Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 6 October 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Four-Day Working Week: Discussion

Photo of Matt ShanahanMatt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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I thank our guests for attending. There has been a lot of talk and I will not rehash what other people have said. There are a lot of positives with this, but it is a question of how many business sectors it can be applied to. It will not work for every business. We have highlighted some businesses that have to trade. Manufacturing companies cannot afford to stop a day's manufacturing, for instance. Areas of the public sector and childcare are in a similar situation. It will be interesting to see the trial that has been spoken about and what that throws up.

For those who have experience, and the IT sector was spoken about as an area where this has proven to be a success, will we create two-tier recruitment? I imagine many people, if they look at their employment options, would much prefer to work in an industry where they were going to have a three-day weekend, for instance. I could imagine how that would work for many people, but what are the thoughts of those who have been in this space? Ms Cox might like to comment. She talked about her business and how it manages its productivity, and mentioned that the three-day weekend works for it, but has she any idea about other companies she may have looked at? Would staff be inclined to migrate to her business as a result? If this is to be brought in at a large scale, there will be costs to employment but there may well be a shift in the types of jobs people are looking for. People will choose employment where a three-day weekend is on offer. I ask for Ms Cox's comments on that.