One of the greatest achievements of the 20th century, from a worker's point of view, was the introduction of the eight-hour workday and the five-day workweek. Compared to the previous situation, with no regulation whatsoever concerning how many hours a man can work a week, this was a massive step forward. Today, in turn, it seems that this system needs a bit of improvement. While the hours worked today are (officially) no longer than they were half a century ago, work-related stress and burnout are becoming increasingly widespread. One of the solutions to this issue would be working fewer hours and being more productive at the same time. In short, a four-hour workweek. "But wait, wouldn't eliminating a workday lead to less work being done?", you might ask? Well, the problem goes beyond simple math.
Perpetual Guardian is a finance and estate planning company from New Zealand, famous for giving a four-day workweek a try. Back in March and April 2018, the company reduced the number of days worked by its around 250 employees while keeping their pay at the same level. One of the reasons for this trial was founder Andrew Barnes' observation of the issues some of the employees had with balancing work and personal life, as well as the overall sense of stress. He wondered whether a shorter workweek would improve this situation without impacting the overall productivity of the company - and the results show that they did.
The results of the trial run were clear: almost 30% more of the employees reported that they could indeed balance their work and personal life better during it, and staff stress levels were also reduced. At the same time, stimulation, commitment, and the sense of empowerment at work have improved, and so did the employees' overall life satisfaction. And, more importantly, the company's overall productivity didn't suffer at all.
A four-day workweek is not for every company - there are some cases when it simply doesn't work, like retail and online retail, among others. But the benefits of this system are obvious and - according to many scholars - it should be implemented wherever it can be.
Among others, the benefits include better time management, productivity, and efficiency in the workplace. Plus, the overall satisfaction of employees will increase, given the extra day of rest they have each week. A well-rested, stress-free employee that doesn't have to worry about not being at home enough will be more enthusiastic and more efficient at work - that's something years of research has already shown us in the past. Last but not least, a four-day workweek is a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly system, reducing both the running costs of the company and the carbon footprint of every individual worker.
The system does have its risks and drawbacks but it is overall seen as a direction in which work culture is going. There are still many issues to take care of but overall, the numbers look pretty promising so far.
