Spain now wants to follow other countries and reduce the working week. Fine, but the trouble is that it’s not going to work in every field of employment. From my experience, having never worked 9-5, things are always going to happen when you least expect it and responding will, more often than not, mean being flexible – working extra hours.
There are numerous jobs which cannot simply fit into a 35-hour week, as Spain is realising with the hospitality sector on which the economy greatly depends, especially in the Balearics. Yes, take on more staff to fill the gaps, but that requires more guaranteed expenditure on behalf of the employer.
So what happens if there's been a slow season? Is the cost of employees having a more comfortable life passed on the customer? A dangerous path to go down.
If one has a vocation in life surely the hours don’t matter, while when one signs a contract one knows what the deal is. Call me old school but a job is a job and I’ve done a number which were never top of my list, but needs must and I'm sure I’m not alone.
There's ideology and there's practicality, especially in holiday destinations such as the Balearics which are aiming for the top end of the market and are going to want the very best service 24-hours a day.