The 4 Day Work Week India: An Essential Guide for Indian IT & Tech Leaders
Imagine the following situation: You are in the mid part of a bazaar in a Dali in Delhi. The lanes are overcrowded, auto-horns are sounding and one of them decides to reverse the traffic. Without warning. Chaos. That is how it feels to implement a 4-day working week in India unless everybody buy-ins and there is a proper strategy.
In my 15+ years leading organisations through the Future of Work in India, I have witnessed numerous companies hurrying into an activity that appears fun and progressive and slamming into walls. When the talk is of reducing one day working, the devil is in the details. This is particularly the case with the Indian IT Industry & tech ecosystem that is service-oriented and global-oriented.
Reason Why the Idea Makes You So Excited (and Nervous).
The thought of a shorter week is attractive since we all desire more of a balance, of the team, of ourselves. It is the potential of the 4 day work week in India idea. But these are two great causes to be cautious:
- Facing realities to clients: Most Indian IT/ITES companies have cross-time zones (US, Europe, APAC). When a developer in Bengaluru tells them he will be off on Friday, the client in New York who wants to receive some deliverables at 10 am ET may be shocked.
- Policy & regulatory subtlety: In India the new labour codes (as in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020) continue to have a 48-hour weekly limit. (India Today) That is, companies may consider a 4 day work week- although only in case of the extension of days (ex. four 12-hour days) or other changes. (TechGig)
In short: Yes, it’s possible. Yet not one day and all remain the same. More similar: restructure the whole week, re-consider SLA models, client interactions, productivity indicators.
What is the Indian context unique about it?
This is what I have seen in the practice with the HR leaders in India , especially across Delhi, Bengaluru, and Pune::
- The service business ethos implies: time-zones, customer lists, 24/7. You can not simply turn off Friday when your customer is having a launch on Thursday evening US time.
- There are still many firms which run under state Shops and Establishments exemption or under the IT/ITES exemption; the new codes are central but states are required to notify rules. (Corrida Legal)
- Expectations are going up among talents: younger professionals are demanding more flexibility, time to side-hustle, mental health. The 4 day work week will be a beacon of progressive culture- not eight days.
- On the other side: companies fear calculable productivity, price/worker, and whether the reduced number of days could lead to more intensity and burn-out.
Put another way: introducing a 4 day work week in India is like inverting the traffic in the crowded market place- it requires everybody to buy into it and a strategy.
There are three methods, which HR departments can use to pilot a flexible model.
Prior to the actual implementation of the 4-day full-throttle week, the following are three clever pilot concepts that you can implement:
- Flex Fridays – The five-day system is maintained, but Fridays are used to learn, complete micro-projects, focus on innovation or so-called catch-up/slow hours. Clients obtain servicing, yet team receives lighter burden.
- Compressed Weeks of Work- Option – complete 40 hours on 4 days rather than 5. The latter gives a one-month-long weekend. It can be used as a voluntary incentive programme to the high performers.
- Deep-Work Days – Select one day that the number of meetings is low, client calls is low, and high value work or automation is performed by teams. This solidifies productiveness and allows you to gauge the fewer the distractions, the higher the productivity.
At the same time, each one of them creates trust, quantifies impact and provides you with data prior to you uttering Yes, let’s move to 4 day work week.
FAQs & Myths Busted
Myth: “4 day week= less work and reduced output.”
Reality: When well designed output remains the same or gets better. Research across the world indicates that productivity can stagnate or even increase. In India, there are constraints in the number of pilots–but the rationale is valid when the arrangements on hours are made. (Inhunt World)
Myth: “This is not possible in Indian IT as we have 24/7 clients.”
Reality: That is true in most of our jobs–but not in all. The best place to start is with non-client facing tasks (R&D, internal tools). Also shift models can be customized: the rotation of days off instead of Friday off of everybody.
FAQ: “Does the new labour codes require 4-day working weeks?”
No— what they do is that they don’t stick to it. As an example the codes have a weekly limit of 48 hours, but allow extension of days in special situations. (India Today)
Final Thoughts
You are in the conference room, and the HR people are talking about the 4 day work week in India model, and I would present them with the following: It is not whether but how. And success requires culture, transparency and gradual implementation.
Senior leadership, client, team lead buy-in, yes, as in clearing the traffic flow in that busy market should all come together. And pilot phase is important: small and learn and measure and adjust.
When implemented properly, this change is not so much as an extra day off but more of an indication that work is a result and not the number of hours. That’s the true Future of Work in India.
Would you like to have 4 day week at the same salary?
👉 Comment “YES” or “NO”!
And here is the thing to consider: What do you feel your greatest objection to a 4 day work week is?
We should be honest–because when it comes to change, the questions that you ask can be more important than answers.
Connect with us for more Insights.
