Four-Day Workweek: Research Confirms Increased Productivity

According to glavcom.ua: Researchers from Boston College examined four key indicators - burnout, job satisfaction, physical and mental health - at 141 companies in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand.

A recent significant study published in Nature Human Behaviour showed that reducing the workweek to four days has a significant positive impact on employee well-being, without decreasing productivity and profitability for companies. This was reported by 'Glavkom' citing BBC.

Why is it difficult to shorten the workweek?

Even with the obvious advantages, the four-day workweek is not a widespread practice due to a persistent culture of overtime in many countries, where long working hours are considered something worthy of lavish praise.

In Japan, for example, the '996' culture is practiced, where workers work from 9 AM to 9 PM six days a week. Meanwhile, in India, workers in the tech and finance sectors are often pressed to penetrate foreign markets and are therefore forced to work overtime to meet global demand.

Spain, South Africa, and Other Countries: Successful Experiments with Work Schedules

However, there are already successful examples of implementing a new schedule. For instance, in Iceland, about 90% of people work on a reduced schedule, and the experiment to transition to a four-day workweek has been extremely successful.

In South Africa, the director of Stellenbosch University's consulting center, Charl Davids, introduced a four-day workweek for his team, which was on the verge of burnout. As a result, the number of sick days decreased from 51 to four over six months, and the quality of work improved.

The spread of the four-day workweek could bring positive changes to employee psychology, enhance their productivity and overall health, without reducing company effectiveness. Despite existing cultural and organizational challenges, successful experiments in Iceland and South Africa show that such changes can be successful and effective for both businesses and employees.