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-   -   32 hour, 4 day working week. (https://britishexpats.com/forum/spain-75/32-hour-4-day-working-week-937638/)

hughandi Mar 15th 2021 7:31 am

32 hour, 4 day working week.
 
Spain is rolling out a pilot scheme of a 32 hour working week, with no pay cut to the employee.
It is a supposed rout to increase employment and lift spain out of the 'doldrums'. Just how that will work escapes me!

There will be help in the interim trial period from the EU.
I can't see how it will help already struggling PYMES unless the social security payment by the employer is greatly reduced.

Good or bad?

scrubbedexpat147 Mar 15th 2021 8:09 pm

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 

Originally Posted by hughandi (Post 12983934)
Spain is rolling out a pilot scheme of a 32 hour working week, with no pay cut to the employee.
It is a supposed rout to increase employment and lift spain out of the 'doldrums'. Just how that will work escapes me!

There will be help in the interim trial period from the EU.
I can't see how it will help already struggling PYMES unless the social security payment by the employer is greatly reduced.

Good or bad?

Sounds about right. Print and borrow imaginary money and put it on the youth to pay back for the next 20 years. Stupid idea. Brace for the biggest economic catastrophe since La Guerra Civill

breakfasttea Mar 15th 2021 9:31 pm

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 
Absolutely terrible idea, 5 days is not enough as it is 😂

France we’re trying to convince Spain to tow their 3 day working week idea.

Insanity

agree_to_disagree Mar 16th 2021 3:07 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 
The ‘work culture’ here is Spain is already a complete joke!

In my previous job, as soon as everyone arrive the first thing they did was switch on their computer and then it was straight to the kitchen for a 20 to 30 minutes chat. This was followed by perhaps an hour or two doing some work and then across the road to a café for a mid-morning break which could last up to 45 minutes! Back to the office for maybe an hour and half and then it was lunch time. This was somewhere between and hour and perhaps two hours, and as soon as they came back it was back to the kitchen for another 30 minutes and coffee! Mid afternoon break was also on the cards… Key thing was to get there before the boss and be there after he left. It was a prerequisite that you sent an email before you left the building, just so everyone knew how late you left the office. What matters here in Spain seem the number of hours you put in and not how you use the time when you are in the office. And now these layabouts what to reduce the number of hours in the working week, for the same pay!

If you can’t follow the above it is something like this…

8:00 Arrive – switch on computer – kitchen for coffee / fruit

8:20 Back to desk

10:30 Café across the road

11:00/11:15 Back to work

1:30 lunch

3:00 Back to work

4:30 kitchen for coffee / fruit

5:00 back to desk

7:00/8:00 home

If I tried anything like the above when I worked in the UK, I would have soon been dragged over the coals!

No wonder Spain is NOT a modern industrialised economy.

It was not Spanish company but owned by non-Spanish and they were livid as they provided as much free fruit and coffee that we could go through and they simply could not understand why people went off site mid-morning for a break in the café across the road.

I do like the Spanish, but their work ethic stinks!

scrubbedexpat147 Mar 16th 2021 3:14 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 

Originally Posted by agree_to_disagree (Post 12984239)
The ‘work culture’ here is Spain is already a complete joke!

In my previous job, as soon as everyone arrive the first thing they did was switch on their computer and then it was straight to the kitchen for a 20 to 30 minutes chat. This was followed by perhaps an hour or two doing some work and then across the road to a café for a mid-morning break which could last up to 45 minutes! Back to the office for maybe an hour and half and then it was lunch time. This was somewhere between and hour and perhaps two hours, and as soon as they came back it was back to the kitchen for another 30 minutes and coffee! Mid afternoon break was also on the cards… Key thing was to get there before the boss and be there after he left. It was a prerequisite that you sent an email before you left the building, just so everyone knew how late you left the office. What matters here in Spain seem the number of hours you put in and not how you use the time when you are in the office. And now these layabouts what to reduce the number of hours in the working week, for the same pay!

If you can’t follow the above it is something like this…

8:00 Arrive – switch on computer – kitchen for coffee / fruit

8:20 Back to desk

10:30 Café across the road

11:00/11:15 Back to work

1:30 lunch

3:00 Back to work

4:30 kitchen for coffee / fruit

5:00 back to desk

7:00/8:00 home

If I tried anything like the above when I worked in the UK, I would have soon been dragged over the coals!

No wonder Spain is NOT a modern industrialised economy.

It was not Spanish company but owned by non-Spanish and they were livid as they provided as much free fruit and coffee that we could go through and they simply could not understand why people went off site mid-morning for a break in the café across the road.

I do like the Spanish, but their work ethic stinks!

Thats what happens when you have a socialist government. Your encouraged not to work

Fredbargate Mar 16th 2021 3:47 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 
Hopefully the UK will never have to sponsor this

VFR Mar 16th 2021 4:34 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 

Originally Posted by agree_to_disagree (Post 12984239)
The ‘work culture’ here is Spain is already a complete joke!









No wonder Spain is NOT a modern industrialised economy.

It was not Spanish company but owned by non-Spanish and they were livid as they provided as much free fruit and coffee that we could go through and they simply could not understand why people went off site mid-morning for a break in the café across the road.

I do like the Spanish, but their work ethic stinks!

Furthermore, the Spanish are very friendly and I will not have one bad word said about them!
From here ............https://britishexpats.com/forum/spai...-937561/page5/


;)

Retired in Euskadi Mar 16th 2021 5:52 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 

Originally Posted by agree_to_disagree (Post 12984239)
The ‘work culture’ here is Spain is already a complete joke!

In my previous job, as soon as everyone arrive the first thing they did was switch on their computer and then it was straight to the kitchen for a 20 to 30 minutes chat. This was followed by perhaps an hour or two doing some work and then across the road to a café for a mid-morning break which could last up to 45 minutes! Back to the office for maybe an hour and half and then it was lunch time. This was somewhere between and hour and perhaps two hours, and as soon as they came back it was back to the kitchen for another 30 minutes and coffee! Mid afternoon break was also on the cards… Key thing was to get there before the boss and be there after he left. It was a prerequisite that you sent an email before you left the building, just so everyone knew how late you left the office. What matters here in Spain seem the number of hours you put in and not how you use the time when you are in the office. And now these layabouts what to reduce the number of hours in the working week, for the same pay!

If you can’t follow the above it is something like this…

8:00 Arrive – switch on computer – kitchen for coffee / fruit

8:20 Back to desk

10:30 Café across the road

11:00/11:15 Back to work

1:30 lunch

3:00 Back to work

4:30 kitchen for coffee / fruit

5:00 back to desk

7:00/8:00 home

If I tried anything like the above when I worked in the UK, I would have soon been dragged over the coals!

No wonder Spain is NOT a modern industrialised economy.

It was not Spanish company but owned by non-Spanish and they were livid as they provided as much free fruit and coffee that we could go through and they simply could not understand why people went off site mid-morning for a break in the café across the road.

I do like the Spanish, but their work ethic stinks!

Like everywhere, there is good and bad practice, even within Spain.
I dare you to quote your statements to the average blue-collar worker here in the Basque country and stand back for fireworks. Likewise the average farm worker would take issue with you.

agree_to_disagree Mar 16th 2021 6:27 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 
I disagree!

I repeat the point, as it is my experience of life.

In the UK it was head down from the time I arrived until the moment I left. I arrived on the dot and ditto and when it was the end of the working day, there was a rush for the door. 5 minutes past the leaving time, the place was almost empty. Those stragglers probably didn't want to go home to her indoors... That was in a number of jobs over 20 years.

Here is Spain it is a different story. There just is not work culture. It is all about the hours you spend in the office, not what you achieve! Like it or not that is my experience.

And as for the Basques, they can boil their heads in oil; contrary lot, at the best of times!

scrubbedexpat142 Mar 16th 2021 6:37 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 

Originally Posted by agree_to_disagree (Post 12984239)
The ‘work culture’ here is Spain is already a complete joke!

In my previous job, as soon as everyone arrive the first thing they did was switch on their computer and then it was straight to the kitchen for a 20 to 30 minutes chat. This was followed by perhaps an hour or two doing some work and then across the road to a café for a mid-morning break which could last up to 45 minutes! Back to the office for maybe an hour and half and then it was lunch time. This was somewhere between and hour and perhaps two hours, and as soon as they came back it was back to the kitchen for another 30 minutes and coffee! Mid afternoon break was also on the cards… Key thing was to get there before the boss and be there after he left. It was a prerequisite that you sent an email before you left the building, just so everyone knew how late you left the office. What matters here in Spain seem the number of hours you put in and not how you use the time when you are in the office. And now these layabouts what to reduce the number of hours in the working week, for the same pay!

If you can’t follow the above it is something like this…

8:00 Arrive – switch on computer – kitchen for coffee / fruit

8:20 Back to desk

10:30 Café across the road

11:00/11:15 Back to work

1:30 lunch

3:00 Back to work

4:30 kitchen for coffee / fruit

5:00 back to desk

7:00/8:00 home

If I tried anything like the above when I worked in the UK, I would have soon been dragged over the coals!

No wonder Spain is NOT a modern industrialised economy.

It was not Spanish company but owned by non-Spanish and they were livid as they provided as much free fruit and coffee that we could go through and they simply could not understand why people went off site mid-morning for a break in the café across the road.

I do like the Spanish, but their work ethic stinks!

So in your example we are looking at 8/9 hours work over an 11/12 hour day.
That might explain why Spain's 2020 productivity index peak at 105.2 is higher than the UKs at 104.5.

Of course both Countries work longer hours than the Germans, whose productivity index is significantly higher.

agree_to_disagree Mar 16th 2021 6:55 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 
When at computer, social media and during the day they do manage to fit in some real work...


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...498e11f712.jpg

Moses2013 Mar 16th 2021 7:39 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 

Originally Posted by Retired in Euskadi (Post 12984294)
Like everywhere, there is good and bad practice, even within Spain.
I dare you to quote your statements to the average blue-collar worker here in the Basque country and stand back for fireworks. Likewise the average farm worker would take issue with you.

Agree and Spain is a large country with various nationalities and culture is very different from region to region . I've also seen the same in Germany and not everyone is more productive. I still work for German market in Ireland and they can also put in longer hours with no result. Even when it comes to technology they can be behind, have complicated processes and hate change. I've seen all types of people in Ireland too. It is true that many Spanish seem to stay in office longer and then there are other areas of work where the Catalans have impressed me. Some plumbers in Ireland could learn from the Catalans I got to know and the best plumber in Germany I knew was Turkish.

Boseley Mar 16th 2021 7:40 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 
Once I was 17 years old!! I then worked a 10 hour day, seven days a week, for periods of seven months, no days off, that was the way it was.

Retired in Euskadi Mar 16th 2021 7:40 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 

Originally Posted by agree_to_disagree (Post 12984300)
I disagree!

I repeat the point, as it is my experience of life.

In the UK it was head down from the time I arrived until the moment I left. I arrived on the dot and ditto and when it was the end of the working day, there was a rush for the door. 5 minutes past the leaving time, the place was almost empty. Those stragglers probably didn't want to go home to her indoors... That was in a number of jobs over 20 years.

Here is Spain it is a different story. There just is not work culture. It is all about the hours you spend in the office, not what you achieve! Like it or not that is my experience.

And as for the Basques, they can boil their heads in oil; contrary lot, at the best of times!

You talk of office experience only. Spain's wealth was not founded in offices. Your experience is your own. But it is not the only one. It's far too general to write off every Spaniard.
As for the Basques, I'll treat the comments with the contempt they deserve.

VFR Mar 16th 2021 8:44 am

Re: 32 hour, 4 day working week.
 

Originally Posted by Retired in Euskadi (Post 12984341)
You talk of office experience only. Spain's wealth was not founded in offices. Your experience is your own. But it is not the only one. It's far too general to write off every Spaniard.
As for the Basques, I'll treat the comments with the contempt they deserve.

:goodpost:


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