Last Tuesday, January 21, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Legislative Assembly passed favorably the 4×3 exceptional workdays bill, known as 12-hour workdays, and sent it to the plenary to continue its course. Almost immediately afterwards, the Presidential House announced that the government will fast track the bill to finally process this initiative.
For several years, the government of Rodrigo Chaves has almost tirelessly sought the approval of the 4×3 workdays, which consist of working 12 hours a day for four days, with three days off. The project includes the increase in remuneration for this type of workday and some criteria of applicability by sector. However, is this enough to guarantee the mental health of workers?
Work and mental health
There is ample evidence that demonstrates the relationship between long working hours and negative effects on the mental health of workers. The College of Psychology Professionals has warned about this, citing studies by the World Labor Organization in which it is reported that “the effects of long or atypical working hours are not limited to workers, but their effects affect their families and society in general”.
Long working hours can affect the quality of sleep, produce an increase in anxiety symptoms and stress levels, as well as a consequent decrease in the state of well-being. According to an article published by National Geographic, the stress associated with long working hours can have a direct impact on health, as these days keep the body in a constant state of alarm.
Stress also increases cortisol levels, which affects blood sugar levels and alters the immune system. Chronic stress can lead to hypertension, migraines, anxiety, depression, digestive problems, heart disease, heart attacks, strokes or sleep disorders. These effects are usually long-term.
On the other hand, some studies indicate that a reduction in working hours has positive effects on health, such as a reduction in stress levels and an increase in the quality of sleep and general state of well-being.
Considerations on the draft bill
The draft bill does not increase the working week, since the working week remains at 48 hours per week, which has been used as a justification for the bill; however, it seems simplistic. This has been used as a justification for the bill; however, it seems a simplistic justification, since the real concern is in the number of daily working hours. Is it the same to run 5 kilometers per day during a week, than to run 35 kilometers in a single day? The number of kilometers run during the week would be the same, but their daily distribution would have different effects on the organism.
Another concern that arises from this project is that it delegates to companies, and more specifically to their occupational health departments, the adoption of control measures that guarantee the health and safety of workers, including psychosocial risk.
Of particular concern is the wording of the bill, which states that “employers, through occupational health offices or the department in charge, shall employ anti-fatigue measures to minimize the impact of long shifts”. In other words, the bill itself states that there will be a negative impact that will be caused by the fatigue associated with long working hours.
Contradictions
On Thursday, December 19, 2024, the Ministry of Health announced, with great fanfare, the launch of the new National Mental Health Policy 2024 – 2034. This policy is an initiative that seeks to address the country’s main challenges in mental health through innovative and collaborative strategies.
Interestingly, in a subsection entitled Other mental health conditions, the policy is clear and highlights chronic stress and job burnout among the main mental health conditions. Contradictorily, only a month after that publication, the government again vigorously promotes a bill that would favor job burnout.
Could it be that, if the Exceptional Workday Law is approved, the same hype that was used for the publication of the National Mental Health Policy 2024 – 2034 will be used?
The Ministry of the Presidency has stated that the approval of this law will allow Costa Rica to remain competitive in key sectors such as free trade zones, the medical device industry and corporate services.
As a country we are losing competitiveness for reasons such as the increase in operating costs, high energy costs and the devaluation of the dollar. What we should be questioning is whether we want to recover that competitiveness by sacrificing the mental health of our workers.