Short-time work and work-sharing measures helped save jobs.
A report from the International Labor Organization (ILO) has found that short-time work and work-sharing measures helped reduce the volume of work and save jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlighted that flexible hours allowed individuals and companies to reduce working hours collectively- a trend already in progress before the pandemic.
The reduced working hours and flexible working time arrangements can benefit economies, enterprises, and workers and provide a better and healthier work-life balance.
It found that a substantial portion of the global workforce is working either long or short hours compared to a standard eight-hour day/40-hour working week. It pointed out that inclusive short-time work schemes with the highest possible allowances helped maintain employment and sustain purchasing power. This cushioned the possibility of a future economic crisis.
The large-scale implementation of telework nearly everywhere in the world changed the nature of employment for the foreseeable future. It pointed out that if the lessons of the COVID-19 crisis are applied and working hours are structured more carefully, a win-win situation can be created, improving business performance and work-life balance.