When Laurent de la Clergerie decided to allow his employees to work for only four days, while keeping the same salary, he knew he risked undermining profitability. “Some thought it was crazy,” says the director of the French company LDLC.
But a year later, he says, the opposite happened: The company, which sells consumer technology, increased its annual turnover by 40% without hiring additional employees.
The key, he says, is that 1,000 or so workers feel trusted and appreciated, and thus are more productive. “In the end, he brought only good things to the team,” concludes the 51-year-old businessman.
With the world emerging from a pandemic that has led many people to reassess their work-life balance, companies and workers around the world are wondering if they, like Laurent de la Clergerie, could work less.
Microsoft gave its 2,300 employees residing in Japan Friday a vacation in 2019, and said it saw a 40% increase in productivity. The Unilever group has begun testing work four days a week with workers in New Zealand. Spanish telecom operator Telefonica has trialled a four-day-a-week system for 10% of its local workforce.
Johann Peters, who works at an LDLC store near the headquarters in a suburb of Lyon, southeast France, uses the extra day to go to the supermarket to do his weekly shopping. Then he took his 9-year-old daughter Melissa to tennis practice.
“You come back to work after your day off with more comfort, and are more operationally efficient,” he says.
Even before this change was made, Laurent de la Clergeri did the math and realized that even in the worst case scenario, labor costs would increase by a maximum of €1.5 million per year. He concluded that it was a manageable risk.
Since then, he says, absenteeism and sick leave have declined, and the company hasn’t had to hire new people to make up for the reduced hours.
While the four-day week wasn’t the only reason, Laurent de la Clergerie says it contributed to a jump in sales volumes of around €500 million before approaching €700 million (€769.86 million).
Celine Heno, 36, who works in one of the company’s distribution centers, doesn’t want to go back. He says, “No, no.” “We tasted having a day off during the week.”
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