The expert saw demographic risks with the introduction of a six-day work week in Russia

The issue of introducing a six-day working week in Russia should be carefully calculated and analyzed from all sides. Dmitry Porochkin, Ombudsman for Entrepreneurs’ Rights in the Implementation of Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision and Supervision of Labor Law Compliance, told RIA Novosti that it is clear that such a measure will impose a burden on employers and may even cause an increase in the number of divorces.

Earlier, the media wrote that a proposal was sent to the head of the Ministry of Labor, Anton Kotyakov, to introduce a six-day work week. According to the authors of the appeal, the Avanti Association of Entrepreneurs for the Development of Business Patriotism, this will increase the strength of the economy in the face of sanctions.

Porochkin recalled that any proposal can be considered seriously if it is economically justified. In the meantime, the initiators of the proposal have given verbal arguments. They did not provide any economic calculations of labor productivity and the financial burden on employers due to increased working hours, the expert added. In his opinion, such a measure will be a burden on employers, and the hope for an increase in wages due to an increase in working hours may not come true.

The expert explained that the increase in working hours does not equal the increase in the company’s profit, therefore, there will be no funds to increase the wages of employees. In addition, Porochkin said that the six-day period also has a social side: the vast majority of workers will not like such measures at all. Many people prefer to spend the weekend with their family. Such a factor could provoke an increase in the number of divorces and exacerbate an already acute demographic problem in the country, Porochkin concluded.