Three out of four employees in Spain have a split working day, compared to the 25% that work an intensive working day, according to the National Working Conditions Survey of the National Statistical Institute. However, which is more beneficial for workers and employers?
As the above-mentioned report shows, in most cases, it is the companies that decide the working hours of the workers without the possibility of changes on the part of the latter. However, 6% of employed persons can choose between several fixed working hours; 13% can adapt their working hours within certain limits (flexitime); and 15% can determine their working hours entirely. If this is your case, Which would you choose: intensive or split day?
An intensive working day, also known as a continuous working day, is one that runs continuously without any breaks during the working day., except for those breaks that are legally obligatory. This would be the case, for example, of workers who arrive at work at 7 a.m. and leave at 3 p.m. or those who enter the company at 4 p.m. and leave at midnight.
On the contrary, the split working day is one in which the hours devoted to daily performance are divided into two blocks, The time in between is set at two to three hours, usually for lunch.
However, it should be borne in mind that both models have their advantages and disadvantages.
The biggest benefit of the intensive working day is that it improves the reconciling work and family life of the employees. By working eight hours continuously and leaving the office earlier, staff are able to enjoy a large part of the afternoon or morning - depending on their shift - for personal matters, impacting on their job satisfaction and motivation and also generating savings for the company. on electricity, air conditioning, machinery...
On the opposite side, intensive working hours also present serious difficulties for workers, who will see the pace of their work intensify in order to be able to attend to all the issues throughout the day, and the 15-minute breaks every 6 hours stipulated by law may be insufficient, resulting in employee burnout which will be reflected in their motivation, satisfaction and performance.
For the company, moreover, the use of continuous working hours can pose problems for adapting to suppliers' schedules who do maintain split shifts or customers, which require longer opening hours.
For its part, split working time can also have the same advantages as intensive working time if it is adapted to the needs of the workers. For example, if instead of a 3-hour break between 14:00 and 17:00, as is common in many Spanish companies, a one-hour or half-hour lunch break is agreed, employees will be able to leave at 18:00 instead of 20:00, allowing them to also to reconcile their work and personal life, to have sufficient downtime to maintain work intensity and not affect co-ordination for the organisation with suppliers or consumers.
In addition, if the company is committed to offer staff social benefits such as the ticket restaurant or the childcare ticket, The motivation of professionals to pay for their children's meals or for their children's nursery school services will increase.
For this reason, it is necessary to reflect again on the concept of split working time and its advantages, The use of this approach can be very effective in creating teams that are motivated, productive and satisfied with their working conditions.
