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Microsoft as a model
The CGT dreamed of it, LDLC did it. Concretely, the passage from five to four days of weekly work increases the duration of the day from 7 to 8 hours. Or 32 hours a week – an old claim of the Montreuil union and the French left. But make no mistake, the boss of Lyon society does not intend to bring the subject politically. He is even very critical of the reduction in working time in 1999. “The 35 hours were stupid, he believes. The real difference is that our reduction in working time, I chose it .”
The idea germinated during the first confinement of March 2020. It was by reading articles recounting the experience of Microsoft in Japan, which tested the four-day week, that he was convinced. “By offering Friday to its employees, Microsoft realized that productivity had jumped by 40%, he explains. It really struck me.” In his corner, Laurent de la Clergerie then developed a plan for months before unveiling it in June 2020, to the surprise of everyone in the company.
“We didn’t even have to negotiate, Myriam Letondot, the CGT union delegate, still has fun. Everything was already decided. We were dumbfounded and very pleasantly surprised.”
A strict organization
But the change did not happen overnight. We had to convince the top management and the managers taken aback by the announcement. “Some were afraid of not being able to complete the files on time, continues the boss of LDLC. Others found it difficult to organize the schedules.
To reassure, a strict organization has been deployed so as not to unbalance the teams in the stores, warehouses and offices. Not easy as the work rhythms are so different. But the solution has been found: the employees team up in pairs, each taking a different day off. This makes it possible to always have someone to deal with an emergency. Finally, teleworking has been limited to one day per week to maintain team cohesion with on-site meetings.
Three facts about LDLC
> 700 million euros in revenue for the 2021-2022 financial year.
> More than 1,000 employees.
> 80 stores in France.
Source: Company.
Complicated for managers
On the employee side, the introduction of the four-day week was a real social advance. “Apart from two or three employees, no one wants to go back, says trade unionist Myriam Letondot. It’s a real gain in purchasing power. We consume less gasoline on journeys and those who have children spend less on nannies.”
Others, like Nicolas Blanc, a salesman in a Lyon store, appreciates spending more time with family and taking more care of his child. He also finds that he is more efficient at work because he is “fitter and more motivated”. As for Margaux Malatray, head of the BtoB (business to business) department, she takes advantage of her Fridays to go to the doctor, do her shopping or her tax return… In short, complete all the imperatives of daily life before “taking full advantage of his weekend.
Margaux Malatray, BtoB service manager. Credit: Martin Barzilai for Challenges
The picture is a little less idyllic for managers: “For them, it’s more complicated because they have to complete their files in four days instead of five. Many work during their day off,” said a former employee.
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Zero cost to business
But Laurent de la Clergerie does not budge: “It worked overnight. More rested, employees work more efficiently.” Indeed, according to him, absenteeism has been halved, turnover by four and productivity has increased by 40%. As for turnover, it exceeded 700 million euros in 2022, an increase due, above all, to the boom in demand for computer equipment following the generalization of teleworking during the Covid pandemic. The consequence is that the transition to the four-day week has officially cost the IT company nothing. “We had estimated the cost at around 1 million euros, in particular to increase the workforce, says Laurent de la Clergerie. But we only needed to hire 30 additional people.”
Laurent de la Clergerie, Chairman of the Management Board of LDLC. Credit: Martin Barzilai for Challenges
The LDLC experience is beginning to be noticed in the academic world. Researcher in management at EMlyon, Marie Rachel Jacob is convinced by the seesaw: “The four-day week can only be put in place if a more global reflection on the quality of life at work is carried out upstream, affirms t LDLC has risen to the challenge with very encouraging economic and social results.”
Proud of his success, Laurent de la Clergerie spends more and more time evangelizing other business leaders. He is convinced, the four-day week, freely agreed, will become widespread.
At Urssaf, experimentation is a flop
Who would have believed it? The government wants to test the four-day week, for a year, with Urssaf agents in Picardy. The idea: allow volunteers to work 36 hours over four days instead of five. “Many French people aspire to work differently, to find recognition, but also meaning and freedom of organization at work”, declared to L’Opinion Gabriel Attal, in charge of Public Accounts.
This statement may surprise as the executive advocates an extension of working time via its pension reform. In reality, it is a question of responding to the conflict over pensions by raising the subject of the quality of life at work. Except that at the Urssaf Picardie, the initiative flopped: only 3 agents out of 200 wanted to try out the new organization. Because it does not provide for a reduction in working time but a concentration over 4 days (from 7:20 a.m. to 9 a.m. per day). This has deterred most officers who have small children from dropping off or picking up from school.
