The two years of the pandemic impacted the lifestyles of most workers. Concern for physical and emotional well-being came to the fore and with it came the demand for a balance between professional and personal life.

“The key word is flexibility and how human resources have had to become more creative to grab the attention of employees in this regard, ”says Alexandra Manera, Human Resources Director of Adecco for Argentina and Uruguay.

From the point of view of workers, the key word is time: “They can also agree to earn a little less, in exchange for gaining quality of life and time, especially personal time,” he adds.

In search of lost time

On the business side, “the first thing you start thinking about is: how to implement rest days, how to give people holidays or free time “. In this line there are companies that have added holidays to those provided by law, converting 14 calendar days into 14 working days.

The “day off” or “day off” has also been added for reasons ranging from birthdays to important family appointments. “These benefits already existed, but they have gained in importance,” says Manera.

Last year, at Danone, “with the aim of increasingly balancing personal life with work, we implemented ‘WellDan’ days,” says Martín Chávez, integrating director of human resources at Danone Cono Sur. The initiative, which applies to employees in administrative roles, add one day off per month “to have fun and disconnect”.

Days off are fixed in advance and are usually added to long weekends. Furthermore, “we maintain our policy of reduced working hours on Fridays and we promote flexibility in returning to offices without the obligation of a daily return, “explains Chávez.

Paradigma also added rest days: “There are 4 free days that employees can add to their holidays or use them whenever they want”, Martín Okoskyn, Senior Human Resources Manager. Also, they have “holiday combinations” at certain times of the year when there is less activity. “Using these combos can turns 2 weeks of vacation into 3“, He adds.

In the case of redbee technology, there are 5 working days that can be added to the vacation days. Also, The company grants unlimited “off” days for events such as birthdays, a loved one’s wedding, graduation, and children’s adaptation to school. In the event of the loss of a family member or loved one, they grant “the number of days of rest needed”.

Physical and mental health

Other wellness-related benefits have also gained in importance. For example, although the gym has been a widespread benefit in companies for years, now “there are more people using it than two years ago. It has to do with being aware of what happened, a caring conscience”Indicates Via.

The pandemic has also expanded the benefits associated with mental health and emotional wellbeing in the “wellbeing” programs that most large companies have.

A new practice is “to offer wellness proposals on demand, with innovative themes, such as lessons on managing emotions, assertive communication, time management or nutrition, useful for remote workers”, says Luciana Psenda, Marketing Manager of Cuponstar.

For employees in attendance, the benefits have been extended “like sleeping capsules in the office: a 40-minute nap to renew energy in the siesta rooms,” he adds.

In this sense, Paradigma launched the “Paradig +” program which, in addition to adding advantages and discounts already available, “incorporates and promotes physical and emotional well-being on an online platform allows us to connect with collaborators and bring them closer to videos and content on healthy habits, physical training and emotional well-being, ”says Okoskyn.

The program is managed by each person. “They can set their location from where they are and enter the different sections of the program, redeem discounts, redeem benefits, watch videos and recommend their favorites to the rest of the company,” she adds.

On the other hand, “today we seek encourage relaxation at work creatively. This is achieved through strategies such as streaming shows with famous characters and artists to celebrate with the family from home, taking a break in the working day for dates like Mother’s Day or Children’s Day; or, with the use of gamification at work ”, enumerates Psenda.

Employee games “serve a rebuild the links lost during the pandemic”Says the Marketing Manager of Cuponstar, who is offering a Prode product for the Qatar 2022 World Cup as a product to companies, for employees to play.

4×3 week

According to a report by Adecco, in recent weeks “new cases have emerged in our country of companies adopting the 4-day work week“.

“Some will do it on trial for a few months, others have planned it for later. While in some cases it will be the same day off for everyone, in others it will be rotated within the team ”, the report reads.

In some European countries, such as Finland and Belgium, this way of working has taken the form of a bill and pilot projects have been launched. “We have recently begun to hear that Spain is also discussing the issue,” says Manera.

“There are two issues that are raised within a state regulation. is it manageable? And what does it imply? Does it imply that the employee has to spend more time in those 4 days? And if he does, should overtime be paid?

In the case of our country, “for this to become law, many issues would clearly need to be resolved. what they will look like the union, the organization and the state in the face of all this “.

Although that path is a long way off, companies, however, they are starting to explore it in terms of benefit. “Companies in the technology, entertainment and consulting services sectors have switched to hybrid models with 4/3 weeks, because they are companies that work more by project than by production itself,” says Manera.

But he warns on the “b side” of the proposal: “if I have to close a project for a client, no matter how much you tell me I have 4 days of work and 3 days of rest, I will work until I finish”, he warns. Because what finally happens is that do the same job in less time“since companies don’t grow their payroll when they offer this advantage.”