OREANDA-NEWS  The majority of employers (81%) supported the idea of reducing the working week to four days. However, only 4% of companies consider switching to such a schedule in the next three years, according to a May study hh.ru (Izvestia has it).

"In economic terms, a four-day period means a more flexible approach to the formation of a wage fund and an increase in employee loyalty. Operationally, business, like the entire economy, continues to be under the influence of transformational processes caused by external circumstances. Companies are not yet ready for another factor of possible tension in unstable current conditions," said the chief expert on the labor market hh.ru Natalia Danina.

The main advantage of switching to a reduced schedule, respondents called the reduction of employee burnout, the main disadvantage is the need to reduce employees' salaries. "Russia today is not ready for the introduction of a four-day period. There are serious problems with the structure of the labor force in the country. Despite the low unemployment rates, most of the employed work at fractional rates for low salaries, and the shortage of personnel is combined with the lack of vacancies in depressed territories and in a number of sectors," said Aghvan Mikaelyan, a member of the Board of Directors of FinExpertiza.

As Dmitry Puchkov, Director of development of the Avito Work platform, noted, at the beginning of adaptation to the new schedule, productivity may sink for a while, so the transition to a four-day period in Russia should be gradual and consistent. According to him, this process can take from a year to three years.