The Professionals and Cons of a 4-Day Workweek

By linda Last updated Aug 5, 2022 11

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Henry Ford’s five-day work week was seen in 1926 as a revolution when it gave his workers Saturdays off. How gracious of him, proper? And a short while later, in 1932, the five-day week was formally codified for all employees in the US. However, after a century of Ford’s “radical” concept — is the following office innovation the four-day workweek?

Nonetheless, corporations of all sizes have been tinkering with four-day work weeks worldwide. Down in New Zealand, consumer-goods company Unilever implemented a 12-month test run of a shorter work week. The four-day working week became a reality in Spain in March of 2021 after a number of dozen corporations participated in a pilot challenge. Fundraising firm Kickstarter will take a look at the four-day work week with workers in 2022. Additionally, in 2022, house enchancment retailer Lowe’s adopted a four-day workweek.

However that’s not all. Scotland, Iceland, Japan, Belgium, and the United Arab Emirates all have four-day workweek pilot applications within the works. Moreover, Democratic Congressman Mark Takano launched laws reducing the standard workweek from 40 to 32 hours here in the United States.

The world’s most extensive 4-day workweek trial run occurred in the U.K. in 2022.

All eyes are on the U.Okay.

To find out whether or not an identical mannequin is feasible and supported in the US, over 3,300 employees and 70 British corporations participated within the trial within the U.Okay.

Based on Eagle Hill Consulting, 83% of respondents agreed {that a} four-day workweek would scale back burnout. In a Joblist survey, 94% of job seekers mentioned they needed a four-day workweek. However did the examine again these claims up? Right here’s what the examine confirmed:

Based on 51% of workers, they’ll do their jobs to their fullest potential in 40 hours or much less
In 85% of the survey responses, respondents mentioned it was logistically attainable to work 4 days per week
A 4-day workweek was cited as a profit by 94% of respondents
Roughly 28% of full-time workers would contemplate a four-day week in change for a pay lower

To this point, so good. However is a four-day workweek actually a good suggestion? Nicely, let’s weigh the professionals and cons.

What’s a 4-Day Workweek?

Earlier than getting too far forward of ourselves, let’s have a short rundown on what precisely a four-day workweek is.

You might work 32 hours with a four-day workweek with out shedding productiveness, pay, or advantages. There is likely to be a Monday-through-Thursday work week with Fridays off — relying on the trade and the corporate. Alternatively, every worker might select their third time without work, or the corporate might have a 3rd totally different time without work coverage on Mondays or Wednesdays.

Each choices have their execs and cons. When everybody works on the similar time, collaborative work is enhanced. However the firm might be unstaffed when most others are. Particular person workers might want a versatile third time without work, however groups might battle with it.

It might appear unorthodox to work a four-day week. During the last century, nevertheless, now we have regularly decreased the variety of hours labored per week.

In 1890, a full-time worker inside a producing plant labored a median of 100 hours per week, in accordance with the US authorities. However, by the mid-Twentieth century, manufacturing workers have been on common working 40 hours per week. So, as radical as it could appear, lowering our present work week to twenty-eight hours just isn’t as drastic as it could appear.

The Professionals of a 4-Day Workweek

In a report in The Atlantic, individuals who work a four-day week say they’re more healthy, happier, and fewer careworn. Because of this, their employers report that their workers are extra productive and centered. As well as, 94% of employees have a positive sense of well-being when they feel their employer cares about them. Additionally, in accordance with analysis, it’s best to not work intensively for greater than 4 hours per day.

A few of the most important benefits of a four-day work week are as follows.

Elevated productiveness.

The connection between productivity and hours labored was studied by Sanford University. It was discovered that those that work an overworked schedule are literally much less productive than these with an everyday work schedule.

Throughout a trial examine performed by a New Zealand firm, Perpetual Guardian, four-day work weeks have been examined. Along with sustaining their productiveness ranges, workers improved their job satisfaction, teamwork, work/life stability, and loyalty to the corporate. There was additionally a decrease in stress from 45% to 38% of employees.

Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, together with a few of the world’s most productive countries, work on common 27 hours per week, the identical hours recommended for a four-day work week within the U.Okay. In distinction, Japan, a rustic infamous for overworked workers, ranks Twentieth out of 35 international locations by way of productiveness. In actual fact, Japan’s four-day workweek experiment led to a 40% increase in productivity.

Bodily and psychological well-being is improved.

A number of constructive unwanted effects are reported by workers who work fewer days per week. Whether or not it’s exercising extra, ending a Grasp’s program earlier, volunteering extra, or maintaining a healthy work-life balance, these measures may help. In flip, this contributes to a employee’s elevated productiveness. “I prefer to take walks … simply wander and let my mind breathe,” Natalie Nagele, Wildbit CEO, informed The Atlantic.

A extra balanced life results in much less stress for fogeys with youngsters. As well as, they spend extra time with their households. As well as, caregivers of getting old mother and father have the chance to assist them. “One of many largest elements in folks’s degree of work-family satisfaction is the pure variety of work hours they’ve,” Melissa Milkie, a sociologist on the College of Toronto who research time use, told The Atlantic. “So reducing it’s enormous … It will re-balance issues for working households.”

“I can take pleasure in my weekend now as a result of I’ve acquired my Friday for my chores and my different bits and items or… if I need to take my mum out for a stroll, I can try this now with out feeling responsible, Lisa Gilbert, a lending companies supervisor at Charity Financial institution, told CNN Business.

Along with caring for her son and two aged mother and father, Gilbert will get an additional time without work per week, which permits her to spend extra time with them.

“I discover that I’m saying ‘sure we are able to versus ‘no, sorry we are able to’t,’” she mentioned.

Enhanced motivation.

A compressed or decreased 4-day workweek can motivate your employees. As with every different profit, it’s perceived as a method for the corporate to help its workers each on and off the clock.

Furthermore, the rarity of those applications might encourage your workers to work onerous to earn them or hold them.

It has improved worker engagement.

Employees are more likely to be satisfied and committed if they have four days off each week. They’ve sufficient time to relaxation and get well, which permits them to return to work feeling able to tackle new duties.

A study conducted by Sweden in 2015-2017 investigated the results of shorter work weeks on nurses. Nurses have been working solely six hours a day and 5 days per week. Outcomes confirmed nurses logged fewer sick days, reported higher well being, and engaged sufferers 85% extra.

Lowered prices.

Over half, 51%, of enterprise leaders surveyed by Henley Business School reported financial savings on amenities and utilities, and virtually two-thirds reported elevated productiveness.

Downtime is decreased.

Staff have that further time without work throughout conventional enterprise hours to schedule private wants. Because of this, they’ll make physician’s and different appointments on their common time without work with out taking time away from work. Based on the identical examine, 62% of enterprise leaders report that fewer sick days are taken.

We’ve got elevated worker attraction and retention.

It has been reported that job postings listing four-day workweeks have tripled within the last five years. Put up-pandemic challenges might make this pattern proceed. Because the competitors for expertise surges, prime job seekers are on the lookout for the perfect potential alternatives.

Moreover, specializing in wellness and avoiding burnout is essential to retaining workers. In a 2020 Gallup poll of over 10,000 employees, employees who labored a 4-day week reported the bottom degree of job burnout. Amongst workers with a four-day work week, 63% reported thriving wellbeing.

A smaller carbon footprint.

In international locations with shorter working hours, the carbon footprint is typically smaller. Consequently, lowering our work week from 5 to 4 days might even have environmental advantages. As well as, the shorter working week eases worker commutes and means massive workplace buildings spend much less time unused.

Utah’s state authorities workers confirmed a big environmental affect from lowering work week size from 5 to 4 days by means of a compressed work schedule throughout a trial performed within the state. Over $1.8 million was saved in vitality prices attributable to closing the massive workplace constructing on Fridays. As well as, the state estimates it could save 12,000 metric tons of CO2 by working at some point much less per week, equal to eradicating 2,300 vehicles from the highway for one yr.

The Cons of a 4-Day Workweek

It’s true {that a} four-day work week has many advantages. However there are additionally a number of disadvantages that shouldn’t be ignored. For instance, the examine involving Swedish nurses discovered that the challenge wasn’t cost-effective in the long term.

There’s a value.

Some argue that recruiting workers can be costly with a four-day work week. Within the U.S., as in different international locations, employers provide full-time workers extra than simply their annual wage. Additionally they throw in advantages like pensions and medical insurance. Because of this, employers might not be capable of rent extra workers to cowl the decreased variety of working hours.

Moreover, many employees in lots of international locations want working fewer days per week – or fewer hours – in return for a better wage. YouGov and HuffPost surveyed roughly 50% of American employees in 2014 and located that they might work a further day per week for 20% extra pay. Half-time employees have been much more more likely to make the commerce.

It decreased buyer satisfaction.

Regardless of offering some nice environmental outcomes and employer and worker advantages, the Utah examine closed attributable to unsatisfactory customer feedback. As a result of authorities workplaces being closed on Fridays, prospects complained they couldn’t entry authorities companies.

Nonetheless, corporations can enhance buyer satisfaction by using technology, akin to chatbots and AI-powered web sites. How? By permitting prospects one other avenue for help as a substitute of relying solely on workers.

Not everybody can take part.

A four-day work week is difficult to implement for some industries that require 24/7 availability. A four-day work week, for instance, might make it tough for your corporation to handle customer support issues.

Firms should cope with issues through the weekday and weekends whatever the trade. Nonetheless, planning and forethought are required to cowl each side of the enterprise through the workday.

Scheduling conflicts.

Compressing the workweek could also be sophisticated by the necessity in your staff to help prospects or different staff members. Moreover, this may make discovering acceptable protection throughout working hours a chore.

Moreover, internal scheduling may cause problems in managing shopper wants. For instance, scheduled conferences might be deliberate upfront within the workweek. Then again, impromptu or emergency conferences is likely to be extra problematic.

Additionally, when workers who’re off can’t attend brainstorming classes, there could also be restricted enter. How usually these occasions happen in a company might decide whether or not a 4-day workweek is possible.

Staff should put in the identical period of time.

In some circumstances, lowering hours is probably not possible for particular jobs. For instance, one experiment in France discovered that employees put in the identical variety of hours whatever the four-day work week. So what’s the one distinction? Time beyond regulation prices have been added to the corporate’s bills.

Added stress.

There’s nothing higher than a 3-day weekend, is there? Companies often construction their 4-day week this manner (Mondays and Fridays off). To keep up that profit, you’ll have to work more durable throughout your ‘on’ days to make sure you don’t lose your ‘off’ days.

Most workers surveyed mentioned a four-day week helped them keep a piece/life stability. So having a versatile schedule is a plus. But when the work portion provides extra stress, it may not be price it.

Ought to You Undertake a 4-Day Workweek?

There are lots of benefits to condensing workweeks, akin to elevated productiveness and extra time to pursue private pursuits. However, on the similar time, some industries, companies, or people don’t work effectively with a four-day schedule. As well as, it received’t magically repair poisonous workplaces or disagreeable jobs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a reevaluation of labor worldwide, which has elevated curiosity in four-day workweeks. Because of this, we should modify our mindset and tradition to make it the brand new regular, deemphasize work, and look at work actions that may be automated, deprioritized, and eradicated.

Nonetheless, if you wish to give a four-day workweek a attempt, contemplate the next methods: