Why the 4-Day Work Could Be Our Future – The Six Month Experiment

In some cases, less actually turns out to be… more. This supports a group of companies that participated in one six month experiment to “reduce” weekly work from 40 hours in five days in 32 hours in four, without reduction salary.

In the end, the vast majority – companies and employees – agreed it was a very good idea with almost everyone saying they were unlikely to go back to their previous working hours. In the pilot program, organized by the non-profit 4 Day Week Global Foundationthey participated 33 companies and almost 1,000 employees. The study, which mainly involved US and Irish companies, was carried out by researchers at Boston College, University of Dublin and Cambridge University.

Happy employees and employers

When it came to rating productivity and performance, respondents gave the four-day week 9 out of 10. Many workers also said that they felt less stressedthey experienced less insomnia, exhaustion and improved physical and mental health. Fewer hours for the same pay was not only good for employee morale and well-being, but also for employers.

According to her findings research, the average company’s revenue increased by 38% compared to the same period last year. Juliet Shore, a sociology professor at Boston College who led the trial, said workers didn’t report an increase in workload either. “This suggests that the work reorganization strategy succeeded and that performance was not achieved through [επιτάχυνσης], which is neither sustainable nor desirable,” he said. Jon Leland, chief strategist for Kickstarter, who participated in the study, called it “real win-win”.

This was not the first “green light” for a shorter work week. In 2018, a New Zealand company tested a four-day work week and saw positive results.

The company’s CEO was inspired to try a four-day week after reading a 2016 survey of 1,989 British office workers, which showed that employees areinducing only for just under three hours of an eight-hour work day because they are distracted by social media and discussing non-work matters with colleagues.