Employees of Desigual, the Spanish fashion company , approved with a large majority the agreement proposed about a month ago, when the top management had proposed to the workers of the central offices (with the exception of those belonging to the operations team and the commercial one) the possibility of reduce the working week to four days (from Monday to Thursday), with the option of smart working on one of these days. The initiative was approved with more than 86% of votes in favor, an important threshold because the company had set itself the goal of obtaining the support of at least 66% of employees.
The September 15 article: Desigual proposes a four-day work week. The Spanish company famous for its creativity and explosion of colors, aims to achieve a better balance between office and private life
The first comments
“We are very happy that the initiative has received such great support from our workers. We knew that it was a risky proposal, which could generate doubts, but we are convinced that it will contribute to improving the reconciliation of private and professional life of all those who are part of Desigual – explains Alberto Ojinaga, general manager of Desigual -. We are enthusiastic about the new phase we are kicking off today, which shows that innovative and audacious mentality that has always identified us and which is shared by the whole team ».
From the “ballot boxes” to the facts, hoping to be an example
The agreement will come into effect tomorrow for 500 people: “The new work week will require a process of adaptation and effort on the part of everyone, but, if the pandemic has shown us anything, it is that we can organize work and teams in a way that different, while continuing to be efficient, giving priority to what is really important – adds Alberto Ojinaga -. Furthermore, this initiative makes us more attractive as an organization and this allows us to retain and attract the best talent. We are a different, disruptive, young and optimistic company, in constant transformation and that he is not afraid to propose new things; projects like the one we approved today are confirmation of this. We would be pleased if the decision that Desigual employees made today would set a precedent and could inspire other companies ».
Record turnout
The vote, to which about 500 workers from the central offices in Barcelona had been called, it had a 98% turnout and took place in the presence, with notary supervision and by means of ballot boxes. A team of spokespersons, made up of 10 employees elected by their colleagues, was tasked with managing the process, organization and counting of votes. The vote took place today at Desigual’s central offices and the counting was carried out live, in order to ensure maximum transparency throughout the process.