Malta and Europe should seriously start considering introducing a four-day working week, Thomas Bajada believes.
Contrary to popular belief, it would enhance productivity and improve workers’ well-being by reducing their stress, the 30-year-old, freshly elected MEP told Times of Malta in an interview last week.
“I believe we should seriously value the possibility of a four-day working week as it brings a healthier balance to families’ lives. It paves the way for a more relaxed life, which, in turn, allows people to be more productive at work,” he said.
“It is not my intention to impose the idea and I am aware it should be studied well before it is implemented but we have hardly ever given it any value. I wish we could give people more time to rest so they may feel more fulfilled in life and return to work refreshed and more energetic and productive. It worked in other countries and it would be good for the employers as well.”
Several countries – including Iceland, the UK, the US, Belgium, Canada, Japan and New Zealand – have experimented with or implemented the four-day working week, with varying degrees of success.
Bajada, a Labour MEP, said this is part of his vision to do politics differently, especially for those who feel no politician represents their true needs and desires.
It is not just about the GDP, he said. Politicians must think beyond short-term, economic growth and envision deeper values of an economy of well-being, a concept the government has recently been harping on frequently.
The four-day working week is just one example that could pave the way for that vision to become a reality, he said. However, he insists that is just his opinion and other people might have different visions of well-being, which is why he just launched an annual survey in which he will be asking people what they want out of life and politics.
“I want people to tell me their desires and aspirations and guide me in how I speak and what policies and laws I should push for,” he said.
“Well-being has a somewhat different meaning for everyone. For some it means working less, for others the ability to enjoy nature, or be surrounded with family, or have time for sports activities. This study will help us understand what people want.
Bajada said a personal cyberbullying experience in his early teenage years motivated him to believe in a mandatory verification system for social media profiles to combat cyberbullying, online harassment and clamp down on fake profiles that harm users and spread disinformation.
He said the system would only allow people to open social media profiles after they submit an official identification document.
“Some apps already do it with ticks, and I believe we should continue to solidify that policy,” he said.
The first study will be carried out among a sample of 500 people in the coming weeks and its results will be published in the first quarter of next year.