A new phase of the four-day workweek pilot starts on Monday with 39 companies.

The four-day workweek pilot kicks off Monday with 39 companies and about 1,000 workers, according to the Labor Department.

A third phase of the pilot is at stake, with the ministry headed by Ana Mendez Godinho citing Lusa as having 39 companies “spread across 10 districts” with Lisbon, Porto and Braga being “the main locations of the companies”.

Among these 39 companies, “there is a research institute, a nursery, a day center, a stem cell bank that operates seven days, and companies in the social field, industry and trade,” refers to the same information, specifying that “in all , the pilot starts with about a thousand co-authors.

Of this set of companies, there are 12 that are associated with the project and have started a four-day week in late 2022 or early 2023, and will “receive the support of the coordination team in new ways of managing.” and balancing work time.

The same information from the Department of Labor adds that of the companies that have decided not to move to this stage, “the majority are still interested” in applying the four-day work week, but have decided to postpone the decision until the second half of this year or early 2024.

According to the latest evaluation of this pilot project, announced on March 24, 46 companies decided to continue with the pilot project out of 99 that expressed interest.

Most of the 46 companies employ up to 10 people, while five employ more than 1,000 people.

The main areas presented in the second phase of the project are consulting, scientific and technical and similar activities, which account for almost 40%, followed by educational and information and communication activities – approximately 15% each.

The balance sheet was prepared by researchers Pedro Gomez, Professor of Economics at Birkbeck, University of London, and Rita Fontigna, Associate Professor of Strategic Human Resource Management at the Henley Business School at the University of Reading.

The aim of the project is to assess the implementation of the four-day work week, with a corresponding reduction in the number of working hours, without a reduction in wages, and it is aimed at employers and their employees who wish to join it voluntarily, in accordance with the Decree published in Diário da República.

It is envisaged that organizations participating in the pilot program will be assessed before, during and after the program on indicators related to the company, such as productivity and intermediate costs, as well as to workers, including health and well-being.

The IEFP-Institute for Employment and Vocational Training bears the costs and expenses associated with the development of the pilot program, up to a maximum total amount of 350,000 euros.