A new phase of the four-day workweek pilot begins today with 39 companies.

Today, the third phase of the pilot project of the four-day working week starts with the addition of 39 companies and about a thousand employees.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Protection, these 39 companies are scattered across 10 districts and include “a research institute, a nursery, a day center, a stem cell bank that operates seven days, and companies in the sector.” society, industry and trade”.

Of this set of companies, 12 are associated with the project and have started a four-day week in late 2022 or early 2023 and, as indicated by the ministry, “will have the support of the coordination group in new forms of management and work time balance.”

These 39 companies are less than the number shown in the latest balance sheet, announced on March 24, which indicated that 46 companies decided to continue with the pilot out of 99 that expressed interest.

In response to Lusa, the Department of Labor said that of the companies that have decided not to move forward with this new phase starting today, “the majority are still interested” in adopting a four-day workweek, but have opted to defer the decision to the second half of this year or the start of 2024.

According to this balance, most of these 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.