International. Much has been said about the advantages that can bring for a company to reduce or make their work schedules more flexible to have more productive and motivated employees. In this case we have a concrete example of how working fewer hours can be more productive for a company.
The Spanish energy company Iberdrola recently revealed that it has managed to raise its productivity levels by half a million hours per year after implementing in 2007 a continuous day in which about 9,000 workers work from 7:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Ramón Castresana, director of Human Resources of the company, assures that "since the continuous working day was launched, productivity has increased by half a million hours per year, absenteeism rates have been reduced by 20% and occupational accidents by 15%".
However, Castresana acknowledges that implementing this change was not easy at first "changing the type of schedule in an organization after decades is not an easy process because it involves a major transformation of the work culture. It is necessary, above all, a change of mentality to learn to give value to time and know how to manage it. It is important to extend the idea that conciliation, in addition to a right, is profitable."
Finally, the official stressed that "today, those responsible for the management of resources must be aware of the relevance of the emotional salary, defined as quality of life, which increases depending on conciliation and flexibility. This type of remuneration, which the worker understands as valuable as the salary, is a key factor in essential aspects such as productivity."
