Working from home, a concept previously alien to most of the world, had to be rapidly adopted once Covid-19 spread everywhere, quickly becoming the norm for even developing nations like Bangladesh.
For many, the benefits soon became clear — the long commutes disappeared overnight, freeing up time and mental energy for most workers.
But a reduction in commute could lead to a drop in traffic congestion, which does take a hefty chunk out of the GDP.
A Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) study in 2018 found that traffic congestion in the country wastes 500 million working hours daily and causes a loss of $11.4 billion annually.
So, the list of countries adopting the model even after mass vaccination and easing of travel restrictions grew.
Bangladesh, though, is not a part of that list, as some jobs just cannot be done remotely.
However, even in industries where it is possible to entirely work from home, the practice has yet to be accepted.
More recently, a study published by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) last year found that Dhaka traffic costs Bangladesh as much as 2.9% of GDP per year.
The study added that another 6-10% of the country's GDP is lost indirectly to the city's traffic congestion.
And the country is also reluctant to adopt another model of work — the four-day work week. This model, according to various studies, has proven to raise productivity and can even be applied to jobs in the manufacturing sector.
But business owners are skeptical of less work days.
David Hasanat, chairperson of Viyellatex Group, believes in the “966” Chinese work practice, which says that 12-hour workdays amount to a better economy. He also believes in the idea that the more one works, the more they make.
“I don’t even believe in a five-day work week. We don’t have that luxury,” Hasanat said.
His reasoning is that a third-world economy cannot sustain a four-day work week, and Bangladesh must reach a particular improved stage before implementing decreased workdays.
Anita Haque, the chairperson of Paramount Textiles, which employs 3,555 employees at present, said that implementing a four-day work-week is difficult because hers is a factory that runs 24/7.
However, she has tried to introduce the possibility of a work-life balance, which was opposed by her workers.
“I have tried to make the work hours shorter,” Haque said. “But that increases their travel time, so they refuse.”
AHM Abdur Rahman, head of Admin and HR at Paramount Textiles, said that they went from a six-day work week to a five-day work week at their head office, resulting in a cost reduction of Tk2-2.5 lakhs a month and a better-motivated workforce.
But a four-day work week is unrealistic, according to him.
Rahman said that decreasing any more workdays would be a little far-fetched because they are intertwined with manufacturing.
Many nations like England, Japan, and Iceland have shifted to a standardized four-day work week, and achieved success.
Yet employee productivity levels have sustained or even increased, as have employee satisfaction and morale. The practice has also cut their costs and carbon footprint.
In Bangladesh though, applying such models is difficult, especially for the largest subsector of the workforce, i.e., labourers, who are paid by the hour.
Reducing the work-week poses a threat to their livelihoods as their weekly wages would be reduced by 20% due to a four-hour work week.
