The Construction Industries Federation of Namibia (CIF) has expressed concerns about the proposed four-day workweek, citing the country’s current productivity level as a potential hurdle.
CIF highlighted that current output sits at 40% of potential, based on a five-day workweek.
It said implementing a four-day schedule without addressing core productivity challenges might not generate positive results for the industry.
In addition, the Federation said there is a high unemployment rate in Namibia, thus the four-day week global will exacerbate the situation.
The Federation’s reaction comes following the announcement by 4-Day Week Global in partnership with Pulse HR Namibia, which said it will be undertaking trial research as of April.
The researcher highlighted that studies have shown improved productivity by the workforce and profitability for companies.
“There are so many benefits for the employer and the employee. For employers, the results have shown from trials that productivity grows because people experience less burnout. Results also show that revenues increase, and generally, you have a happy workforce,” said Pulse HR representative Jonas Ileka.
Meanwhile, CIF Chief Executive Officer Bärbel Kirchner said “of course, some might want to argue that it can lead to the reduction of unemployment overall in a country. But that would only work if a four-day week would go hand-in-hand with a reduction of pay to the individual, to manage the related increase in costs for business.”
“If the increase in productivity is however so much higher that it would cover the increase in costs, then it would be interesting. That is highly unlikely in the construction sector.
“Here we need to take into consideration the cost of administration, training and managing employees, the cost of overheads and employee benefits. You must remember that in construction, one is working to tight deadlines, and to remain competitive, one needs to continue to work towards established and realistic deadlines,” Kirchner added.
Kirchner highlighted the structural unemployment issue in Namibia and Africa, where a mismatch between available skills and business needs creates a persistent “missing jobs” crisis.
“If for some reason we want to take this research seriously, it certainly needs to be very carefully looked at and needs to take cognisance of the nature of our labour market, which is entirely different from some of the countries, who have already been involved with related research, led by 4-Day Week Global,” she said.
“It may work in an environment where people are highly competitive, are very work-focused, and can work largely proactively, innovatively and independently. Are we that in Namibia?
“Having said that, research generally is important but it is extremely doubtful that a four-day week is realistic considering Namibia’s reality, and especially, the reality in the construction sector. The question is, is the effort of such research really warranted,” she quizzed.
Ileka acknowledged Namibia’s small size and unique workforce might affect the results of the trials compared to other countries.
“But the trial has been done in diverse countries. It also depends on the participating companies and their sizes,” she said.
The four-day workweek is based on a ‘100-80-100’ model, developed by the co-founders of 4-Day Week Global, Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart.
The model prescribes 100% of the pay for 80% of the time in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% in output.
A four-day workweek means employees will work one day less during the week, but the same number of hours per day as before.
They would still receive their full salary and benefits.
