To have your Wednesday free or to enjoy a three-day weekend, would you be willing to start work a little earlier in the morning and work out later? This is the question that agitates the corridors of ministries on Wednesday, the day after the Prime Minister’s general policy speech. On Tuesday, Gabriel Attal in fact launched a somewhat unexpected proposal to his ministers: the experimentation of the week “in four days” in “their central and decentralized administrations”, to respond to the new aspirations of the teams.
A possible small revolution which is in any case not one for some 10,000 employees already affected in France, including certain readers of 20 minutes. “I worked a four-day week for many years,” says Christiane, for example, who was able to condense her 35 hours a week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I worked in a medical center from 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with a 30-minute break at noon. I loved this way of working, which allowed me to be with my children on Wednesdays (…) and to love my job more. »
Shopping, dentist, or aperitif
Because if this system is neither synonymous with a reduction in working time (unlike the weekly of four days, with which there is sometimes confusion), nor loss of salary, he would have the merit of tending towards this famous grail, the balance between professional and personal life. “Between finishing at 5 p.m. and going home to watch Hanouna’s face, and finishing at 6:30 p.m. to have his Wednesday or Friday, the choice is quickly made! », Says a user.
Romain, 33, will not say the opposite. “This free day allows you to take care of your house and mow the lawn,” illustrates the young man. But also go shopping, make an appointment with the dentist, rest and have a good time going for an aperitif with friends! » Another advantage according to him, who drives 40 km to get to work: “one day less, that’s a significant saving on fuel! »
“Long working days”
But this “dream”, as several of our readers mention, also has its limits. At the start of her career at the departmental council, Anne-Sophie says she “made the most of it”. Now married, this mother of two children aged 9 and 10 has however turned back the clock. “I can’t imagine myself going back to long working days, which are completely incompatible with my life as a mother,” confides this Rhône resident, whose partner is away all week. And besides, would I still have, at 48 years old, sufficient energy to maintain this pace? »
Because the counterpart of this little bonus day of rest is these “slightly extended” hours, reports Véronique, who works in a masonry company from “7:30 a.m. to around 6 p.m., but with a real break at noon” . If he says he is seduced by this “air bubble”, Ronan quickly made his calculations. And this frame ultimately does not see himself doing “50 hours in four days”, where “even going to dinner with friends in the evening would no longer be an option”.
It was ultimately on Carine’s side that we perhaps found the best compromise: the week in four… and a half days. “It’s easier to implement when you work 39 or 40 hours a week,” observes the sales assistant. For her, the schedule changes every week: one is five days long, the next one less.