Copacabana Palace announced that it has changed the work schedule of 90% of its team: instead of the 6 x 1 scale, which is sacrificial and almost ubiquitous in the trade and service sector, the hotel now offers employees two days off per week. The change to a 5 x 2 scale began in May, but has only now been announced by the organization controlled by international luxury hotel group Belmond.
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According to the hotel, the change represents “important progress in enhancing the well-being and balance between professional, personal and family lives” for employees. This measure applies to operational teams, which include chambermaids, housekeepers, waiters, cooks, and concierges. Security guards are excluded, as they work on a 12×36 scale.
– The hotel industry has always been a sector in which professionals have only one day off per week, and offering two days off represents a huge impact on the quality of life of teams, mental health and family balance – says Guillaume Lemarchand, HR Director at the hotel.
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Copa joins a list of other hotels that have rethought the employee hours model. In São Paulo, Palacio Tangara recently announced the change, based on an additional investment of R$2 million per year and in response to demand from the teams. Last August, 89% of the 350 workers expressed interest in the new measure at a meeting with the class union.
According to the “six-star” hotel from the German Oetker Group, the decision came as a result of nearly a year of analysis, studies and negotiations, and improves the hotel’s image as an employer brand.
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“No other luxury hotel in São Paulo offers a 5 x 2 scale with 100% of its employees, which makes the company more attractive to recruit and retain qualified workers, which sets it apart in a highly competitive sector,” noted the hotel’s General Manager, Celso D. Valley, in a statement.
The desire to retain professionals in times of low unemployment — the rate measured by IBGE was 5.4% in the quarter ending October, the lowest in the chain’s history — was also what prompted Blue Tree Hotels to change its staffing plan.
With 23 hotels among its business units, resorts and leisure destinations, the chain changed the schedule of six days on and one day off per week to the desired 5 x 2 this year. It is a strategy to attract employees, especially temporary employees, needed for peak season operations, which last until Carnival.
Maria Rosa Leroy, Blue Tree’s director of operations, said the changes are a response to the demands of younger workers, who generally hold “front-line” positions, in roles such as receptionists, chambermaids and messengers. With a small number of people, the ability to leave the 6×1 scale helps retain employees:
— We have succeeded in reducing this difficulty a little through these initiatives. Downsizing was our main attraction, because it improves work-life balance – says Maria Rosa.