Breathe
By Fátima Masse
When Claudia Sheinbaum took office she promised to cut the working day from 48 to 40 hours. For this to become a reality, it is necessary to modify Article 123 of the Constitution that talks about labor and social welfare.
Due to the current political conditions, it is highly probable that this constitutional reform will be approved. However, what is still unknown are the terms of its implementation, which could be transcendental for the economy and for the people who will be impacted by the measure.
The good
I am in favor of this reform, because in Mexico we work too much without getting good results. We are the second country in the OECD that works the most hours per year, but we are the second per year, but we are the second to last in terms of production..
Whatever the reason, an excessive work culture affects the health of the employees.. In particular, it increases the probability of suffering cardiovascular accidents or depressive and anxiety disorders, in addition to having the immune system on constant alert, which causes other illnesses.
In addition, there is less time to devote to other important activities, such as care or rest. So, from the point of view of personal well-being, it is worth betting on greater work-life integration.
Difficulty
Currently, 39 million people in Mexico work 40 hours or more per week. This implies that, when the reform is approved, 66% of the labor force would have to cut back their working hours to comply with the law.
Companies will have to choose between maintaining their current schedules and hiring more people or cutting back on their hours of operation. In either scenario, they will have to become more efficient so that their sales levels are not affected. Sounds good in theory.
The big problem is that in Mexico 94% of the economic units are micro businesses and 4.9% are small businesses. These are companies that are mostly struggling to survive. Will they have enough resources to face higher payroll expenses and invest in more efficient management? I doubt it.
The reform could be a trigger for less solid companies to go bankrupt, as well as to generate incentives for informality. Those companies that feel excessive pressure from this modification could opt to leave their workers without a contract or hire them on a fee basis. In total, a quarter of the employees in the private sector are already in this scenario (based on data from the ENOE 2023).
This is why I am convinced thatthe reform requires grace periods and gradual implementation, especially for smaller companies as was done in France. In addition, the Ministry of Economy could implement support programs to accompany those who cannot afford consulting services on how to better manage their business.
Realistically, a labor reform that breaks businesses will not be good for the economy or for workers. To the extent that the reform takes into account the situation of different companies according to their size and sector, its chances of success will be greater.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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