Socio-Economic Analysis of the Proposal to Switch to a Four-Day Working Week in Russia
Authors: Lugovskoy R. A. , Mikhaylov E. V. 
Published: November 2019

The presented study analyzes the proposal of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation D. A. Medvedev to switch to a four-day working week. In the context of the topic, the experience of dealing with this issue is examined, including international practices. A similar proposal was discussed by I.V. Stalin as far back as Soviet times, although in the context of switching to five- or six-hour working days, but only in 2019 did this issue become the subject of debate. In light of the pension reform, which has led to an increase in the retirement age in Russia, a number of experts believe that such proposals may entail potential changes that could have a negative effect on the situation of workers. This study examines the mechanisms of public administration in coordination with enterprises relating to changes in the working hours.Aim. The authors aim to analyze potential directions for the improvement of public administration in the field of labor legislation, which has a significant impact on the development of the economy, business, and the situation of workers.Tasks. This study determines the historical background of Russia’s switch to a four-day working week; examines the legal mechanisms and specific features of labor legislation in Russia in the context of the planned switch to a four-day working week; explores international practices in the field of regulation of working hours; analyzes the benefits and drawbacks of switching to a four-day working week in Russia; develops proposals associated with Russia’s switch to a four-day working week.Methods. The methodological basis for the consideration of the problems includes general scientific methods, systems, structural, functional, and institutional analysis.Results. The ongoing processes in the field of improvement of labor legislation and its impact on the economy, business, and the situation of workers are comprehensively analyzed. The historical background of Russia’s switch to a four-day working week is determined; fundamentals of Russian labor legislation are examined; benefits and drawbacks of the potential innovations in the field of regulation of working hours are identified with allowance for international practices. The authors formulate proposals, the implementation of which will bring Russia closer to the switch to a four-day working week.Conclusions. The proposals of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation to switch to a four-day working week has raised a lot of questions. For instance, it is unclear whether the current wages will be maintained. It is also questionable whether it is a step towards artificially reducing unemployment, in which fields this idea is likely to manifest itself first, and so on. These questions need to be thoroughly discussed by the representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation, trade unions, and the scientific community. It is necessary to conduct a sociological survey to determine and prevent concerns among citizens about the upcoming changes. That said, the authors believe that the idea itself is conceptually correct, but it still valid to doubt whether it can be successfully implemented at the time of capitalism, when entrepreneurs focus on profit and are not interested in reducing the working time of their employees. According to the authors, the plans of I.V. Stalin to reduce working time could faster come into fruition with the socialist economic model, which facilitated innovations in the machine tool industry that would boost GDP growth and significantly reduce production costs. Assessing the prospects of development of this idea at the present stage is difficult.