DG Group, the Luxembourg-based marketing group, is introducing flexible working hours in its four companies: NOOSPHERE Brand Strategy Sàrl, Linc SA for Yellow, Z6 Création Sàrl and Hello Deco Sàrl. More than a good resolution, it is a new habit that the group wishes to adopt in 2022. David Gavroy gives us a behind-the-scenes look at this fresh decision, which will undoubtedly change the face of professional life in Luxembourg.
David Gavroy, it’s a nice end-of-year present that you have given to your forty or so employees by taking this decision on flexible working hours.
I think that they welcome this decision as positively as I do. I told them the news at our end-of-year lunch and their smiles spoke volumes.
Wellness at work is a win-win situation. I took this decision so that each employee could find the right balance between their private and professional lives. You don’t live to work, you work to live. And if employees feel good about their company, they will be more productive.
Why did you make this decision?
This decision was inspired by my own life, I have two daughters with a very busy life and I often had to adapt my working hours to take care of them. We all have constraints and obligations linked to our daily lives, our personal and family lives. I don’t want one of my employees to feel stuck at work and not be able to pick up their child from the nursery. I don’t want them to cancel a medical appointment or be afraid of being late because of traffic jams.
In concrete terms, how is this decision on flexible working hours put into practice in your branches?
Quite naturally, actually. We rely on trust in our employees. They have only one watchword: the work must be done on time. Whether you arrive at 10 or 11 o’clock, there is no problem as long as the work is done. The idea is that everyone manages according to their tasks. This is the notion of intrapreneurship, the entrepreneurial state of mind within the company.
But I insist that if it was possible to take this decision, it is because we have a good team and also a business which lends itself well to this flexibility.
You mention problems of presenteeism encountered in the past, please explain…
Indeed, we realised that with 8 hours a day, we had problems with presenteeism. In other words, the employee’s body is there, but not his mind. They are physically present but not effective. This is counterproductive. With this new system, a tired employee will be able to go home to rest and finish the day more efficiently than if he had stayed in the office.