A four day workweek sounds so blissful - four days of work, and a long weekend... every weekend. But to burst our bubble, some experts say the extra personal time may not be as beneficial as first thought.
Sounds suss to us (are the so-called 'experts' overzealous employers in disguise?) so we've done some digging to bring you both sides of the story.
The benefits of a four-day workweek
First let's look at the positive studies, showing that less time at work actually makes us healthier, happier, and more productive when we are in the office.
Here are some suggestions why:
- Money saved by less commuting time
- Frees up time to volunteer, provide childcare, or care for elderly
- Reduced overheads, such as office electricity bills
- Reduced absenteeism, since people call in sick less often
- Increase job satisfaction
- Greater retention rates – who wouldn't want to work somewhere that lets you work less?
- Generally, four-fifths of employees respond positively to a reduced workweek
And there's plenty of anecdotal evidence too: an article in the New York Times quotes a CEO who mandates four-day workweek. He said, "Better work gets done in four days than in five. When there's less time to work, there's less time to waste. And when you have a compressed workweek, you tend to focus on what's important."
The drawbacks of a four-day workweek
Now let's address the elephant in the room: the idea that a four-day week may not be so beneficial.
Some organisations have tried the four-day approach and not witnessed the savings or enhanced productivity they expected.
And some experts believe squeezing the same amount of work into fewer days – especially if you make those days longer to counteract the one-day off a week – could result in more stress and fatigue.
So what's the verdict? Well, it's perhaps too subjective an issue to go with one argument over another. Maybe employers and employees need to trial a reduced workweek and see if it does, in fact, work for them.
Originally published on Sep 19, 2016
