A new report has found robust evidence to support a four-day work week. In the final analysis, this new schedule would have a tremendously positive impact on employee health and productivity. The study tracked almost 3,200 workers from 18 different countries. It determined that lowering the number of hours one needs to work to earn the same income can lead to dramatic increases in mental health, job satisfaction, and all-around performance. The study recognized a number of limitations that deserve further exploration.
The Forsa trade union in Ireland, which represents many health workers, backed the trial. It was a massive undertaking involving 2,896 respondents from 141 different institutions from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S., Ireland and the U.K. It matched these workers against 285 people who stayed on a regular five-day-a-week schedule. Our researchers closely documented the challenges and impact of this new work structure over a six-month period. Upon doing so, they discovered that the average weekly hours worked dropped by nearly five hours.
Benefits of a Shorter Work Week
The study’s findings showed a significant link between the four-day work week and positive employee mental health. Cutting down on working hours by at least eight or more allowed most people to experience a decrease in burnout levels. As a result, they experienced better mental health and increased job satisfaction, too. Unsurprisingly, employees reported an increase in productivity as well as an improvement in their overall stress when moving to a four-day workweek.
Dr. Libby Sander, an associate professor researching the future of work, emphasized that the trials were designed to explore how individuals allocate their time within organizations. She said, for example, “Some of the stuff that they’re looking at cutting is how many meetings are we doing. This would indicate that federal and state organizations may want to reconsider their operating frameworks to improve efficiency.
As Sander mentioned, working longer hours can seem productive at first but cause diminishing returns in the long run. When you start working longer and longer hours, that’s where it drops off a cliff really dramatically,” she added.
Addressing Limitations and Cultural Shifts
While these promising findings are exciting, the study was careful to note significant limitations to its conclusions. Countries differ in their cultural value placed on work. These differences will likely have a huge effect on the success and reception of a four-day work week. In Australia, where many workers are now toiling the longest hours on record, there’s a dangerous productivity plunge. This trend further highlights how crucial it is to reassess outdated work paradigms.
Rowena Ditzell, a researcher focused on workplace dynamics, shared an unexpected finding that emerged from her research. She noted that the standard worker archetype historically embodies someone who has made work their sole focus. “The ideal worker is defined as that person who is regarded as work is their number one priority and they signal their devotion to work by their visible presence,” she said. This cultural mentality can be a barrier to taking the plunge into alternative work schedules such as the four-day week.
Ditzell elaborated that concepts like the shorter work week are subversive because they push back against traditional definitions of productivity. You don’t have to come into the office, you don’t have to even come in five days a week … If you can have those outcomes done better, faster—that’s what counts, she continued. The increased flexibility provided by these types of arrangements can be a catalyst for organizations to start reimagining what success looks like.
Implications for the Future of Work
The results of this study have important ramifications for how societies perceive the future of work. As businesses increasingly adopt technologies like artificial intelligence to automate tasks, there exists an opportunity to redefine traditional work hours. According to Dr. Sander, we are in the midst of another transformative moment. We’ve infused new technologies such as AI that have the potential to further increase automation by automating the automatable.
Implementing four-day work weeks as a long-term workplace practice makes employees happier and strengthens workplace policies. It especially boosts shared productivity across enterprises. The debate over work-life balance is intensifying. Workers want flexibility in what their workdays look like—arrangements that fit their personal lives while allowing them to pursue professional aspirations.
