More than 60 companies worldwide have trialed a 4‑day week with over 3,000 employees.

90% of companies that trialed a 4‑day week plan to keep or adopt it.

4‑day week reduces stress, burnout, fatigue, and sleep problems.

4‑day week improves physical and mental health, exercise, life and job satisfaction.

4‑day week increases productivity and revenue.

4‑day week increases hiring and reduces absenteeism.

4‑day week reduces turnover.

4‑day week improves employee well‑being and work‑life balance.

Equity concerns arise because not all roles can adopt a 4‑day week.

Business continuity challenges due to fragmented workforce.

Implementation requires extensive communication and strong leadership support.

Redesigning workflows and new business models takes about three months.

Small firms lack resources for shift.

Sector‑specific challenges: shift workers, customer‑facing roles.

Policy support needed: childcare subsidies, tax incentives.

Iceland 2015‑2019 trial: 2,500 participants, 35‑36 hours, full pay, improved well‑being, 86% gained permanent right.

UK 6‑month pilot: 30 companies, 9.5‑hour days, higher productivity, lower turnover, 1.4% profit rise.

Microsoft Japan 2019 trial: 40% productivity, 23% energy, 60% printing, 50% meeting cuts.

Bolt adopted a 4‑day week; 84% employees reported higher productivity and better work‑life balance.

New Zealand 2019 pilot: 500 companies, 80% time, pay unchanged; 36% rise, 68% burnout drop.

More than 60 companies worldwide have trialed a 4‑day week with over 3,000 employees.

Title:

Content: Since June 1 this year, more than 3,000 employees from more than 60 companies in the United Kingdom have conducted a social experiment with a six-month “four-day work ”.
Since 2018, the non-profit organization of "4 Day Week Global" wants to test whether the public interest of "80% working time - 100% wages - 100% productivity" and "three days off a week, labor and management win" really exists.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak so far in 2020, many enterprises have adopted the method of “working from home, diverting work ”, and in the long process of the epidemic, working from home and working from home has become an emerging work style.
Since the end of the epidemic this year, many countries have returned to their original or new jobs, whether they are blue-collar and white-collar workers who have left or changed jobs.
However, in more than two years, the transformation of various workplaces in the enterprise to survive, and the labor compromise of "unpaid leave + retained work" have made more and more pioneer projects of "four days a week", and the industry category has become more and more diversified, becoming a new opportunity to promote.
Among them, the most representative is Iceland.
According to media reports in the middle of last year: “The three-day weekend experiment in Iceland has been a success, and workers ’ happiness and productivity have improved ”; the reason for this is:“ Employees face less workplace stress, anxiety, depression and exhaustion, and therefore work harder and take fewer sick days; workers feel more leisure time, and therefore are more committed to their work. ”
This conclusion, in addition to the ethical questions of the willingness of enterprises and workers to participate, and whether or not to remain anonymous, also requires the testing of more rigorous research methods, such as the length of the experiment, whether the industry type and size of the experiment is consistent, and the working tolerance of the workers involved in the experiment, are worthy of further investigation.
On the other hand, the three-day experiment, the success stories of Iceland, New Zealand, and British Columbia, Canada, did not clearly describe the type of industry, the development of the industry in each country, and whether the size of the enterprises in the industry varies greatly.
In addition, across all continents of the world, countries have different levels of economic development, industrial structures have their own characteristics, and the government originally conferred statutory labor rights and interests, are also different.
In addition to industries that are not suitable for at-home work, the sense of alienation of human relationships, the synergy of face-to-face communication, and whether innovation requires teamwork have become the focus of discussion.
On the front page of the “Four Days a Week Worldwide ” website, the home page shows where the current pioneer projects are located on every continent around the world. Surprisingly, Central and South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia each launched at least five projects, but in Canada and the United States, there is only one pilot project.
Moreover, the website reveals that “working four days a week makes 78% of employees feel happier and less stressed. ”
It can also be seen that not only developed countries are promoting, in fact, more developing countries are also conducting experiments.
While there is a lack of a more convincing description of the experimental design, it is clear that this is indeed a possible new type of workplace.
Because of this, in addition to the pilot of national enterprises to cooperate with international non-profit organizations, there are also governments taking the lead in responding.
Spain ’ s leftist political party, once launched a “three days off ” policy in 2021, and the Spanish government agreed to test the new work system of“ 32 hours per week (8 hours per day) ” on a limited scale. 200 companies are willing to participate, and 3,000 to 6,000 workers benefit.
The result of such a trial gives more room for imagination to "take three days off every week, and employees will win both."
The social experiment of "80% of working hours - 100% of wages - 100% of productivity" has important policy significance for the harmony of labor relations and the long-term development of the economy.
"High working hours" does not mean "high productivity", which is the general consensus of the current society.
"Shorten working hours, wages unchanged", helps companies retain employees, perhaps without controversy; but whether it can also maintain 100% of the work output is questioned by the business community.
After the epidemic, "three days off a week, labor and management win" is applicable to some specific industry categories, and the nature of the work of individual employees may also be more widely distributed in various industries.
And the flexibility of working hours, the heterogeneity of the workplace, the universalization of work dispatch, and even the high expectations of the young generation for "enterprise decentralization" are all the help of "working four days a week", which may be a major challenge for enterprises in the future.
# Work # Employee # Business # Home # 4 Days

Title:

Content: news

Portugal Just Launched a ‘Government-Funded' 4-Day Workweek Trial

Portugal is the latest country to experiment with a four-day workweek, and businesses are getting an assist from the government.

For the next six months, 39 private-sector businesses in the country will participate in a "government-funded" pilot program in partnership with 4 Day Week Global, the nonprofit behind several prominent four-day workweek experiments around the world, according to a release from the group.

Employers have agreed to reduce the number of hours employees work every week from without cutting their pay through the 100-80-100 model: Workers get 100% of the pay for working 80% of the time in exchange for delivering 100% of their usual output.

Some 72% of the Portuguese labor force works more than 40 hours per week, making it the OECD country with the third-longest average workweek after the United Kingdom and Ireland, according to a report from University of London and University of Reading researchers overseeing the program.

Most of the businesses in the experiment are in the professional, scientific and technical fields, but the program's cohort also includes a nursery, care home, stem cells bank, research and development center, and firms from manufacturing, retail and nonprofit sectors.

Businesses say they want to see if a shortened workweek will help reduce employee stress and burnout, and in turn improve worker retention. Researchers also hope to track the economic, social and environmental implications of a four-day business week in Portugal.

4 Day Week Global has led several high-profile experiments around the world, which have gained momentum throughout the pandemic as businesses and employees began to re-think the modern work experience.

A trial in the U.S. last year proved to be wildly popular, with workers reporting they performed better and were less burned out. Many said they could never return to a traditional five-day week, or at least not without a significant pay bump. Employers benefited, too: Businesses reported an 8% increase in revenue throughout the trial period, and a 38% increase from the same time period a year prior.

4 Day Week Global's largest experiment to date included nearly 3,000 workers throughout the U.K. last year, with participants reporting better health, finances and relationships.

Although no country has fully adopted a four-day workweek, trials have run in South Africa, Belgium, Iceland, Japan and elsewhere.

Portugal has become a popular destination for American millennials looking to relocate internationally thanks to its affordable living and good weather. The number of Americans residing in Portugal is at its highest level in more than a decade, according to the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service. There were about 7,000 Americans living in the country at the end of 2021, more than double three years earlier.

And the country launched its own digital nomad visa last year, making it even easier for workers from any countries that aren't part of the European Union or European Economic Area to start a new life abroad.

Want to be smarter and more successful with your money, work & life? Sign up for our new newsletter!

Get CNBC's free report, 11 Ways to Tell if We're in a Recession, where Kelly Evans reviews the top indicators that a recession is coming or has already begun.

Check out: Congressman wants to make 32-hour workweek U.S. law to ‘increase the happiness of humankind’

Copyright CNBCs - CNBC
Contact Us

Title:

Content: How about four days a week instead of five?
Here are the results of an exciting experiment involving 60 companies around the world.
More than 60 companies participated in the experiment, allowing around 3,000 employees to work one day less per week while retaining the same salary.
Rates of stress, burnout and fatigue all fell, while problems with sleep declined, the study shows.
Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
MAIN POINTS
• The study found that more than 9 out of 10 companies will continue to shorten the work week or plan to do so
• Productivity was not affected by lighter work weeks, with the company ’ s revenue increasing by an average of 1.4 per cent over the trial period
The study also found that employment increased and absenteeism decreased.
A four-day workweek is more productive for most employees and businesses than the traditional five-day workweek, and is one of the largest trials ever conducted in the UK.
More than 60 companies in the UK participated in the trial over a six-month period, allowing around 3,000 employees to work one day less per week while retaining the same salary.
The trial was conducted between June and December and was organized by a nonprofit group called 4 Day Week Global in collaboration with the Autonomy Research Center, the University of Cambridge, and Boston College in the United States.
The experience is described as the largest in the world around working four days a week.
The survey released on Tuesday found that more than nine out of 10 companies would continue to adopt or plan to do so, while only 4 percent chose not to extend it, regulators said in a statement.
Juliette Shore, a professor at Boston College, said: “The results are largely the same across workplaces of all sizes, demonstrating that this innovation has proven to be effective in many diverse organizations.
Productivity was not affected by shorter working days, with the company ’ s revenue increasing by an average of 1.4% over the trial period.
Revenue jumped 35% on average when compared to similar periods in previous years.
The study also found that employment increased and absenteeism decreased, while the number of resignations dropped sharply during the trial.
In addition, the researchers concluded that overall health and staff well-being improved.
"Significant" increases were also observed in physical and mental health, time spent on exercise, public life and job satisfaction.
Stress, fatigue and fatigue rates have decreased, while sleep problems have decreased.
"Really positive."
Cambridge University professor Brendan Burchell told AFP: “In terms of employees, their mental health improved, they slept better, and they became less stressed.
“But at the same time, companies have stated that if there are changes in their profits or in their performance, they are more likely to go up rather than down. ”
“A lot of people were very happy, people really enjoyed it; and they found it good to have three-day weekends instead of two days. ”
Environmental consultancy Tyler Grange in the UK was among 18 companies that decided to permanently adopt a four-day work week after participating in the trial.
Nathan Jenkinson, customer manager at Tyler Grange, told AFP: “My experience has been really positive, you can see it in people ’ s work and they ’ re more active.
“Employees come to work at the beginning of the week on Monday, after three days off, feel more positive about work and have a lot of energy. ”
Tyler Grange said performance improved slightly despite reduced working hours.
In recent years, studies of the four-day workweek have spread globally as employers explore the nature of post-pandemic work, including the concept of a co-working place that allows more work from home.
Short-week experiments were conducted across Europe, the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
However, when asked whether the UK government might adopt the test as a national policy, Prime Minister ’ s spokesman Rishi Sonak sounded cautious and stated, “There are no plans for that. ”
Continue the dialogue via our accounts on and
Check out the latest Australian news and topics you ’ re interested in.
You can also listen to our programs on or through the free SBS Radio app.
You can also watch news at any time on SBS On Demand.
SHARE
Published at 22 / 02 / 2023 1: 59pm
Presented by: Nassif Khoury
Source: AFP
Available in other languages
The subject.

Title:

Content: LONDON, England (WTVO) — Over 70 companies in Britain began a six-month trial of a four-day work week on Monday.

According to The New York Times, the trial was organized by several nonprofit groups to study the impact of labor on well-being. Researchers at Cambridge, Oxford, and Boston College will analyze the results on productivity and quality of life for a report due in 2023.

“We’ll be analyzing how employees respond to having an extra day off, in terms of stress and burnout, job and life satisfaction, health, sleep, energy use, travel, and many other aspects of life,” lead researcher Juliet Schor, a sociology professor at Boston College, said.

More than 3,300 workers will work 80% of their hours for 100% of their pay, according to The Washington Post.

The test comes as employers face dwindling labor, which has been referred to as The Great Resignation.

According to a report from Destination Analysts, more than two-thirds of American workers feel at least moderately burned out.

Title:

Content: Four-day workweek’s popularity grew during the pandemic — survey

As companies scrambled during the COVID-19 outbreak to reorient their workplace procedures and processes, one idea that gained ground was a shorter workweek.

More businesses adopted a four-day week during the COVID-19 pandemic as the shift to remote working spurred a major rethinking of work practices, according to a poll of senior leaders at 500 UK businesses by the University of Reading’s Henley Business School.

The survey, an update to research from 2019, showed that 21% of respondents adopted a four-day workweek for all staff in 2021, up from 18% in 2019. The majority of respondents (65%) said a four-day workweek is in place for at least some of their workers, up from 50% who said that in 2019. A four-day workweek is defined in the report as involving a reduction from five to four workdays for the same pay or a compressed workweek with the same hours across four days instead of five.

Though a four-day workweek has gained popularity, the UK numbers are perhaps higher than expected; job posting site Indeed told Computerworld that less than 1% of job postings on March 11 included the term “four-day week,” for example. A Gallup survey of full-time U.S. employees in March 2020 — prior to the pandemic — indicated that only 5% put in four days a week, with the vast majority (84%) working five days (and 11% working six days each week).

That said, numerous organizations have adopted or trialled a shorter workweek for staff since the start of the pandemic, including firms such as Atom Bank, Bolt, Buffer, and Kickstarter. And pilot projects are under way in several countries, including the US, UK, and Spain.

Such projects are not new, of course; Microsoft launched a trial at its Japan offices in 2019 that resulted in higher productivity, for example, while the UK’s Wellcome Trust ran into issues around complexity with its own project the same year.

A shorter workweek has been talked about for decades, but a shift from the five-day, 40-hour week that has been the standard for over a century has so far failed to gain momentum.

What’s behind the recent interest in the idea? One reason is that the widespread, and largely successful, shift to remote work during the pandemic showed the benefits of a more flexible approach to work, said Rita Fontinha, associate professor in Strategic Human Resource Management at the University of Reading’s Henley Business School.

“The pandemic led to a situation where most firms were forced to implement remote work and this has accelerated previous discussions that we have been having over the last two decades on flexible working,” said Fontinha. “Working from home led to increased trust [between employers and employees] and awareness of other ways of measuring performance that go beyond presenteeism. The pandemic showed that flexibility works.”

Report highlights four-day week advantages

The Henley Business School survey pointed to several advantages for businesses that implemented a four-day workweek, including costs savings (66%), improved productivity (64%), better quality output from staff (64%), and  less-stressed workers (78%).

Improved employee wellbeing is connected to business outcomes too, said Jack E. Gold, founder and principal analyst at research firm J. Gold Associates.

“Keeping employees happy and motivated makes for far more productive employees, no matter what hours they work,” said Gold. “Maximizing employee productivity is a much more important way to gain business value than hours worked.”

Another benefit, noted by 68% of survey respondents that had adopted a four day week, involved hiring and retention. “People were less likely to take sick leave, people were more productive, and it was easier to attract new staff, and to retain them,” said Fontinha.

The so-called Great Resignation is also likely contributing to interest in a shorter workweek.

“What’s different now than prior to the pandemic is that we’re seeing a temporary spike in the difficulty that firms are having in hiring and retaining workers, and the four-day work week is a relatively easy benefit to extend to help ease the challenge in the short term,” said David Brodeur-Johnson, principal analyst at research firm Forrester.

A shorter workweek can mean challenges

The survey also highlighted several challenges around implementing a shorter workweek, though employer concerns have softened during the pandemic.

Among companies that did not offer a four-day week, 65% said they were worried staffing costs would outweigh any productivity benefits (though that number was down from 80%). The biggest challenge cited by employers was meeting customer demands (75%), while 70% thought a shorter week would be too complicated to manage.

Some companies may find a switch to a four-day week easier than others, said Fontinha. IT-focused firms are more likely to switch, she said, largely due to the relative ease with which tech worker output can be tracked in comparison with other roles. “Areas where we were less likely to see the four-day week were sectors that involve contact with customers, or healthcare, for example,” she said.

A shorter workweek is also more suited to companies with a relatively homogenous workforce in terms of job roles, she said, meaning large businesses with a diverse workforce may find a short workweek complicated to roll out. At the same time, the smallest companies might not have the resources to support the shift, said Fontinha, adding that there are steps all businesses can take to implement a four-day week, even if they are more gradual.

“Having this overnight shift to a four-day working week will be hard for smaller firms,” she said. “What we suggest is a progressive reduction in working hours, moving towards a four-day working week by assessing how things are going and how needs are being met, how productive people are.”

Even if the benefits outweigh the costs for many, businesses should consider their reasons for moving to a four-day week. While a shorter week provides clear benefits to work/life balance and employee wellbeing, Brodeur-Johnson warns against adopting a four-day week as a shortcut to improving employee experience. “[T]he science is clear that what really engages people is being able to make progress in meaningful work every day; to know that they can and are succeeding,” he said.

“Employee experience peaks when we can leave work knowing that we made a difference, and had a really good day," he said. "It also comes from having a supportive manager, a supportive team environment, and feeling recognized and seen uniquely for the work that we do.

“All of these things are much harder for businesses to do for their people, because it involves behavior changes, manager development, culture changes, deeper resourcing and more that a four-day work week won’t solve on its own.”

Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.

7 inconvenient truths about the hybrid work trend
Shop Tech Products at Amazon

Title:

Content: From education to employment

Side hustles and four day work weeks on the rise

60% of UK workers consider taking on a side hustle in 2023and the popularity of the four-day working week could see that numbers grow

The latest findings from leading independent job board CV-Library reveal that 58.2% of UK workers are planning to take on a side hustle in 2023, driven by the twin priorities of job security (62%) and earning more money (38%).

As the cost of living continues to bite, 76.6% of those considering taking on a side-hustle this year are doing so because they want/need more money. The remainder (23.4%) are looking for additional job security in these unpredictable times.

With the world’s biggest trial of a four-day working week hailed a breakthrough success (56 out of 61 of the companies involved say they would continue offering a shorter week), more companies are predicted to follow suit. Employees following this working pattern will gain an extra day a week, which could be used to turn passions into side hustles. This might also fulfil the aim of keeping a main job secure while providing new ways to scratch a creative itch and supplement income amidst the cost-of-living increases.

Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library comments:

“As the economic uncertainty looks set to continue, it’s understandable that so many employees are considering new ways to supplement their income while prioritising their job security.”

Biggins continues:

“With unemployment levels at record lows, supporting employees’ side hustles could boost staff loyalty and help retain key talent. However, there are grey areas that businesses need to be mindful of, particularly for those operating a four-day week. The benefits of increased motivation, productivity levels, and mental health along with reduced sickness levels could be counterproductive if staff are dedicating their downtime and attention to a side hustle.”

Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in Employability, Work and leadership

Related Articles

Title:

Content: Paying bloggers
Following the Scandinavian countries, the UK, Germany and Switzerland, Scotland decided to test the world experience in reducing the working time of employees.
advertising
The First Minister of Scotland will announce today that some Scottish civil servants will have the opportunity to switch to a four-day working week.
Pilot schemes will be launched in various departments and agencies for 12 months.
The introduction of these pilot schemes is intended to inspire the private sector to follow suit, which will ultimately improve the work-life balance of employees.
In addition, the Scottish National Party, led by Yousaf, hopes that the move will give it a positive impetus ahead of the upcoming elections, which will be held next year.
advertising
From September 1, German companies can already apply for testing of a four-day working week with the preservation of wages from February to August 2024.
The consulting firm Intraprenör will monitor the results and help companies find the right working time model.
Europeans are inspired by the successful experience of the UK, where in 2021 more than 60 companies reduced the working day of employees by 20% while maintaining wages.
The experiment involved employees of IT, healthcare, consulting, marketing, HR, real estate, hotel business and cosmetology.
The results of testing were arranged both by employees who were able to spend more time on their own life, health, and by employers.
Productivity of employees remained the same or increased, sick leave time decreased, staff turnover decreased, company profits increased by an average of 1.4%.
Only 10% of companies returned to the previous schedule of work of employees, the rest of the participants of the experiment continued to work in a new mode.
In Russia, former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev periodically puts forward the idea of a four-day week in one of the regions, gradually reducing the working day by several hours.
However, the Ministry of Labor takes such an initiative, arguing that the labor legislation already reflects the possibility of a reduced working schedule by agreement with the employer.
Photo: unsplash.com
For the post accrued remuneration
This material is written by a visitor to the site, and a reward is accrued for it.
recommendations
+
Popular news

Title:

Content: Ina Opperman
Business Journalist
3 minute read
26 Feb 2023
10:00 am

Largest 4-day week trial results good news for future of work

Ina Opperman

Will a 4-day workweek work? It seems that employees and employers are happy.

The results of the world’s largest 4-day week trial is good news for the future of work, with new research showing that these results are largely in line with existing global evidence, further demonstrating the benefits of reduced-hour, output-focused working.

The pilot programme conducted in the UK by non-profit 4 Day Week Global, the UK’s 4-Day Week Campaign and think tank Autonomy, guided over 60 companies and almost 3 000 workers through a six-month trial of a 4-day week, with no loss of pay for workers.

This brings the global campaign’s total number of completed pilot participants to 91 companies and approximately 3 500 employees. Lead researcher, professor Juliet Schor of Boston College, says overall results show that almost every organisation will stick to a 4-day week after the trial, with 91% definitely continuing or planning to continue and another 4% leaning towards continuing. Only 4% of participants are definitely not continuing.

Participating companies rated their overall experience of the trials at an average of 8.5/10, with business productivity and business performance each scoring 7.5/10. Revenue increased by 35% over the trial periods when compared to similar periods from the previous year, while hiring increased and absenteeism decreased.

ALSO READ: 28 SA companies to implement 4-day work week on 1 March

Improved employee wellbeing and health

During the trial it was also found that the health and wellbeing of employees also improved, with significant increases observed in physical and mental health, time spent exercising and overall life and job satisfaction. Rates of stress, burnout and fatigue all decreased along with problems with sleep.

Even the environmental outcomes were encouraging, with commuting time falling across the full sample by a half hour per week.

Schor says she observed an encouraging consistency in the data, with results largely steady across workplaces of varying sizes, demonstrating this is an innovation which works for many types of organisations.

“There are also some interesting differences. We found that employees in non-profits and professional services had a larger average increase in time spent exercising, while those in construction and manufacturing enjoyed the largest reductions in burnout and sleep problems.”

Behavioural scientist and new CEO of 4-Day Week Global, Dr Dale Whelehan, explained the sample produced interesting differences in gender outcomes. “While men and women benefit from a 4-day week, women’s experience is generally better for burnout, life and job satisfaction, mental health and reduced commuting time.”

ALSO READ: 4-day work week pilot so successful, all participating companies sticking to it

4-day workweek also balances home tasks

Encouragingly, the research also showed that the burden of non-work duties appears to be balancing out, with more men taking on a greater share of housework and childcare.

Co-founder and MD of 4-Day Week Global, Charlotte Lockhart, says her team is delighted to be expanding the arguments in favour of a 4-day week with this new world-class academic research. “We look forward to adding our Australasian pilot results to this data set in the coming weeks and our European, South African, Brazilian and North American results in the coming months.”

4-Day Week Global was founded in New Zealand by entrepreneurs and philanthropists, Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart, following the world-renowned success of their pioneering trial of the 4-day week in Perpetual Guardian.

Their approach is based on the 100-80-100™ model designed by Lockhart alongside the Perpetual Guardian trial in 2018. That means 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to deliver 100% of the output.

4-Day Week Global’s ambition is to make a 4-day week the new default and reduced working time the new standard.

90% of companies that trialed a 4‑day week plan to keep or adopt it.

What do employers in India think of 4-day workweek?

What do employers in India think of 4-day workweek?

What do employers in India think of 4-day workweek?

What do employers in India think of 4-day workweek?

4‑day week reduces stress, burnout, fatigue, and sleep problems.

What did a survey on 4-day workweek conducted in Hong Kong show?

61% of respondents said employers could implement a four-day workweek to improve employees' mental health.

What did surveys conducted in London before and after the experiment of 4-day workweek  find?

What has a Gallup Poll found out about the prospect of 4-day workweek?

77% of American employees believe that it will have a positive impact on their health

What did a survey on 4-day workweek conducted in Hong Kong show?

61% of respondents said employers could implement a four-day workweek to improve employees' mental health.

What did surveys conducted in London before and after the experiment of 4-day workweek  find?

What has a Gallup Poll found out about the prospect of 4-day workweek?

77% of American employees believe that it will have a positive impact on their health

What did a survey on 4-day workweek conducted in Hong Kong show?

61% of respondents said employers could implement a four-day workweek to improve employees' mental health.

What did surveys conducted in London before and after the experiment of 4-day workweek  find?

What has a Gallup Poll found out about the prospect of 4-day workweek?

77% of American employees believe that it will have a positive impact on their health

4‑day week improves physical and mental health, exercise, life and job satisfaction.

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

What did a survey on 4-day workweek conducted in Hong Kong show?

61% of respondents said employers could implement a four-day workweek to improve employees' mental health.

What did surveys conducted in London before and after the experiment of 4-day workweek  find?

What has a Gallup Poll found out about the prospect of 4-day workweek?

77% of American employees believe that it will have a positive impact on their health

What has the implementation 4-day wrokweek in Dubai, UAE indicated?

Increase in employee and customer satisfaction.

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

What did a survey on 4-day workweek conducted in Hong Kong show?

61% of respondents said employers could implement a four-day workweek to improve employees' mental health.

What did surveys conducted in London before and after the experiment of 4-day workweek  find?

What has a Gallup Poll found out about the prospect of 4-day workweek?

77% of American employees believe that it will have a positive impact on their health

What has the implementation 4-day wrokweek in Dubai, UAE indicated?

Increase in employee and customer satisfaction.

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

What did a survey on 4-day workweek conducted in Hong Kong show?

61% of respondents said employers could implement a four-day workweek to improve employees' mental health.

What did surveys conducted in London before and after the experiment of 4-day workweek  find?

What has a Gallup Poll found out about the prospect of 4-day workweek?

77% of American employees believe that it will have a positive impact on their health

What has the implementation 4-day wrokweek in Dubai, UAE indicated?

Increase in employee and customer satisfaction.

4‑day week increases productivity and revenue.

How much did some companies' revenue increaseby implementing 4-day workweek?

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

What has the implementation 4-day wrokweek in Dubai, UAE indicated?

Increase in productivity
Increase in work quality indicators
Increase in speed of completion

How much did some companies' revenue increaseby implementing 4-day workweek?

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

What has the implementation 4-day wrokweek in Dubai, UAE indicated?

Increase in productivity
Increase in work quality indicators
Increase in speed of completion

How much did some companies' revenue increaseby implementing 4-day workweek?

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

What has the implementation 4-day wrokweek in Dubai, UAE indicated?

Increase in productivity
Increase in work quality indicators
Increase in speed of completion

How much did some companies' revenue increaseby implementing 4-day workweek?

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

What has the implementation 4-day wrokweek in Dubai, UAE indicated?

Increase in productivity
Increase in work quality indicators
Increase in speed of completion

4‑day week increases hiring and reduces absenteeism.

4‑day week reduces turnover.

4‑day week improves employee well‑being and work‑life balance.

Title:

Content: The 4-day work week: Who is trialing it and does it work? | World | Breaking news and perspectives from around the globe | DW | 17.02.2022

Visit the new DW website

Take a look at the beta version of dw.com. We're not done yet! Your opinion can help us make it better.

  1. Inhalt
  2. Navigation
  3. Weitere Inhalte
  4. Metanavigation
  5. Suche
  6. Choose from 30 Languages
Advertisement

World

The 4-day work week: Who is trialing it and does it work?

Belgium will now offer employees the opportunity to work a four-day week. Various countries and companies have experimented with the idea, which is gaining traction in many parts of the world.

Who doesn't dream of less time spent at work?

Four days working, three days relaxing with friends and family. And all this for the same money. What's not to like? Surely most employees would jump at the chance. Advocates for the four-day work week suggest that when it is implemented worker satisfaction increases, as does productivity.

Belgium will now be introducing four-day work weeks for those who want it. However, employees will not be working less. They will simply condense their hours into fewer days, if they want to. They will be allowed to decide flexibly on whether to work four or five days a week.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo hopes that the model will help to create a more dynamic economy and will make it easier for people to combine their family lives with their career. But some full-time employees will be working very long days if they choose to condense their hours. Others, like shift workers, will simply not have the option of that flexibility.

DW explores which countries and companies have already experimented with the four-day working week.

Iceland: Fewer hours at full pay

Iceland tested a similar model from 2015 and 2019. However, it reduced the working week from 40 to 35 or 36 hours and maintained pay levels. Some 2,500 people took part in the test phase.

A study by the Icelandic non-profit Alda (Association for Democracy and Sustainability) and the British think tank Autonomy found that the well-being of participants had improved significantly, working processes had been optimized and there was closer collaboration between colleagues. Productivity either stayed the same or improved.

After the test phase, trade unions and associations negotiated permanent cuts in working hours. Some 86% of employees now have the right to a four-day week.

The shorter work week is a success in Iceland, whose prime minister is Katrín Jakobsdottir

Scotland and Wales: An expensive experiment

Scotland is also currently testing the four-day work week, with the state supporting participating companies with about £10 million (ca. $13.6 million). In Wales, Sophie Howe, the future generations commissioner, has also called on the government to introduce a similar four-day working week trial, at least in the public sector.

Mixed results in Sweden

In Sweden, a four-day working week with full pay was tested in 2015, with mixed results. Even left-wing parties thought that it would be too expensive to implement this on a large scale. But some companies chose to keep reduced hours for their workers. The car firm Toyota had already decided to do this for mechanics 10 years ago and has stuck with its decision.

Watch video 02:25

Working less for the same money

Fake news from Finland

Finland also hit the international headlines for a brief moment, after reportedly cutting working hours dramatically. The northern European country allegedly wanted introduce a four-day working week, as well as a six-hour day. But it turned out that this was fake news, which the government then had to put straight.

Spain struggles to start trial phase

In Spain, the four-day working week will also be tested on request of the left-wing party Mas Pais. Some 6,000 employees of 200 small and medium-sized companies will be able to extend their weekend by one day, with full pay. The trial phase is due to run for at least one year, but it is not yet clear when it will begin.

From start-ups to corporate giants

In Germany, it is mainly smaller start-ups that are experimenting with a shorter working week. But in other countries, such as Japan, it is bigger companies that are venturing into this territory: For example, the tech giant Microsoft has experimented with the model by offering employees three-day weekends for a month.

In New Zealand, the consumer goods giant Unilever is currently trialing a four-day work week at full pay. If the experiment turns out to be a success, it will reportedly be extended to other countries.

This article was originally written in German.

Title:

Content: EU problem: high employment rate, full-time employment trend | Deutsche Welle Germany | DW | 18.02.2024
1.
Inhalt
2.
Navigation
3.
Weitere Inhalte
4.
Metanavigation
5.
Suche
6.
Choose from 30 Languages
News Wide Angle
EU problem: employment rate is high, full-time employment has become a trend
Young people in China can ’ t find jobs, and businesses in developed Europe can ’ t find workers – more and more Europeans don ’ t like working full time and are spending more time enjoying life.
They earn enough to support their families without having to work full time.
What should governments and businesses do to make full-time jobs more attractive?
How to get people to work more hours This is a headache for Europe's developed countries - despite record employment, there is still a shortage of labor.
Governments and businesses in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria are currently discussing ways to make more working hours attractive to employees, including expanded childcare, friendlier tax policies and more flexible working schedules.
These policies are competing with employee preferences for more free time.
With the increase in part-time jobs and union demands to cut full-time work hours, the average employee working time has continued to decline.
"There is a saying, 'Work for life, not live for work'," said Martin Stolze, 47.
He is a part-time high school teacher in southwestern Germany. "I think that's the motto of our time.
Your job just needs to be enough for you to live so you can get involved in what really matters.
That's not how it used to be. "
European Union employment rate hits record high
In a sense, jobs in Europe are rarely as readily available as they are now.
The overall employment rate in the EU is close to 75 percent, while in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands it is at or near record highs.
The labour force participation rate of women has increased significantly.
A major factor, economists say, is the increase in part-time jobs.
Today, more than three out of every 10 employees in Germany, Austria and Switzerland work part-time.
In the Netherlands, about half of the workforce works 35 hours or less per week.
In contrast, less than one in five people in the United States work part-time or for less than 35 hours.
In Europe, women in particular are driving the growth of part-time work.
They are still more likely than men to face the problem of balancing work with childcare or family.
However, this trend also means that a larger workforce does not result in more working hours.
Although Germany added nearly 7 million new workers between 2005 and 2022, overall working hours increased only slightly.
Meanwhile, by 2022, the average annual working time for German employees is less than 1,350 hours, the lowest among OECD countries.
"It's a pretty good society," Clemens Fuest, director of Germany's Ifo Institute for Economic Research, said in a speech last year. "There are fewer people who need full-time work, and people can enjoy more free time."
Foster also warned of the downside - a growing shortage of workers in the coming years.
"The era of the Great Shrunken has not yet arrived," he said.
Problems caused by the increase in part-time jobs
Part-time work has become an issue in labour-scarce industries such as nursing and education, where vacancies are increasing.
As more and more employees work less than full time, managers say they need to scramble together enough time to care for children or patients.
Maartje Lak-Korsten, principal of De Kleine Nicolaas Primary School in Amsterdam, said many job seekers want to work four days a week.
"I always talk to (them) first: What's the reason you want to work four days?
How do you get to work full time? "
"I told them about the benefits of working full time, taking into account current wages, and taking into account the long-term benefits... [so] they would be more aware of the choices they make and the consequences," she said.
Experts say employee shortages are likely to become more common in the coming years as baby boomers retire.
One challenge for employers and policymakers is that in wealthier European countries, many employees can support their families without working full-time.
A protester holds a sign that says "4-day work"
Bastiaan Starink, an economist at Tilburg University, said that the so-called “1.5 times salary ” income model of one adult working full-time and another working part-time has become commonplace in Dutch households.
"Not working full time in the Netherlands can be a luxury that we can afford," Stallink said.
Spending time is not just for family life.
Amsterdam architect Thais Zuchetti worked 28 hours a week last year while completing his master ’ s degree.
At the request of her employer, she would soon increase her working hours to 32 hours per week.
But she said it was not economically necessary.
"I think 28 hours is enough for me to live."
"My idea is that if I keep working for 28 hours, then I can develop my hobbies, become an illustrator, and maybe do a side job," says Zuketi.
How do you get people to spend more time at work?
Employers and governments alike are figuring out how to give existing workers more time to work.
The German state of Baden-Württemberg has begun requiring all educators who want to work less than 75 percent of their full workforce to provide reasons, including those who have reduced their working hours.
Baden-Württemberg's education ministry said the move was part of a package of measures involving 4,000 of the state's 115,000 teachers.
Stoltz, a high school English teacher, works 50% of his time full-time.
He said that this would allow him to spend more time with his elderly parents and make weekly classes easier.
"I realize that I have more potential to work less," he said. "But frankly, I believe my colleagues have very good reasons to say that they are not suitable for full-time work."
Other governments are experimenting with something more friendly — though it ’ s proving rather difficult.
Holland agreed to expand childcare allowances from 2025, but the government later pushed that date back to 2027 due to budget cuts.
Meanwhile, Austria ’ s Conservative-Green coalition government has withdrawn its proposal to lower taxes on employers ’ income from work after opponents raised concerns about social welfare funding.
Germany has also put on hold reforms to the so-called spousal tax system, which favours so-called “1.5 times wages ” families.
Germany is reportedly considering, among other measures, making it mandatory for businesses to be allowed to work from home.
Better communication with employees
An organization in the Netherlands is experimenting with another approach: Helping employers tap into more hours of work among existing employees.
Het Potentieel Pakken, a nonprofit organization, works with clients to explore how to better approach employees and develop work plans in a team way.
Most of the organization ’ s funding comes from the Dutch Ministry of Health, which works primarily with home care agencies and school districts.
Founder Wieteke Graven said employees, most of whom are women, are generally open to increased working hours, and they often just don ’ t get to communicate.
"We've had situations where people might be 50 years old and you ask them 'why do you work 18 hours a week' and they say, 'Well, I started working 18 hours a week 20 years ago and it's just never changed,'" Graven said.
This suggests that the notion of part-time work has become entrenched, Grayvin said, making it all the more reason for a broader discussion on the issue.
"I think there is always this tension between personal choices and social needs," she said. "I think there needs to be a fundamental debate."
© 2024 Deutsche Welle Copyright Notice: All content in this article is protected by copyright law and may not be used without special permission from Deutsche Welle.
Any misconduct will lead to recovery and criminal prosecution.
DW.COM

Title:

Content: news

81% of workers say a 4-day week would make them more productive—especially in these fields

A majority, 81%, of workers say they'd be more productive if they were given the chance to work a four-day workweek, and it could be an even bigger boost for those facing high rates of burnout, according to new research.

The poll was conducted on Fishbowl by Glassdoor and considers more than 12,000 responses from U.S. professionals.

Workers in fields with notoriously high rates of burnout were the most likely to say they'd get more done if they were able to shift to a four-day schedule: health-care workers, teachers, and retail and hospitality professionals.

"There's an extensive body of research confirming a tight link between burnout and declines in labor productivity," Aaron Terrazas, chief economist at Glassdoor, tells CNBC Make It.

The burnout-productivity cycle is "vicious," he adds. Left unchecked, burned out workers are more likely to look for work elsewhere, and "when they do quit, that leaves more work for their remaining teammates who then risk further burnout."

Participants in global four-day workweek experiments say the new arrangement led to reduced burnout, as well as benefits for their health, finances and relationships. A majority of bosses rated their overall experience well, saying business performance and productivity remained high, revenue increased and turnover dropped.

So far, many conversations around the viability of a four-day week tend to center around office workers, though the Glassdoor data shows how scheduling flexibility — and in particular reduced working days — could benefit front-line workers.

"We should also keep in mind that, particularly for health care, we should not conflate a workday with an eight-hour 9-to-5 schedule," Terrazas says. "Many health-care workers are accustomed to working longer continuous hours from their medical training."

Meanwhile, those in legal, accounting and finance roles say a shortened week would not boost their productivity.

By gender, women (88%) were more likely than men (75%) to say they'd get more done from a shorter workweek.

"For many women, the expectation to juggle family and child-care responsibilities alongside their careers forces a rigorous focus on making the most out of every moment of their day," Terrazas says. "I suspect we're seeing a similar phenomenon here: Time constraints often force a ruthless prioritization of what matters most."

Want to be smarter and more successful with your money, work & life? Sign up for our new newsletter!

Get CNBC's free Warren Buffett Guide to Investing, which distills the billionaire's No. 1 best piece of advice for regular investors, do's and don'ts, and three key investing principles into a clear and simple guidebook.

Check out: Congressman wants to make 32-hour workweek U.S. law to ‘increase the happiness of humankind’

Copyright CNBC
Contact Us

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

What did a survey on 4-day workweek conducted in Hong Kong show?

61% of respondents said employers could implement a four-day workweek to improve employees' mental health.

What did surveys conducted in London before and after the experiment of 4-day workweek  find?

54% of employees had better balance of work and home responsibilities

What has a Gallup Poll found out about the prospect of 4-day workweek?

46% of American employees said it will have an "extremely positive" impact.

77% of American employees believe that it will have a positive impact on their health

What has the implementation 4-day wrokweek in Dubai, UAE indicated?

Increase in employee and customer satisfaction.

What were the results of UAE's trial of 4-day workday?

A 90% increase in job performance, happiness, and mental health.

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

What did a survey on 4-day workweek conducted in Hong Kong show?

61% of respondents said employers could implement a four-day workweek to improve employees' mental health.

What did surveys conducted in London before and after the experiment of 4-day workweek  find?

54% of employees had better balance of work and home responsibilities

What has a Gallup Poll found out about the prospect of 4-day workweek?

46% of American employees said it will have an "extremely positive" impact.

77% of American employees believe that it will have a positive impact on their health

What has the implementation 4-day wrokweek in Dubai, UAE indicated?

Increase in employee and customer satisfaction.

What were the results of UAE's trial of 4-day workday?

A 90% increase in job performance, happiness, and mental health.

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

What did a survey on 4-day workweek conducted in Hong Kong show?

61% of respondents said employers could implement a four-day workweek to improve employees' mental health.

What did surveys conducted in London before and after the experiment of 4-day workweek  find?

54% of employees had better balance of work and home responsibilities

What has a Gallup Poll found out about the prospect of 4-day workweek?

46% of American employees said it will have an "extremely positive" impact.

77% of American employees believe that it will have a positive impact on their health

What has the implementation 4-day wrokweek in Dubai, UAE indicated?

Increase in employee and customer satisfaction.

What were the results of UAE's trial of 4-day workday?

A 90% increase in job performance, happiness, and mental health.

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

What did a survey on 4-day workweek conducted in Hong Kong show?

61% of respondents said employers could implement a four-day workweek to improve employees' mental health.

What did surveys conducted in London before and after the experiment of 4-day workweek  find?

54% of employees had better balance of work and home responsibilities

What has a Gallup Poll found out about the prospect of 4-day workweek?

46% of American employees said it will have an "extremely positive" impact.

77% of American employees believe that it will have a positive impact on their health

What has the implementation 4-day wrokweek in Dubai, UAE indicated?

Increase in employee and customer satisfaction.

What were the results of UAE's trial of 4-day workday?

A 90% increase in job performance, happiness, and mental health.

Equity concerns arise because not all roles can adopt a 4‑day week.

Title:

Content: Go to main content
Advertisement
Live broadcast
Main slide
Beginning of the article
Voice-over text
Highlight the main
INCLUDING
off
The majority (81%) of Russian companies support the idea of reducing the working week to four days, while only 4% consider this possibility in the coming years, according to a study by hh.ru (Izvestia).
The main advantage of the four-day plan is the reduction of burnout among employees, the main drawback is the need to cut wages.
Today, business in Russia is not ready for such changes due to the insufficiently stable economy, experts say.
Nothing interferes
The reduction of the working week, advocated by 81% of employers, mainly supports large business.
However, the transition to such a schedule in the next three years is considered by only 4% of companies.
Even fewer are already working in a reduced week - this was told by 1% of companies with less than 50 and more than 3 thousand employees.
Such results were shown by a survey of the HeadHunter service, conducted in May among almost 700 enterprises at the request of Izvestia.
Economically, a shortened working week means a more flexible approach to the formation of a wage fund and increasing employee loyalty.
In the operational business, as well as the entire economy, continues to be under the influence of deep transformational processes caused by external circumstances.
Companies are not yet ready for another factor of possible tension in unstable current conditions, - explained the main expert on the labor market hh.ru Natalia Danina.
Photo: Getty Images / Matthias Kulka
The main advantages in the transition to a four-day period were the reduction of burnout of employees and more efficient use of working time.
In turn, the main disadvantage is the need to reduce wages for employees.
Among the risks, they also noted a reduction in productivity and bureaucratic difficulties.
Reducing the working week can favorably contribute to the development of the company, said the Director of personnel and organizational development of the service "Rabota.ru" Julia Sanina.
For example, the productivity of employees can increase by increasing their free time.
However, it is possible that the business will need additional staff to ensure continuous operation, and this, in turn, additional costs, the expert noted.
According to Article 91 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, normal working hours cannot exceed 40 hours per week.
That is, now nothing in the regulatory field does not prevent to switch to a four-day, having organized a shift schedule, said the head of the expert center for labor relations and labor protection of Business Russia, co-founder of the SRG group of companies Vitaly Fedin.
It is worth noting that in recent years there has been a trend of actual increase in working hours.
The corporate culture of Russian business often suggests that employees in offices significantly recycle and the schedule is stretched to 45-50 hours per week, the expert added.
Photo: Getty Images / Thomas Barwick
The four-day work week is something to strive for in the near future, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council, told reporters in January 2022.
He added that it is necessary to make such a decision as the economic prerequisites mature, for individual industries and industries, and based on the general economic situation in the country.
Earlier it was reported that Kazakhstan is going to introduce a four-day period from July 1 of this year.
Amendments to the Labor Code have already been approved by the President of the country.
A similar experiment was also conducted in the UK, Belgium and other EU countries.
“Izvestia ” sent a request to the Ministry of Labor.
Transition to three years
As a rule, the shortened week was previously introduced in developed countries to manage the unemployment rate or against the background of the formation of a structural shortage of personnel, said Natalia Danina from hh.ru.
This was also done to “cool ” production cycles in the absence of demand or transfer the creation of products to other countries.
Recent examples of the introduction of four-day experiments are typical mainly for large technology giants, she stressed.
The desire to balance work and personal life intensified during the pandemic, when a huge number of people had the opportunity to work remotely, said Aghvan Mikaelyan, a member of the Board of Directors of the audit and consulting network FinExpertiza.
— Today, the global transition to a four-day period would be difficult to implement.
This requires either a significant increase in productivity, or a reduction in wages, or an increase in the cost of production.
So, to reduce the working week to four days, that is, by 20%, provided that wages are maintained at the same level, a proportional increase in the productivity of all employees would be required, the expert explained.
Photo: Izvestia / Konstantin Kokoshkin
It is not difficult to switch to a four-day period, it is enough to fix it by law, says Alexander Isaevich, CEO of the SME Corporation.
According to him, it is important that this was an additional option, not an obligation, since Russian citizens are accustomed to a certain level of service and want to receive services all seven days a week, and sometimes even at night.
The expert added that in the matter of reducing the working week, everything depends on the business sector.
For example, there are areas with continuous work, such as security activities, production and others.
Russia today is not ready for the introduction of the four-day plan.
There are serious problems with the structure of the workforce.
Despite the low unemployment rates, a significant part of the employed work at fractional rates for low salaries, and the shortage of personnel is combined with the lack of vacancies in depressed territories and in a number of sectors, ” said Aghvan Mikaelyan.
At the beginning of the adaptation to the new schedule, productivity may temporarily subside, so the transition to a four-day in Russia should be gradual and consistent, taking into account the specifics of business sectors, said Dmitry Puchkov, Director for Development of the Avito Work Platform.
According to the expert, the process of transition to a four-day period in the country can take from one to three years.

Business continuity challenges due to fragmented workforce.

Title:

Content: Work life

Summer Fridays walked so the four-day workweek could run

Employees are now in favor of flexibility over temporary time off.

· 3 min read

Level up your career and your life with Sidekick

Career advice, productivity hacks, entertainment, and more. If it’s worth your time, it’s in here.

What’s top of mind at the water cooler.

The legend of the Summer Friday: Once upon a time, for three sacred months every year between Memorial Day and Labor Day, employees were allowed to clock out after lunch every Friday and head immediately to the bar.

It’s said that the tradition started in NYC in the ’60s as companies searched for ways to boost employee productivity and morale during the summer months. (There’s even a brand named after it!) If you were lucky enough to work somewhere that offered this perk (usually publishing or advertising), your weekend started with midday happy hours and early bird beach days while friends at less generous corporations smoldered with jealousy.

But with the push toward remote work, Summer Fridays have become a ghost of workplace past as they may have ushered in something even better: the four-day workweek.

As companies scrambled to deal with office closures during the pandemic, most work suddenly became remote. Facing Covid variant after variant and a resistance to returning to the office, some employers like tech companies Bolt and Buffer opted to permanently remove a day from the workweek to better suit employee needs. A jumbo Summer Friday! Perfect, right?

Unfortunately, the exact logistics of the four-day workweek have been tricky. Who can and can’t participate? Does the four-day workweek mean longer working hours? What happens if there’s still work to be done once Friday rolls around?

To get some insight, Sidekick spoke with Alicia Garcia, chief culture officer at MasterControl and Jes Osrow, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) expert and founder of The Rise Journey consultancy, who had these thoughts to share:

  • Fixed schedules ≠ productivity. While a five-day, nine-to-five workweek has worked for most US-based companies, that doesn’t mean employees produce their best work during that time.
  • Flexibility is king. “The biggest issue with policies like the four-day workweek or Summer Fridays is that they’re still rigid. Whether it’s a four-day or five-day workweek, the exact days and times employees are required to work are fixed…When approached by employees, the most common request is ‘flexibility,’” said Garcia.
  • Flexibility isn’t an option for everyone. “We’re not thinking about essential workers, we’re not thinking about folks on the ground, and we’re not thinking about grocery store owners. It’s important to recognize that even though we do talk the big talk about a four-day workweek, it only applies to a small fraction of workers in the US and/or globally,” Osrow explained.

As the highly discussed ✨future of work✨ continues to develop, employees are looking for more flexibility. Whether that means working remotely from far-flung corners of the world or logging off a little early to go pick your children up from daycare—employers should take notes, not dictate them.—MW

Level up your career and your life with Sidekick

Career advice, productivity hacks, entertainment, and more. If it’s worth your time, it’s in here.

Implementation requires extensive communication and strong leadership support.

Title:

Content: Brazil test week closed 3 September from some companies trial
Central News Agency
To improve the quality of life of employees, Brazil will test the possibility of working four days a week, use 80% of the time and maintain 100% productivity under the same salary conditions, and the 15 companies participating in the trial will decide how to implement the plan from September.
This is an advertisement, please continue reading.
Nonprofit organization 4 Day Week Global and Brazilian think tank Reconnect _ Happiness at Work today announced at a press conference in Sao Paulo that 15 Brazilian companies will pilot a four-day week starting in September.
Generally speaking, the working day in Brazil is Monday to Friday, and only special industries work on Saturdays and Sundays, and the maximum working hours can not exceed 44 hours per week, 8 hours per day, and overtime can not exceed 2 hours.
The four-day workweek initiative, launched in New Zealand in 2019 and gaining more traction during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been tested so far in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Australia and other countries, and the model will be carried out in Brazil by Global Four Days a Week in partnership with Reconnect _ Happiness at Work.
According to Global 4 Days a Week, nearly 500 companies around the world test the possibility of working four days a week, and employees must commit to using 80% of the time and 100% of the time under the same salary conditions to improve their quality of life.
Gabriela Brasil, director of Global 4 Days a Week, stressed that the challenges of the initiative are not limited to local labor laws, but also a strong corporate and employee attendance culture, which will require extensive communication and adequate support from leadership to ensure employees feel safe and confident in the new work model.
The 15 participating companies will decide for themselves how to implement the plan and how many departments will enter the pilot phase, and with the help of the Global 4 Days a Week, they will meet from September 5 to learn the basic concepts and steps of the project.
Renata Rivetti, founder of Reconnect and a specialist in corporate happiness, points out that it takes three months to redesign the workflow, and everything has to be done with great care, not only to propose a reduction in workload, but also to propose a new business model with results.
The pilot program began in December, and data on project performance was collected after 3 months.
The whole process ends after 6 months and the numbers are measured again.
Data from participating companies worldwide show that compared to the previous year, 36% improved performance, 42% reduced layoffs, 68% reduced employee burnout, 54% increased productivity, and 63% were more likely to attract talent.
The data confirm that the health and motivation of employees are higher, which brings higher productivity and greater profits to the company. When the company reduces the work pressure of employees and becomes more humane, the productivity of employees will also increase. (Editor: Zhang Zhixuan) 1120831
This is an advertisement, please continue reading.

Redesigning workflows and new business models takes about three months.

Small firms lack resources for shift.

What challenges will the companies with diverse workforce have for implementing 4-day workweek??

Lack of resouces to support shift for sall comppanies

Sector‑specific challenges: shift workers, customer‑facing roles.

What did Labor economist Jonathan Boys say about 4-day workweek?

Food and beverage industry may face more problems.

Healthcare industry may face more problems.

What did Labor economist Jonathan Boys say about 4-day workweek?

Food and beverage industry may face more problems.

Healthcare industry may face more problems.

What did Labor economist Jonathan Boys say about 4-day workweek?

Food and beverage industry may face more problems.

Healthcare industry may face more problems.

Policy support needed: childcare subsidies, tax incentives.

Iceland 2015‑2019 trial: 2,500 participants, 35‑36 hours, full pay, improved well‑being, 86% gained permanent right.

UK 6‑month pilot: 30 companies, 9.5‑hour days, higher productivity, lower turnover, 1.4% profit rise.

Microsoft Japan 2019 trial: 40% productivity, 23% energy, 60% printing, 50% meeting cuts.

Title:

Content: Go to main content
Live broadcast
Main slide
Beginning of the article
Weekend outfit: when should the Russians rest
2022-04-29 16: 24: 12
Voice-over text
Highlight the main
INCLUDING
off
According to surveys, 40% of Russians are ready for the long May holidays to abandon the long New Year holidays, 60% would like to rest longer in the winter.
How to determine how many days off workers need to recover and at what time of the year — figured out “Izvestia ”.
When Russians want to rest
The service “Rabota.ru ” interviewed in April 3 thousand users of the portal from all regions of Russia to find out how they relate to the May holidays.
It turned out that 14% of respondents are going to extend their weekend, taking a vacation between the May holidays.
72% decided not to do so, and the rest at the time of the survey did not decide on plans for three working days between May 1 and 9.
At the same time, 68% of the study participants would like the May holidays to continue from May 1 to May 10 without a break, only 32% were against.
40% of respondents would agree to abandon the long New Year holidays in favor of long May holidays, 60% would like to leave everything as it is.
Photo: TASS / Kirill Kukhmar
A similar survey was conducted by SuperJob.
The results are similar: of the 1,600 representatives of the economically active population with permanent jobs interviewed, 13% of all districts of the country reported that they would take a vacation between the May holidays.
At the same time, Russians with an income of more than 80 thousand rubles want to extend their vacation on holidays, and more often men than women.
According to SuperJob, similar results are obtained annually - last year, 13% of working citizens also reported a desire to take a few days of vacation between the May holidays.
On the question of whether it is worth exchanging long winter holidays for other vacation options, SuperJob interviewed its users at the end of December 2021 - when the leader of the LDPR Vladimir Zhirinovsky proposed to cancel the fixed New Year holidays and add these weekends to the vacations of Russians.
Then the initiative to refuse the New Year holidays was supported by about the same 38% of Russians.
Moreover, the right to rest in January was more often defended by people older than 45 years.
Why extend the May holidays
One of the latest proposals for the May holidays came in early April from the Deputy speaker of the state Duma Vladislav Davankov, who called for the extension of the May holidays in 2022 from 1 to 10 may, as it “will help people prepare food for the fall ”, so that“ food security was in order this fall. ”
He recalled that last year the May holidays were extended due to the pandemic.
At the same time, the deputy said that it is not proposed to constantly make the weekend in May long, since entrepreneurs have problems in this regard.
Later, Davankov said that he received a response from the government on his initiative - at the federal level, the proposal was not supported, but allowed each region to prolong the holidays independently.
This proposal was listened to only in the Republic of Adygea - the local Ministry of Labor reported that the days off will be from May 1 to 5 and from May 7 to 10.
There was only one working day, May 6.
This is explained by the fact that the republican non-working holidays of Uraza Bayram and the Day of Remembrance of the Dead (Radonitsa) (May 2 and 3) coincided with federal holidays, so they were moved to May 4 and 5.
Photo: Izvestia / Dmitry Korotaev
But in general, legislators and regions reacted negatively to the idea of additional days off.
Thus, the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on labor Yaroslav Nilov said that the additional weekend will be a serious burden on the Russian economy.
Other deputies pointed out that not for all regions May is the time to sow fields, but there are supporters of this approach to the May holidays.
How many weekends do people need?
Associate Professor of the Department of Labor and Social Policy of the Institute of Public Service and Management (IGSU) of the RANEPA Konstantin Dobromyslov notes that according to tradition, weekends in May in Russia are considered more important, since at this time there is a sowing season.
“But to make a decision, it is necessary to conduct political and economic studies aimed at studying the impact of holidays on the country ’ s economy, ” he told Izvestia.
He believes that it is not necessary to specifically review the number of holidays, and the practice of postponing weekends allows us to form a “normal cycle of the state ’ s life, depending on economic, political, epidemiological and other situations. ”
— Discussing a possible reduction or increase in the number of holidays, of course, you need to proceed from socio-economic expediency, — said Dobromyslov. — Russia is not resting in a single impulse — we have continuous production, watches, transport, medical services, commercial enterprises, entertainment industry, museums, theaters.
These areas continue to work regardless of holidays and weekends, thanks to which a certain economic balance is created: while one part of the population rests, the other gets the opportunity to earn money.
Photo: TASS / Sergey Savostyanov
He believes that in the light of the discussion on the reduction of the working week, the issue of January and May holidays is not relevant at all - the duration of these holidays should be determined annually depending on the current situation.
Sociologist Sergei Talanov also agrees that any decisions should be made on the basis of scientific and economic research.
– It is necessary to take into account, and sociological surveys show that the majority of our working citizens are more important than high incomes, and not long weekends, – he said in an interview with Izvestia. – If we talk about the New Year and May holidays, then rest from December 31 to January 7 and from May 1 to May 3, and then May 9 – this is quite enough to restore your strength and not particularly break your usual working rhythm.
Deputy Head of the Federal Center for Mediation, Chairman of the All-Russian Trade Union of Mediators Vladimir Kuznetsov believes that the motives for changing the number of holidays can be purely economic.
“To illustrate, we can cite the example of India: there, public holidays cost a billion rupees (about $25 million) — 21 official plus an additional 9-10 in each state, ” he told Izvestia.
Vladimir Kuznetsov points out that approaches to this issue in different countries really differ greatly, and cites the opinion of the Malaysian political economist Charles Santiago, who noted that a large number of official non-working days for the majority of the population of Malaysia is “a welcome and often the only opportunity to take a break from hard work. ”
Photo: TASS / Anatoly Zhdanov
Those businessmen who complain about the excessive number of holidays, Santiago believes, should understand that “rested workers are also an increase in labor productivity.
And in the long term – an undoubted benefit for the economy of the country as a whole, ” — quotes Kuznetsov. — Consequently, the approach to determining the number of holidays can be due to both national characteristics and the economic structure of a particular state, and speaking of Russia, it can be noted that it is still advisable to maintain the current number of holidays in the year.
Elena Heifetz, a leading analyst in the Economics and Social Development section of the CSR, notes that there are 14 non-working holidays in Russia, and this figure is significantly higher than in more economically developed countries: in Germany — 13, in the UK — 9, in the United States — 10.
— The exception is Japan, where the number of public non-working days is 15, but it must be taken into account that these days are compensation for a small paid vacation, which is 10 days, — she told “Izvestia ”. — In Russia, the duration of annual paid vacation is 28 calendar days, and for certain categories — more.
How Holidays Affect the Economy
“It is obvious that lengthening the May holidays without reducing winter or other holidays is not feasible in the current economic situation, ” says Elena Heifetz. – On average, one non-working day costs the country about 200 billion rubles, so it is impractical to increase the burden on the economy.
At the same time, she says, the postponement of winter holidays to May can be considered as a reasonable decision due to the fact that most Russian citizens take leave on May 4-8.
— It is impossible to say unequivocally that the day off / holiday is a loss for the economy, — believe in the Accounts Chamber. — For many sectors, weekends are, on the contrary, the most favorable time.
For example, for cafes and restaurants, hotels.
For some sectors, there is not much difference between holidays and working days – for example, in enterprises with a continuous production cycle.
Photo: TASS / Gavriil Grigorov
The department told Izvestia that it did not conduct relevant studies, but in general, in accordance with the principles of evidence-based policy, studies confirming the effectiveness of the transfer are needed to resolve the issue of changing the structure of weekends.
Such data could show whether post-holiday productivity gains offset economic losses by fewer working days.
The Department of International and Regional Cooperation of the Accounts Chamber reported that attempts to study the problem of the impact of holidays on the country's economy were carried out in other countries.
At the same time, it is stipulated that this issue in fact remains insufficiently studied in world practice.
— Existing studies do not allow to draw an unambiguous conclusion about the positive or negative economic effect, — noted in the Department. — The results of such studies are often contradictory.
For example, in 2015, PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia (PWC) assessed how the introduction of two days off in Victoria — Easter Sunday and Friday before the Australian Football League Grand Final — would affect the economic development of the state.
Production losses or economic costs were estimated at 717-898 million Australian dollars (about $628 million).
Also, the introduction of non-working days led to an increase in salary payments in the amount of 252 million to 286 million Australian dollars per year ($179 – 203 million) for those who were forced to work on holidays.
But this fact did not have a negative impact on the state economy, since it meant only the redistribution of funds from employer to employee.
On the other hand, positive factors were noted that can partially compensate for economic losses.
Annual in-state tourism spending increased by AUD $17 – 51 million ($12 – 35 million), as well as spending on sports events by AUD $7 – 49 million ($5 – 35 million).
Such a less obvious aspect as the individual benefit of citizens from additional free time was also analyzed.
The value of this time is calculated in the range of 50 to 100% of average earnings and, according to PWC, amounted to 156 – 312 million Australian dollars ($110 – 221 million).
Photo: TASS / Sergey Malgavko
An attempt to assess the impact of holidays on the UK economy in 2020 was made by the BBC.
It was concluded that the positive effect will extend mainly to the sphere of trade, tourism and leisure - one day off contributes to the growth of income of small shops in the country by an average of 253 pounds sterling.
In 2019, two additional holidays increased the profits of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK by £118 million.
However, the overall extent of the losses of the British economy was not analyzed.
The Department of International and Regional Cooperation of the Accounts Chamber indicates that the experience of individual foreign companies in introducing a four-day working week may be relevant in the context of studying this problem.
So, in 2019, Microsoft tested such a working mode in the framework of the “Summer competition Work-Life Choice Challenge 2019 ” in Japan.
On Fridays, employees were given a weekend without a pay cut, and it turned out that the productivity of one employee increased by almost 40%.
However, the company said that a number of other factors contributed to this.
There were other positive effects of the four-day week – a 23% reduction in energy consumption, a reduction in print volumes by almost 60%, a reduction in the duration of workshops by almost 50% – from 1 hour to 30 minutes.
- Analysis of the experience of foreign countries shows that the introduction of additional non-working days leads to financial losses on the scale of the national economy, - noted in the Accounts Chamber. - Nevertheless, part of the losses is compensated by increasing costs of citizens.
As a result, there is an increase in some sectors of the economy - mainly the sphere of recreation and tourism.
It would be possible to assess the need for long vacations from the point of view of medicine – when is it more useful to rest?
But even here everything is not clear, says the doctor-therapist, endocrinologist, cardiologist, deputy chief physician of the clinic "Mprofico" Alexey Zhito.
- Someone likes winter holidays and can spend them qualitatively, - he told "Izvestia". - And others, for example, in the May holidays is simply bad - because of allergies, it would be convenient for them to change the place at the time of flowering and fly away from their allergens.
Zhito emphasizes that 10 days is a good time to have a good rest and gain strength, but a lot here depends on each person individually.
Read also

Bolt adopted a 4‑day week; 84% employees reported higher productivity and better work‑life balance.

Title:

Content: My channel
* Drag categories can be customized sorting
Recover Default OK
Setup
Alert
Mao Zedong ’ s daughter-in-law Liu Siqi has died at the age of 92.
A Texas mom who was diagnosed with his son's infection in the car pulled him into the back of the car.
San Francisco Startup Permanently Implemented Employees: Increased Efficiency
San Francisco unicorn startup Bolt announces new employee benefits: a permanent four-day workweek.
The e-commerce development company trialed the system last fall, and the results were very positive.
“I can ’ t think of a better way to run this company, ” said Ryan Breslow, founder and CEO.
Breslow said that with the implementation of the program, the company has increased productivity, streamlined workflows, and employees are happy.
At the end of the three-month pilot program, Bolt conducted an opinion survey and 94% of employees and 91% of management wanted the program to continue.
In addition, 84% of employees reported increased productivity, 86% reported increased productivity, and 84% found a better work-life balance.
Breslow noted that the idea is not to increase the number of hours employees work, but to increase their productivity.
After the implementation of the plan, the concentration of employees during working hours has increased significantly.
“Many companies are like ‘ theater ’ where people care more about appearances than the work itself, so there are endless meetings and endless reports, ” Breslow added.
In this case, it is impossible to exclude noise from the core of the problem. "
With 550 full-time employees, Bolt is one of the few companies in the United States to implement a four-day workweek.
Supporters of the system hope that this approach will be adopted by more businesses, especially at a time when the focus is on attracting and retaining employees.
Millions of people in the United States have quit their jobs in the Great Resignation over the past few months, a record 4.5 million last November alone.
Joe O ’ Connor, Global Experiment Program Manager at 4 Day Week Global, said: “The companies we ’ ve helped transition to a four-day week say it ’ s significantly broadened the pool of potential candidates. ”
In fact, in July last year, Members of the United States introduced a bill to reduce the working week from the standard 40 hours to 32 hours, but no progress has been made.
The four-day work week is not applicable to all businesses, because the business model of each company is different.
“It should be seen as a starting point for how companies can work smarter and more efficiently, ” O ’ Connor said.
San Francisco Theatre Benefits
The last one.
New crown inspection box to recruit packers to provide lobster steak lunch and dinner
The next one.
World News Tiger Year Carnival Low Price Treasure Buying New Year Food, Drink, Play and Get Prizes
Super-popular
More >

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?

Which company in San Francisco has announced a permanent 4-day workweek?

New Zealand 2019 pilot: 500 companies, 80% time, pay unchanged; 36% rise, 68% burnout drop.

What did  the trial of 4-day workwee in New Zealand show?