公司讓員工自選「做四休三」
A British construction company has given its employees the option of squeezing their working week into four days.
Under new contracts, the firm's 125 staff can either work their full hours over four longer days, or spread them across five days and work from home on the fifth. The company says the arrangement keeps its offices and building sites fully staffed while giving people more control over their time.
The change follows a trial in which staff worked a four-and-a-half-day week. Managers collected feedback from employees and monitored productivity during the trial. Staff said the new pattern improved their work-life balance and flexibility, although the company has not published detailed figures.
Construction has traditionally been known for long hours and rigid schedules, so the move stands out in the industry. The firm's managing director said the business believes that "our people are our greatest asset", while its head of people described the change as "a long journey".
Four-day weeks have been tested by hundreds of companies around the world in recent years. Supporters say they reduce stress and help businesses attract and keep good staff. Critics argue they do not suit every industry, especially those that need staff on hand at all times.
英國一家營造公司讓員工可以選擇把一週的工作擠在四天內完成。
根據新的勞動契約，公司的 125 名員工可以選擇每天多做一點、四天做完全部工時，也可以把工時分散到五天，第五天在家工作。公司表示，這樣的安排既能讓辦公室和工地維持足夠人手，也能讓員工更自由地安排時間。
這項改變是在一次試行之後推出的。試行期間，員工每週上四天半的班。管理階層收集了員工的意見，也追蹤了工作效率。員工表示，新的工作模式讓他們更能兼顧工作和生活，也更有彈性，不過公司沒有公布詳細數字。
營造業一向以工時長、排班死板出名，所以這家公司的做法在業界相當顯眼。公司總經理說，公司相信「員工是我們最重要的資產」；人資主管則形容這項改變是「一段很長的路」。
近幾年，世界各地已經有數百家公司試行過週休三日。支持者認為，它能減輕壓力，也能幫企業吸引和留住好人才；批評者則認為，這種模式不適合每個產業，特別是需要隨時有人在崗位上的行業。