Following the recent debate on the potential introduction of a four-day working week, the Malta Chamber of SMEs believes that such proposals are premature and should only be considered following extensive consultation and studies with all relevant stakeholders.
While the SME Chamber strongly believes that employee wellbeing is an essential pillar of sustainable business practices the SME Chamber expresses several concerns, particulalry related to productivity, cross-sector competitiveness, and other immediate and long-term implications of such proposals.
Representing Small and Medium enterprises, which make up over 99% of Malta’s economy, with 97% being micro-businesses employing fewer than 10 people, the SME Chamber notes that a 20% reduction in productivity time (as would result from a four-day, 32-hour week) would have a significant negative impact especially on the micro companies. For instance, in a standard business employing 5 employees, this measure would effectively equate to bringing the workforce down to 4 employees.
On the other hand, a 40-hour, four-day work week would also have an impact on productivity, operations, and increase costs across several sectors.
The SME Chamber therefore calls for a constructive dialogue, free from partisan politics and a cross sector evidence-based studies to assess the impact of such measures particulary on micro and small enterprises.
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