. "Of course, I support it, because we are overworked at the expense of our mental health," said another.

A 2021 study that followed Swedish workers showed that decreased working hours reduced stress, exhaustion and negative emotions. Another study in 2017 showed that cutting working hours by 25 percent improved sleep, while research from the 1990s showed that working only six hours a day improved workers' family lives.

"I am in favor of it because I can enjoy more time with my family. It will also solve problems of many, especially with the lack of housemaids in Kuwait," said Francis Noynay, a Filipino elevator technician. He said a shorter workweek means he won't need to hire a nanny for his kids anymore. Mohammad Sohag, a Bangladeshi cleaner, said he hoped the shorter workweek will be implemented soon. "I am a cleaner and they require us to work 12 hours a day for six days a week," he complained. "I will work as per the instructions of my manager. I am in favor of working four days a week."

Disadvantages of a shorter workweek

While a majority of people support working four days, some believe it may come at the cost of productivity. "I am not in favor of it, because I don't want my sons and daughters to be lazy. I want them to work and be active, productive members of our community," Matthew NR, an Indian expat, told Kuwait Times.

A shorter workweek might create problems for some employers too. "I am against it because it means as a company, you have to hire more workers," said Anil Suresh, a human resource manager. "It's also not easy to hire new people and train them to do the job." Suresh also mentioned that this system would add a financial burden on companies that have already lost a lot of money during the pandemic. "I am in favor of working from home. They can go ahead with the 'four-days-a-week plus one day at home' system," he suggested.

Those who oppose a four-day workweek argue that it will increase the cost of recruitment, widen existing inequalities amongst staff, disturb the workflow and create challenges in managing multiple teams. Furthermore, there are concerns that applying this system in Kuwait could affect work efficiency, especially in the public sector, where productivity is often seen to be substandard.

"Employees in the public sector rarely work and do not do their work properly, so giving them three days off in a week will make productivity even worse," said one commenter. Another commenter however argued that a shorter workweek would encourage employees to perform better and boost productivity in general.