Study on working hours and models
The opinion that the working hours should be reduced, expressed by The Minister of Labor and Social Security, Mr. Vedat Bilgin, in his speech dated 18.07.2022, had various reflections in the business world. Companies and employees have started to talk about the possibility of different working models. Examples of the stretched/reduced weekly work schedule are currently practiced in various countries. For example, in the UK, 30 companies apply a work schedule system, which works 4 days a week and the total working time is 32 hours. With this system, which will be implemented for 6 months, the impact of the change on productivity on businesses and the impact on health, quality of life, in short welfare of employees will be evaluated. So, what are the expectations of companies, and especially young people, regarding their working hours and models in our country? What is the future of working models in Turkey?
A recent work on this issue was carried out by the digital employer platform Youthall in 2022. The company reached 241 companies, 613 young employees and 517 employee candidates (currently unemployed youth) through an online survey. In the research, it was tried to learn the thoughts and perspectives of the employee candidates, employees and companies in our country about the working hours and models.
In the study; 61.2% of the participating employees currently work regularly in the office, 22.1% work hybrid and 16.7% work from home. In the 15-24 age group, the rate of working from home was found to be statistically significantly higher. 50.9% of the employees stated that they are not satisfied with the current situation. It is seen that the main reasons for dissatisfaction are “decreased working efficiency, wasting time on the road and having problems in socializing”. 83% of young employees who participated in the survey had a positive view of “working 6 hours a day”. Another way of reducing working hours, the option to reduce the number of days, attracted more supporters among working youth (compared to the option to reduce working hours during the week). 88.9% of the respondents think that the 4-day working model should definitely be implemented. It is observed that especially employees younger than 25 years old show more interest than the general average.
When we look at the companies; half of the companies regularly work in their offices, and one third implements a hybrid work pattern. It has been observed that companies that continue to work remotely have decreased considerably after the pandemic (14%). Approximately 80% of the company managers participating in the research approach the 6-hour working schedule positively. Another option for reducing working time, reducing the number of days worked to four, was not suitable for 11% of company executives. The rate of objection to day reduction is higher in micro and small enterprises. Only a quarter of companies have a positive view of working for 4 days. On the other hand, 63% stated that the issue is in the evaluation phase and no decision has been made.
The general results of the research can be summarized as follows: The study shows that young people reject a life consisting of just business life. Half of the young people state that they are not happy with their place of work and business life. Even young people who have not yet entered the working life want to reduce their working hours and have a hybrid working model. Both companies and employees want the remote working culture and the freedom of decentralized work, which entered our lives with the pandemic, to be permanent. These results also clearly show that companies should take precautions regarding their working patterns and hours in order to be preferred by young people, to increase their employees’ loyalty to the company, to maintain their work efficiency and as a result, their company performance.
