The government of the Azores revealed this Friday that it intends to start pilot projects in 2025 to implement the four-day week in the civil service, arguing that the measure could improve productivity.

“We intend to have a design by the end of the year so that, next year, we can start pilot projects to implement the four-day week, which will not, initially at least, be generalized to the entire civil service,” said the Secretary for Finance, Planning and Public Administration.

Duarte Freitas, speaking to journalists at the Secretariat’s headquarters in Ponta Delgada, stressed that the four-day week “may be extended more or less” to the entire civil service as a result of the pilot experiments.

“We’re going to convene an Advisory Council of the Regional Public Administration shortly to have a more in-depth reflection on this matter, gathering ideas from this council so that we can design the project in concrete terms,” he revealed.

Regarding the private sector’s position, Duarte Freitas stressed that companies are already applying the four-day week in the Azores, pointing out that the measure could mean “improved productivity.”

“The four-day week doesn’t mean it’s fixed. There are businesses and services that can have a four-day week and the fifth day can be teleworked. There are entrepreneurs who can have three days of physical presence and two of teleworking,” he said.

Considering that this is “a sense of responsibility”, Duarte Freitas argued that “a public or private sector employee who is motivated and well trained, with continuous training, will be more productive”.

“We are deeply convinced of this,” he stressed.

In the program of the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), approved in March in the Azorean parliament, the Azorean executive states that it wants to create a “pilot project for the four-day/telework week (also extendable to the private sector), always in agreement with the worker and the employer, to better reconcile their professional life with their personal and family life.”

On March 26, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Azores (CCIA) said it was not opposed to the pilot project for the four-day working week announced by the regional government. Still, CCIA feels the measure could hardly be applied in the private sector.

From a Press Release.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.