The four‑day workweek is advancing worldwide through pilots and policy experiments in Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Scotland, Iceland, the UK, Portugal, the United States, and Brazil.

In the UK, 21% of businesses had adopted a four‑day week for all staff in 2021 and 65% had adopted it for some workers, underscoring rapid diffusion.

Portugal launched a government‑funded trial with 39 companies on a 100‑80‑100 model (100% pay for 80% time with a commitment to 100% output) to reduce stress and burnout.

A major UK pilot with 61 companies in 2022 found that by 2023, 89% continued the four‑day week and 51% made it permanent, with sustained benefits a year later.

Another UK pilot with 70 companies and 3,300 employees applied the 100‑80‑100 model to assess impacts on productivity, well‑being, environment, and gender equality.

In Iceland, large‑scale trials improved productivity and well‑being, and about 90% of the workforce now has reduced hours.

Belgium allows a four‑day week within the 38‑hour cap, while Germany shows strong public appetite, with 71% of workers favoring a shorter week.

Brazil is piloting a four‑day week with 15 firms at 80% time for 100% productivity and the same salary.

In the US, a third of companies are exploring four‑day schedules and 30% are considering them to retain talent.

Across 60 companies and 3,000 workers globally, productivity held steady, revenue rose 1.4% on average, absenteeism fell, resignations dropped sharply, and nine in ten firms planned to continue.

Microsoft Japan reported a 40% productivity gain during a four‑day week experiment, and Perpetual Guardian in New Zealand recorded a 20% productivity increase on a 32‑hour week.

In one set of company results, average revenue growth was 1% during a three‑day weekend trial, while in another, 24 companies reported 34% revenue growth over six months.

Well‑being gains are consistent: in large UK trials, 71% reported less burnout, 39–40% reported less stress, and sick days dropped by up to 65%.

Resignations declined by 57% in one trial, and most companies maintained or improved productivity while planning to keep the four‑day week.

Employee health and finances improved in UK pilots, with bosses rating outcomes positively and business performance remaining high.

A prominent UK case (Atom Bank) saw job applications surge 500%, engagement rise 13%, days lost to sickness fall 28%, and customer ratings improve after introducing a four‑day week.

Gender and equity effects are noteworthy: women reported better burnout and life satisfaction, men took on more housework and childcare, and non‑work duties were more balanced.

However, benefits are not uniform across occupations; for example, legal workers did not see productivity gains, and sector‑specific tailoring is required.

Front‑line workers can benefit from scheduling flexibility, though feasibility depends on coverage models and demand patterns.

Meeting customer demand is the top implementation challenge, cited by 75% of employers, and smaller firms may struggle with an overnight shift.

Industries with continuous customer or patient needs (e.g., healthcare and other customer‑facing sectors) face greater constraints, though some healthcare workers could benefit from reduced burnout.

Manufacturing experiences are mixed but promising in some cases, with one UK manufacturer offering a 36‑hour four‑day week where 50% reported better productivity and 83% felt happier.

Nonprofits and tech firms, as well as smaller organizations, tend to adopt four‑day weeks more readily than large enterprises due to easier logistics and output measurability.

Equity concerns persist: the four‑day week may disproportionately favor white‑collar workers, risk fragmenting labor markets, and may not reach low‑paid labor without careful design.

Some contexts report risks of longer daily hours, fewer breaks, and increased work pressure or pay pressures if productivity does not keep pace.

In Russia, 81% of companies support the idea for burnout reduction but warn wage cuts may be needed, while Kazakhstan plans to introduce a four‑day workweek, highlighting varied readiness.

Implementation quality is decisive, with some employees reporting increased burnout, unchanged work‑life balance, or heavier workloads when changes are poorly executed.

Best‑practice implementation relies on clear rules, measurable goals, aligned expectations, cross‑team schedule transparency, and continuous feedback loops.

Pilots and phased reductions help organizations test viability, gather data, and adapt workflows before broader rollout.

The 100‑80‑100 framework is a practical baseline that many trials use to protect pay while focusing managers and teams on outcomes.

AI and automation can offset time reductions by streamlining routine work, with companies using AI 90% more likely to report productivity gains and administrative time falling by 15% in some pilots.

Firms report cost savings (66%), and strategies like clear communication, trust, goal‑setting, and flexible staffing patterns help sustain customer service.

Organizations should track success using a balanced scorecard of productivity, revenue, customer satisfaction, staff turnover, absenteeism, stress and burnout, sleep and health, and commuting and energy use.

In one UK program, business productivity averaged 7.5/10, revenue rose 35% during trial periods, absenteeism fell, and most companies chose to continue the model.

Policy momentum is visible as well, including proposals like the US 32‑Hour Workweek Act, even as no country has fully mandated a four‑day week nationwide.

Overall, evidence from multi‑country pilots indicates that a well‑designed four‑day workweek can maintain or raise output, improve well‑being, lower turnover and absenteeism, and strengthen recruitment, while requiring careful sector‑specific design to address customer coverage, equity, and operational continuity.

The four‑day workweek is advancing worldwide through pilots and policy experiments in Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Scotland, Iceland, the UK, Portugal, the United States, and Brazil.

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Which European countries have implemented a system of four days a week with employees keeping their salaries?
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By: Euronews
Which European countries have implemented a four-day working week with employees retaining their salaries - Copyright Frank Cilius / AP
When the Coronavirus epidemic spread across Europe, many organizations adopted more flexible work plans through telecommuting, and other countries were quick to consider reducing working days, in order to give employees the flexibility to combine work and family life, by conducting experiments and studies that go hand in hand with the demands of the labor market and to motivate employees to be more productive in their workplace.
What do advocates say about working four days a week?
Advocates of the idea of working four days a week, an important way to enable employees to focus on their family and private lives, considering that employee comfort contributes to improving the quality of work and achieving satisfaction.
Trade unions across Europe have called on governments to work four days a week.
Which European countries have adopted a four-day working week or are planning to adopt it?
Belgium
In Belgium, workers will soon be able to work four days a week instead of the current five, provided the 38-hour working week does not change.
Last month, the country ’ s coalition government agreed that the new “labor market ” deal would include a series of measures that would provide more flexibility for employees to do their jobs.
Employees who want to work four days will be given the possibility to work more hours a day in exchange for an extra day off during the week.
In this case, the weekly rest days are limited to three days.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre De Croo hopes the measure will help “make the Belgian labor market more flexible, where employees will be able to reconcile their family and professional lives ” and explained that the new model should create a more dynamic economy.
"The goal is to give individuals and companies more freedom to arrange their work times," he said, adding that "if we compare our country to other countries, we will see that we are often less dynamic."
Sweden
In Sweden, a four-day work week with full pay was tested in 2015.
The proposal was to try out six-hour workdays instead of eight hours while keeping the salary the same, but not everyone was thrilled with the idea of spending money on the aforementioned experiment.
Even left-wing parties believe that implementing this plan on a large scale would be too costly for the state treasury.
But positive results were observed within the orthopaedic unit of a university hospital, which turned 80 nurses and doctors to work six hours a day and hired new staff to make up for the remaining time.
The response of the medical staff was positive, but the experiment also faced much criticism, however, some companies, such as automaker Toyota, chose to keep reduced working hours for workers.
Germany
The average working week in Germany is 34.2 hours.
Most jobs in Germany require working seven or eight hours a day, five days a week.
Last year, IG Metall, the country ’ s largest trade union, called for fewer work weeks, arguing that it would help keep jobs and avoid layoffs.
According to a survey by the Forsa survey institute, 71% of workers in Germany would like to apply the option of working four days a week.
SPAIN
In March 2021, the Spanish government approved the launch of a pilot project for companies interested in implementing the four-day (32-hour) week.
Earlier last year, Spain ’ s left-wing Mas Pais party announced that the government had accepted its proposal to test the idea, and has held talks since then.
Party leader Enigo Erijón said the debate on the four-day week had begun, adding: “It ’ s an idea whose time has come. ”
“Spain is one of the countries where workers work more hours than the average in Europe. ”
The pilot phase is set to last at least one year, but it is not yet clear when it will begin.
United Kingdom
In the UK, a six-month pilot programme was launched in January, where companies are looking at the impact of shorter working hours on the productivity of companies and the well-being of their workers, as well as the impact on the environment and gender equality.
So far, about 30 companies have signed up for the program, which starts in June this year and is overseen by researchers at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
Under the reform, employees will be allowed to work up to 9.5 hours a day, that is, from 9 a.m. to 6: 30 p.m., meaning the employees involved will be able to work four days a week and keep the salary the same without the slightest change.
Scotland
In Scotland, the experience associated with working four days a week is set to begin in 2023.
The government cited a recent survey conducted by the Public Policy Research Institute (IPPR) in Scotland, which showed that 80 per cent of people who responded to and participated in the survey gave very positive impressions of the initiative.
Respondents said the program would significantly boost their health and happiness.
Some Scottish companies have already started working four days a week, with Glasgow ’ s UPAC Group recently saying its employees will soon start working four days a week with the same salary and benefits after running a “successful pilot program, ” company officials said.
Iceland
Icelandic and British think tanks say the world ’ s biggest weekly workday reduction experiment has been a huge success.
More than 2,500 Icelanders participated in the experiment, which reduced their weekly working hours to between 35 and 36 hours (four days of weekly work) between 2015 and 2019 without reducing their salaries.
The researchers said the experiment improved workers' productivity and well-being, or at least kept it at normal levels at work five days a week.
According to the results of the study, approximately 90 per cent of the working population now perform their jobs on reduced hours.
The researchers found decreased levels of worker stress and burnout, and reported improvements in work-life balance conditions.

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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.

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You can't die of hunger, you can't live a good life.
CNN analysis: Iran deliberately caused the attack to fail "one of the most spectacular plays"
4 days a week? 30% of U.S. companies are looking to retain talent
Four days a week seems to be the trend. The non-profit organization 4 Day Week Global has participated in pilot projects in a number of countries, including the United States, Ireland, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and the results have proved to be good and have unexpected benefits.
Not only are office workers welcome, the boss is also considering the four-day work system.
A new survey of corporate CEOs by KPMG, the world ’ s top accounting and professional consulting firm, shows that nearly a third (30%) of large U.S. companies are exploring new work arrangements, working four or four and a half days a week.
Executives consider that in a hot workplace, many employees feel overworked and underpaid, and must find ways to attract and retain talent.
According to Gallup Poll, 77 percent of U.S. employees believe that working four days a week will have a positive impact on their health, with 46 percent saying it will have an "extremely positive" impact.
Last year, more than 40 companies in the United States and Canada participated in the "global four-day work" organization of four days a week pilot project, the results of the trial also satisfied the participating bosses that the four-day work system did not affect the company's income, employees' leave and sick days were reduced by 25%, and the company's internal time spent on administrative procedures was reduced by 15%.
But Paul Knopp, chairman and CEO of KPMG USA, said in an interview with CNN that it is too early to implement a four-day week, and that executives are working hard to find the best solution and will continue to experiment and adjust.
In addition, the shorter work week system is not applicable everywhere.
Knapp noted that while the four-day week might make sense for finance, marketing and some other office jobs, it doesn ’ t work for industries like health care.
He believes that a universal four-day workweek could take years, but that using artificial intelligence (AI) will make employees more efficient.
At present, AI can only automate daily tasks such as making presentations, emails, and writing reports, but in the future, generative AI may make four-day work a reality.
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Content: 70 companies in the UK have started a four-day workweek.
Harbin News Agency / Nursultan / June 7 – According to the British "Guardian" reported by Chinanews.com, on the 6th local time, more than 3,300 employees in 70 British companies began to experiment with a four-day work week, with a trial period of six months.
This is the world ’ s largest attempt at this new model of work.
According to the report, the trial was conducted in a “100: 80: 100 ” model, in which participants received 100% of their salary and worked 80% of their time, but the output of their work was still 100%.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are realizing that the new frontier of competition is quality of life, and that a shorter, output-oriented way of working is a tool that gives them a competitive advantage, ” said Joe O ’ Connor, CEO of the nonprofit Global Four Day Workday.
The researchers will work with each participating organization to measure the impact of the trial on corporate productivity and employee well-being, as well as on the environment and gender equality.
Juliet Schor, a professor of sociology at Boston College and lead researcher on the project, called it a “historic experiment. ”
"We will analyze how employees respond to an extra day of rest, including stress and burnout, job and life satisfaction, health, sleep, energy use, travel and life," she said.
The government-backed four-day work week trial will also begin in Spain and elsewhere later this year.
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Content: Brazil test week closed 3 September from some companies trial
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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.
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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
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In the UK, 21% of businesses had adopted a four‑day week for all staff in 2021 and 65% had adopted it for some workers, underscoring rapid diffusion.

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.

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Portugal launched a government‑funded trial with 39 companies on a 100‑80‑100 model (100% pay for 80% time with a commitment to 100% output) to reduce stress and burnout.

A major UK pilot with 61 companies in 2022 found that by 2023, 89% continued the four‑day week and 51% made it permanent, with sustained benefits a year later.

Title:

Content: UK companies test "4-day working week" workers generally agree that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages 51% permanent implementation
Author: Zhang Zijie
Published: Updated:
A number of UK companies are participating in a four-day workweek pilot scheme in the second half of 2022, with media reporting that most of the participating companies continue to allow employees to work fewer hours per week, and more than half of the companies have made the arrangement a regular measure.
The United Kingdom has 61 companies from marketing, professional services, non-profit organizations, construction, manufacturing, retail, health care, art and other industries, employees from June to December 2022, participate in the four-day work week, pay and performance of the same trial.
British citizens walk through the Canary Wharf Financial District on August 3, 2023. (Reuters)
As of the end of 2023, at least 89% of participating companies continued to maintain the measure, and at least 51% permanently implemented the measure, according to a report published by Autonomy, a think-tank that conducted the research.
The study found that shortening work hours generally benefits employees and businesses, who feel that their mental and physical health has improved, as well as a better balance between work and life, a better life, and less fatigue from work.
In addition, the managers and CEOs of the 28 participating companies unanimously agreed that the four-day work week has had a positive impact on the company, reducing staff wastage, significantly improving recruitment, and benefiting employees physically and mentally.
Sixty-one companies from different industries in the UK piloted a four-day work week in 2022, and the results were generally positive.
People enjoy a view of the City of London on 23 September 2023.
(Reuters)
The study, which listed a number of ways to maintain a four-day work week, including safety changes such as meetings, workplace communication, and work priorities, found that the improvements felt by employees continued for a year after the trial ended.
Researchers at Boston College, Cambridge, and Oxford University believe that the key to the strength of the data is not the rare or short-term impact, but the real and long-term impact.
Therefore, the four-day work week is not a flash in the sky, and British companies have succeeded in turning it into a permanent and effective measure.
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Another UK pilot with 70 companies and 3,300 employees applied the 100‑80‑100 model to assess impacts on productivity, well‑being, environment, and gender equality.

In Iceland, large‑scale trials improved productivity and well‑being, and about 90% of the workforce now has reduced hours.

Belgium allows a four‑day week within the 38‑hour cap, while Germany shows strong public appetite, with 71% of workers favoring a shorter week.

Brazil is piloting a four‑day week with 15 firms at 80% time for 100% productivity and the same salary.

In the US, a third of companies are exploring four‑day schedules and 30% are considering them to retain talent.

Title:

Content: Less work for the same pay won’t fly – but here’s a four-day week that might

According to CNN “4-day workweeks may be around the corner. A third of America’s companies are exploring them.” CNBC says: “This US company tested a 4-day workweek – and says it made workers happier and more productive.” Newsweek tells us: “Millennials Are Ready For a Four-Day Week.” So why do all of my clients say nope?

According to an advocacy organization, more than 300 companies have four-day workweeks and, per the reports above, many others are apparently “testing” the concept. I admit that I’ve spoken to none of these companies but I’m not sure I have to. I spend my life working with small and mid-sized businesses and I know a PR stunt when I see one. Hey, good for them. In these times of tight labor - it’s a great marketing campaign. “People! Come work for us except you don’t have to do as much work and we’ll still pay you the same!” Now that’s a company I want to work for.

Related: Yes, inflation has slowed, but business is still paying the price – and so are you

But ask any business owner about the four-day workweek and you’ll get the eye-roll. No employer who’s currently paying a worker $1,000 a week for 40 hours is going to agree to pay that same worker the same amount for a 32-hour week.

My firm has 600 clients. These companies slit paper, coat films, design strip malls, buy and sell auto parts online, mow lawns and repair roofs. They’re mostly owned by people who wake up at 5am and work till 7pm. They don’t have enough people to do the work needed. They don’t have enough money to pay for good health insurance, let alone a robot. Their parking lots need resurfacing, their internet needs upgrading and their coffee pots need to be replaced by Keurigs.

These businesses – like most their size - suffer when a single person calls out sick. Their owners are battling customers who don’t pay, suppliers who don’t deliver and services that don’t function. My little subset of clients – who represent a tiny sliver of the country’s 30m businesses – can’t fathom a four-day workweek. To them, this is a fairytale, a dream, a misguided workplace concept driven by media interest that is so unrealistic that few even pay attention to the stories about it.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for the four-day workweek. All this idea needs is a little bit of rebranding.

If you’re an advocate of the four-day workweek you’re going about this all wrong. Instead of working fewer hours for the same pay – which, again let me confirm, is never going to happen – you should be pushing for changes in work schedules. Many industries – like healthcare, home services and retail – allow flexibility in scheduling so that workers put in four 10-hour days and then have three days off. I know younger workers who have this arrangement at their employers and they love it. Working a 10-hour shift isn’t that much different than an eight-hour shift, but having three days off in a week makes a big difference.

This is the kind of four-day workweek an employer should embrace. Allowing your people more flexibility in their scheduling satisfies a very reasonable (and admirable) value championed by today’s younger generations to have a better work-life balance. They’re right about this and smarter than my generation. By adopting a more flexible 10-hour-day schedule your company can tout its own “four-day workweek” program to current and prospective employees and leverage the current news cycle to help retain and attract more talent.

There will always be wily politicians who will take up silly causes like the four-day workweek to fire up their base. There will always be companies aiming to grab the headlines. But here’s the reality: workers who think that corporate America is going to a four-day workweek anytime soon are dreaming. It’s not going to happen. Not in the foreseeable future. Probably not ever. It simply doesn’t make economic sense. But employers can be more flexible and should be if they want to recruit the best talent. That’s the kind of “four-day” workweek that does make sense to a businessperson.

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How many large American companies may implement 4-day workweek according to a survey of CEOs by KPMG?

How many large American companies may implement 4-day workweek according to a survey of CEOs by KPMG?

Across 60 companies and 3,000 workers globally, productivity held steady, revenue rose 1.4% on average, absenteeism fell, resignations dropped sharply, and nine in ten firms planned to continue.

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

Microsoft Japan reported a 40% productivity gain during a four‑day week experiment, and Perpetual Guardian in New Zealand recorded a 20% productivity increase on a 32‑hour week.

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More surveys
With the advent of new technologies and the introduction of digitalization, labor relations should be accompanied by processes of reducing labor time.
Why it is difficult to make predictions about the introduction of the “four-day ” in Russia
Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs Yaroslav Nilov said that the transition to a four-day working week is “a matter of the near future. ”
Candidate of Economic Sciences, President of the Association of Managers and Specialists in Human Resources Management of the Sverdlovsk Region, Head of the Department of Labor Economics and Human Resources Management of USUE Svetlana Dolzhenko explained what work schedule is optimal for most people, and why it is difficult to make predictions about the introduction of a “four-day ” in Russia.
In the Labor Code of Russia, the schedule of work is regulated by 91 articles, according to which the normal duration of the working week cannot exceed 40 hours.
This is due, among other things, to numerous scientific studies on the organization of work and the formation of a balance between work and personal life.
The logic is simple: time to rest should be enough to restore strength for subsequent effective activities.
At the same time, there are several options for working hours: for example, two after two, five-day and six-day working weeks or an incomplete one.
The idea of a four-day work week is not new.
Back in the twenties of the last century, Henry Ford, the founder of the automobile company, realized that well-rested workers work more productively.
At the moment, a reduced work schedule is successfully practiced abroad.
For example, Perpetual Guardian insurance company in New Zealand introduced a 32-hour work week a few years ago.
According to the results, workers not only manage to do the same amount of work in four days as in five, but also become more motivated (by 24%), and productivity increases by 20%.
Another example is Microsoft Japan.
There, with the introduction of a four-day work week, productivity increased by 40%.
For enterprises in Japan, this case is especially important, since it is in this country that the term “karoshi ” means death from processing.
Since the 1950s, Japan has become a benchmark for hard work around the world.
Japanese companies offered workers a lifetime job guarantee and high wages in exchange for irregular working hours and loyalty to superiors.
And business leaders got what they wanted — incredible productivity gains.
But over time, these conditions led to the opposite effect, people were too tired and could not perform their work qualitatively.
In Russia, the proposal to switch to a four-day working week was first put forward in 2019 at that time by the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev.
At the moment, making predictions about the reduction of the working week is quite difficult.
While the deputies did not present the bill, it is not clear how exactly it is proposed to change the regime: an 8-hour working day from Monday to Thursday or a weekly workload of 40 hours will be distributed over four days - a 10-hour working day will be introduced.
And in addition, it is not clear what will happen after the innovations with the salary - will be reduced in proportion to a decrease in the amount of time worked or will remain at the same level?
It is only obvious that with the advent of new technologies and the introduction of digitalization, labor relations should be accompanied, as they were centuries ago, by processes of reducing labor time.
This requires more flexible labor legislation, which in turn will definitely lead to an increase in labor productivity.
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A Psychologist Explores The ‘Shorter Workweek Paradox’

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Have you ever wished you never had to work on a Monday? Your dream might be closer than you think. The concept of reduced working hours is gaining traction globally as organizations and governments recognize the detrimental effects of long hours on employees and employers.

This perspective is catalyzing a shift toward rethinking and reducing work hours to promote healthier life practices. For instance, the post-pandemic adoption of hybrid work models contributed to the understanding that a healthy work-life balance boosts employee satisfaction and productivity. Shorter workweeks can be achieved in different ways. For example:

  • Four-day week. Apart from the weekend, you are also given a day off on Monday or Friday.
  • Fewer daily work hours. You still have to work a five-day workweek, with a reduction in your daily working hours.
  • Half-days off. You are given two afternoons off in a five-day workweek.

What Are The Benefits Of Reduced Working Hours?

In several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Spain, trials have been carried out to test the efficiency of shorter workweeks, highlighting the following benefits:

  1. Improved work performance. Shorter workweeks might encourage you to finish your work quicker and with fewer distractions. In 2020, Buffer, an American company, introduced four-day weeks. Based on their extensive trials, 34% of their employees felt more productive, resulting in Buffer permanently shifting to a four-day workweek in 2021. The reduced hours also incentivize you to be creative with your time and encourage efficiency. In their 2019 four-day workweek project, Microsoft Japan initiated collaborative online communication, reduced meetings to 30 minutes and limited meeting participants. Not only were the workers happier, they also experienced a 40% increase in productivity.
  2. Improved health and well-being. Having more time to recuperate from work can positively influence your well-being. A 2022 study found that upon reducing work hours to 30 hours per week, individuals experienced reduction in stress and sleep problems. A four-day week trial conducted in the USA and Ireland showed that employees experienced a 9% reduction in fatigue and 67% also experienced a drop in burnout levels.
  3. Higher life satisfaction. Shorter work hours and more free time tend to improve one’s perception of their life situation. A study in Sweden examined the effects of reduced work hours and canceled lunch breaks for nurses while retaining their wages. The participants reported greater life satisfaction and higher energy levels. “You get a life. I can say as much. You do get it, actually—it is unbelievable what a big difference these two hours make,” a participant explained.
  4. Better work-life balance. Reduced work hours can foster a healthy balance between work and leisure activities. A study found that reducing employees’ work hours while retaining their full pay led to positive work-life balance. They experienced more positive emotions before work, reduced work-related worries and improved relationships with partners, colleagues and their children.

While reduced working hours might seem like a revolutionary idea from afar, reality may be more complex up close. Which brings us to:

What Are The Potential Pitfalls Of Reduced Working Hours?

Here’s why ditching the time-tested five-day workweek needs to be considered carefully:

  1. Monetary issues. Some companies provide shorter workweeks with salary deductions. Employees might also face issues in wage regulations and overtime pay. These can adversely impact their living standards and savings. A 2022 study found that working reduced hours left 45% of individuals worried about having low future retirement income and 33% of individuals found it harder to make ends meet.
  2. Reduced employee bonding. The time crunch to complete tasks in less time can impede social aspects of the job. Some companies also shorten lunch breaks to compensate for missed hours. In such cases, employees rarely get to meet their colleagues and miss out on social interaction.
  3. Higher work pressure. Reducing work hours can increase strain on employees when implemented without foresight. A four-day workweek trial conducted in the UK found that work felt more intense for 36% of the employees. Forty-five percent of employees also felt that their productivity either remained the same as before or decreased in comparison.
  4. Short-term effects. Extensive research on reduced working hours has yet to establish its effectiveness in the long run. A 2022 Gallup survey revealed that the high well-being once associated with four-day workweeks leveled out to match that of the five-day workweek. Four-day workweeks also led to greater burnout than five-day workweeks.

Your desire for a shorter workweek is well-founded. However, initiating a conversation about reduced work hours with your team requires tact and consideration. You must engage in open dialogue, highlighting the potential benefits and addressing concerns to ensure a healthy consensus and eventually, a smooth transition to a work environment that accommodates diverse work styles.

Working less can improve your quality of life. It’s also important to find a “psychologically safe” workplace. Learn if your employer is meeting your needs by taking the evidence-based Psychological Safety Scale.

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

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

In one set of company results, average revenue growth was 1% during a three‑day weekend trial, while in another, 24 companies reported 34% revenue growth over six months.

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Study: Work-less Workers More Energetic and Focused
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed reducing the number of hours worked in a week from 40 to 32, or three days off a week; critics say that forcing the cut would force many companies to hire extra workers or reduce productivity.
Sanders said that thanks to advances in automation, robotics and artificial intelligence, companies can give employees more time off without cutting salaries and benefits.
A recent analysis of research also agrees with Saunders ’ claim that the results of the 32-hour workweek adopted by British companies show that while earnings remain stable or increase, employees are less stressed and more focused.
In 2022, a team of university researchers and non-profit organization 4 Day Week Global called on 61 companies to reduce their working hours without pay cuts over a six-month period, after which 71% of 2,900 employees reported feeling less tired and nearly half said they were more satisfied with their work.
At the same time, 24 participating research companies reported revenue growth of more than 34% in the first six months, while about 20 other companies reported smaller increases.
Juliet Shor, a professor of sociology at Boston College and lead researcher on British studies, told the Saunders Senate committee: “Most of the employees were more productive during the trial period, and they were more dynamic, focused and competent. ”
Critics say the 32-hour workweek may be useful for companies where employees spend most of their time using computers or meeting rooms, but it can have a severe impact on production in factories where employees are required to keep production lines running.
"These programs have consequences and don't work in many industries," Roger King of the HR Policy Association told the Senate committee.
Due to strong opposition from Republicans and some Democrats, Sanders' proposal is not expected to make much progress in the Senate, and the corresponding bill proposed by California Democratic Congressman Mark Takano is more likely to fail in the Republican-controlled House.
Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican, said paying the same wage for fewer hours would force employers to pass on the cost of hiring more labor to consumers, “which would threaten millions of small businesses because they can ’ t find enough workers and therefore have little profit. ”
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World ’ s largest 3-day weekend trial results significantly improve employee physical and mental health
Surveys show that taking 3 days off can significantly improve employee health, and it is also good for the company, including reduced turnover and absenteeism. Many companies participating in the trial said that they will take 3 days off on a daily basis.
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2023 / 02 / 21 11: 24
The United Kingdom launched the world ’ s largest 3-day weekend trial last year, after six months of experimental results, the survey shows that 3-day weekend can significantly improve employee health and benefits the company, including reduced turnover and absenteeism, many companies participating in the trial said that the 3-day weekend will be normalized.
UK non-profit organisation 4 Day Week Global and think tank Autonomy have teamed up with researchers from Cambridge, Oxford and Boston universities to collaborate with 61 companies in different fields, with 2,900 employees starting in June 2022 on the world ’ s largest six-month trial of unpaid weekly rest.
“Even if we ’ re academically sceptical, it ’ s a very positive result, ” says Brendan Burchell, a professor of social sciences at Cambridge University who studies the impact of work on mental health.
About 40% of employees said they experienced less stress at work, 71% reported less burnout at work after three days off, and more than 40% reported improved mental health, including reduced anxiety and negative emotions. Nearly 40% also said their physical health improved during the trial period, possibly because they had more time for hobbies, exercise, cooking, family time and other activities. For leisure activities, 40% of employees reported falling asleep better after three days off.
Before the trial, Bircher said, they had worried that working four days a week might be more intense, which would offset the benefits of taking three days off. The survey found that this was not the case. “People found ways to improve their productivity and reduce a lot of time wasted. ”
In the end, 96% of employees said they preferred the three-day break to work, employees said that unless a large pay rise, they can resume the original two-day break, and 15% of employees have been unable to return to the two-day break, emphasizing that no more money will not return to the two-day life.
For companies, the results are also very positive, participating in the trial in the half year average revenue growth of 1%, staff turnover and absenteeism rate decreased, almost all participating companies said they will continue to test the week off 3 days, more companies said to normalize it.
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Well‑being gains are consistent: in large UK trials, 71% reported less burnout, 39–40% reported less stress, and sick days dropped by up to 65%.

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Content: “Amazing results. ”
This is what led to a recent study on “working only four days a week ”!
Decrease in the percentage of people who want to leave jobs and sick leave.
Productivity and Well-Being
Reducing working days from 5 to 4 per week is one of the most popular wishes of workers, but a new study has revealed that if implemented, it can achieve positive results.
According to the Sun, a group of British researchers have found that reducing the working week boosts employee well-being while maintaining productivity.
The researchers said 71 percent of the employees in the six-month trial had experienced work-related “burnout, ” and 39 percent said a day off made them feel less stressed.
During the trial, the percentage of sick leave decreased by 65 percent and the number of employees who want to leave their jobs dropped to 57 percent.
Professor Brendan Burchell, from the University of Cambridge, said: “During the experiment, workers were less likely to waste time and actively sought to promote technologies that improve their productivity.
Joe Ryle, director of the Four Days a Week campaign, describes the results as a “big breakthrough moment ” for the idea of shorter work weeks, Sky News Arabia reported.
“Across a variety of different sectors of the economy, these amazing results show that four days a week is extremely effective. ”
“A week of four days means a better work life and a better family life for many people. ”
In a report on the results, the companies that participated said they planned to stay the same as they tried, reducing the working week to 4.
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Sociologists from Cambridge proved the effectiveness of a four-day work week
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This change did not affect the company ’ s revenue.
A team of Cambridge University sociologists, together with the British non-profit human rights group 4 Day Week Global, evaluated the effectiveness of the four-day work week.
The results of the study were published on the website 4 Day Week Global.
For six months, several companies have switched to a new format of the working week without reducing the salaries of employees.
In total, about 3 thousand employees switched to the new format.
At the beginning, middle, and end of the study, participants were asked about their performance at work, stress, burnout, and overall well-being.
Staff estimates indicate that anxiety and fatigue levels have decreased, while mental and physical health have improved.
71% of employees reported a lower level of burnout, and 39% said they experienced less stress compared to the beginning of the study.
The number of sick days decreased by 65%, and the number of employees who resigned at their own request decreased by 57%.
The company ’ s revenue has hardly changed during the trial period.
Many respondents also said that it has become easier for them to combine work with family and social obligations.
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What did surveys conducted in London before and after the experiment of 4-day workweek  find?

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

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

Resignations declined by 57% in one trial, and most companies maintained or improved productivity while planning to keep the four‑day week.

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

Employee health and finances improved in UK pilots, with bosses rating outcomes positively and business performance remaining high.

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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."

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

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A prominent UK case (Atom Bank) saw job applications surge 500%, engagement rise 13%, days lost to sickness fall 28%, and customer ratings improve after introducing a four‑day week.

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Content: Interest in the four-day week has been on the rise in recent years with the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating the shift in how businesses organise their teams while employees are looking a6t how to achieve a better work life balance.

Currently, more than 3300 workers at 70 companies are working a four-day week with no loss of pay in the biggest ever four-day week pilot to take place anywhere in the world.

They are more than half way through the six-month trial, which started on June 6. It is based on the principle of the 100:80:100 model - 100% of the pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintain at least 100% productivity.

Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, one of the organisations behind the campaign, said: “Companies should embrace the four-day week as a way of boosting productivity, improving wellbeing and to help with job retention. The 9-5, 5 day working week is outdated and no longer fit for purpose.”

At BusinessLive, we've been covering the trend for a number of years and for this article, we check in with firms from right across the UK to see how it's going.

From early adopters to businesses that have made the change in recent months, we find out how things are working out from both a business and employee perspective.

The responses are honest and explain the pros and cons.

We firmly believe the four-day week is the future of working life

Atom Bank

Durham

Challenger bank Atom last November became the largest UK business to move all employees to a four-day working week, with no change of salary.
The Durham business, which now has 480 staff, made the shift in recognition of people having longer working lives, the positive impact of technology, flexible working and the need to live and work more sustainably.
More than six months on, Atom has seen a noticeable positive impact that the shift has had on employees, customer service, and operations.

Anne-Marie Lister, chief people officer at Atom, said: “Over six months on from introducing our new four-day working week, it’s clear that it has been a huge success for our business and our people.
“People are rightly looking for a healthier work/life balance, and despite warnings from some sceptics, our metrics and people surveys show that this has not had a negative impact on employees or customer service. In fact, it has been the opposite, with happier, more efficient, and more productive people who are even more driven to help us change banking for the better.
“We firmly believe the four-day week is the future of working life and it is encouraging to now see the range of businesses across the UK embracing the four-day week trials."

One objective was to attract and retain talent more effectively and data reveals this has been a success, having seen a 500% surge in job applications following its launch.
Headcount has grown from 461 in November 2021 to 480 in June 2022, thanks also to a reduction in the number of departures. Atom said this has been vital, with the fight for talent becoming fiercely competitive following the widespread adoption of hybrid working following the pandemic.
Productivity levels have also been measured by each department, with metrics specific to each of the 10 departments. Data collated for the six months to April reveals that across all of the 165 departmental metrics tracked, the success rate has improved.
Employees are also more motivated working a four-day week too. Almost all (92%) report that they look forward to work, and there has been a 13% increase in people engagement between February 2022 and 12 months earlier. Days lost to sickness have also declined since the introduction of the new working structure, dropping from 100 in the month of November 2021, to 72 in June 2022.
Meanwhile, in terms of Atom’s impact on customer service, its Trust Pilot score has risen from 4.54 at the start of the new working structure to 4.82 in June.

What do Atom employees say?

As to how staff members use their time off, Paul, contact centre team leader, said: “I’ve been using my extra day off to do an advanced motorcyclist course so I can volunteer for Northumbria Blood Bikes as a rider, transporting blood from surgeries to hospitals.”
Jonathon, telephone business development manager, said: “The four-day working week has allowed me to spend some quality time with my three year old son Jack. Spending our time in the best soft plays & swimming pools Sunderland has to offer, before dropping him off & picking him up from nursery. Without this day off, I would rarely be able to have this quality time together during the week.”

In short, I’ve been a dad

Merthyr Valleys Homes

Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Valley Homes adopted a 30-hour week in the four day working week pilot scheme without loss of pay.

Some staff member are working a four day week and some are working shorter hours over five days to ensure service provision over five days.

The biggest challenge for the firm has been finding ways to work differently while ensuring services aren’t impacted, however it has tried out new approaches during the pilot and says it has found “some very quick wins”.

A spokesperson said: “We have been working on how best to measure success and we are developing a number of new performance measures as a direct result of participating in the trial.”

A positive outcome has been the cooperation between teams and directorates.

“The conversations around how to work more efficiently have been really interesting and it has given everyone a reason to take the time to look at this collectively.”

The company has also seen support for the scheme from its stakeholders and the housing sector in Wales, and has attracted a wide range of candidates to apply for its job vacancies.

Of the advice it would give to other businesses thinking of moving to a four day week, the firm says: “Don’t be too prescriptive and set too many rules - our colleagues have been our greatest asset in designing their own solutions.”

The employee perspective

Ross Williams is the tenant engagement lead for Merthyr Valleys Homes.

The 42-year-old, who is married with 2 children, says the four day working week has hugely improved his work-life balance.

“I feel working 80% of the hours has increased my output. And I realise that a huge reason for this is because of what I choose to do with the other 20%,” he said.

During his non-working day on a Thursday, Mr Williams says he will fit in some early morning exercise or catch up with friends before picking up his 3-year-old son from nursery at 11am. He will also collect his daughter from school.

“In short, I’ve been a dad,” he said. “I’ve been guilty in the past of prioritising work over family and I’m determined to ensure this time remains a space where I get to enjoy some of the simple pleasures.”

During work hours, Mr Williams says the four day working week pilot has also provided some real work benefits and encouraged practical changes within the business.

In meetings, he says discussions are pertinent and decisions are reached “as quickly as possible saving time for myself and colleagues”.

He said: “I feel so much more productive knowing that my work is planned, my non-working day is factored in and my diary ensures my team can access me to ensure they are able to retain the same level of productivity,” he said.

“I think I am more productive, more focused and more content in my role. I have become much more well prepared for the time off that the four day week gives me.”

You couldn’t pay me enough to go back to five days

Marketing Signals

Altrincham

Marketing Signals, moved to a four-day working week in May with staff working 32-hours with no loss of pay.

When Managing Director Gareth Hoyle explained the reasons behind his decision on Linkedin, his post went viral and he was inundated with questions from other business bosses keen to do the same.

Mr Hoyle said he is excited to be part of a new model of work.

"It focuses on quality not quantity and will revolutionise the future of work. A good work/life balance is the key to a happy and healthy workforce which leads to loyalty, ultimately helping our business grow.

“My motto has always been ‘don’t live to work and don’t work to live’, and if COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that it’s important we look after ourselves first. It’s important that my staff feel valued and understand life outside of work is just as important."

What do staff say?

Web developer and dad to a newborn Jack Darracott says that a shift to a four-day working week has transformed his life and made him more productive at work.

He works smarter, not harder, and the extra day off allows him to spend more time with his newborn son.

He said: “Since moving to the four-day working week, I’ve been able to spend more quality time with my son, and experience all of the first milestones that I would have missed out on had I been working a full week.”

The catalyst for the move to a four-day week came from the rise in cost of living, which led to Jack asking for a change in working hours due to rising childcare costs.

Jack explains: “The new model has also helped save money as I now don’t have to spend more of my wages on additional childcare fees. This is especially important with the rise in the cost of living. The extra day off also offers breathing room for any curve balls that life may throw at me.”

The four-day trial was met with some scepticism as many people questioned whether it would actually work. However, Jack says it has improved his productivity and efficiency, and that he even feels more energised when he’s back in.

Jack said: adds: “Not only has it helped with my home life, but my work has also improved. My day off serves as a ‘reset day’, so when I’m back in I can look at work with a fresh pair of eyes and I feel more refreshed.”

“You couldn’t pay me enough to go back to five days.”

There have been a number of lessons along the way

Tyler Grange

London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Exeter and Cirencester

The landscape planning, ecology and arboriculture consultancy became the first in its industry to sign up to the UK pilot in June. Its 80-strong nationwide team does not work Fridays with no loss of income.

The firm is reporting promising results producing the same amount of work so far during the pilot - from June to August – as it did in the same period last year. This is a measurement ratio of productive time versus direct costs, which means the company is, as planned, 100% productive in 80% of the time.

At the pilot’s halfway point, Simon Ursell, Managing Director at Tyler Grange, shares his seven key pieces of advice on how to make the transition from five to four as seamless – and successful - as possible.

Preparation is vital

I can’t stress enough how important it is to prepare for the switch from five working days to four. To enjoy a better work-life balance and to have more time to spend doing what we love. This just can’t be switched on overnight.

Talk to your clients and customers

The most common concern, of course, was ‘what if we need you on a Friday?’ but the vast majority congratulated us for showing such innovation, yet again, and are keen to be kept up to date on how it’s going.

Talk to your team and be ready to realise that a four-day working week isn’t for everyone

It’s essential to engage with your team but it’s also important to realise that working a four-day week isn’t for everyone.

Once the pilot began, and we became more accustomed to our new systems and way of working – which removed lots of lengthy admin and unnecessary meetings and reporting from our day - they soon got their heads around it.

Take different job roles and departments into consideration

Some of our work is very seasonal so, for those teams that are very busy during summertime, we’ve delayed the implementation of some new processes until the autumn.

You need to give people time to learn how to work differently – and it may not be the same for everyone.

If you’re looking to sell your business, a four-day week might not be for you

We used to receive a number of approaches by companies looking to buy us. But interesting, since trialling the four-day week, they’ve stopped.

So, for any potential owners who are sceptical that cutting hours could increase productivity, working a four-day week probably feels like too great a gamble to get locked into.

Bite the bullet and only have one company-wide day off

In some companies, the potential impact of the four-day week is being mitigated by covering all days but with reduced colleagues. We wouldn’t recommend this, despite it perhaps seeming to be an easier option at first.

It can sometimes be more intense and tiring

Most jobs are intense from time to time, and we know that working four days rather than five can exacerbate this on occasions. The adoption of our Alertness App – means we can get a real handle on any tiredness early and can react straight away.

Mr Ursell said: “I’d be surprised if we don’t adopt a permanent four-day working week post-pilot, but we still have three months to go.

“The UK has an unhealthy culture where it is seen as a badge of honour to be work all the time, the brilliant talent that we want to attract at all levels of the organisation - don’t want to be defined by a burnout life."

The worker's point of view

Helen Brittain, 54, is an administrator at Tyler Grange.

She lives with her husband, her son and daughter-in-law, and her two grandchildren - Henrietta, 5, and Florence, 7, - as well as their two dogs.

Helen said her productivity has improved enormously and the new working processes and systems encourage me help her to plan better.

She said: “In the past, work -life balance was always a bit of an issue for me. I felt like a two-day weekend didn’t enable me to enjoy enough of a homelife or to do necessary chores.

Now she is able to get on with chores and care for her grandchildren and find some time for herself.

She said: “I’ve also recently embarked on my own self-learning journey around mental health, as well as looking after my psychical health by working with a personal trainer and nutritionist.

“All of this is having enormous benefits on my personal health and wellbeing, which then has a real impact on my workplace performance and productivity.”

We're more productive and creative than ever before

Accu

Huddersfield

A Huddersfield-based tech-based firm that introduced a permanent four-day week to all 100 staff four months ago say the move has paid massive dividends.

Accu, which designs, manufactures and distributes engineering components worldwide, says it has seen a major boost in productivity, job applications, turnover, and orders from customers.

The firm's policy with no reduction in pay or obligation for staff to make the hours up.

From April-July, Accu has created 20 new jobs – a 25% increase in headcount. The number of applications per role has skyrocketed. One role, which previously got 40 applications, subsequently got 200 – a 400% increase. Similar numbers are being experienced across all vacancies.

Simultaneously, productivity is up, as the time it takes to respond to customer enquiries has improved by 46%. Order numbers and average values have increased by 15%, boosting turnover by 10% (quarter-on-quarter), meaning Accu is on track to hit £12m-plus turnover this year.

Company co-founder, Martin Ackroyd told YorkshireLive: "Giving people more personal time to enjoy the things they love has increased motivation, decreased the risk of burnout and has driven a renewed sense of purpose in our mission to help our customers build a better tomorrow. As a result, we're more productive and creative than ever before."

What do staff say?

Some staff have used their new spare time to pursue personal interests, such as home renovation and the arts, whilst others have used it to spend more time with their family or save on childcare costs.

Matt Ogden, community manager, said: "The longer weekends are very well received. With a longer break, it personally provides me with freedom to travel to London to enjoy and take part in the performing arts. In general, everyone feels more chilled, upbeat, happy, and refreshed.

"In terms of the business, we have seen a benefit across all areas – it was definitely a sound business decision."

Every Friday I enjoy not setting an alarm

Chilwell Products

Ilkeston, Derbyshire

Staff at the manufacturer of end bands for scaffold boards previously worked 39 hours over five days but this was reduced earlier this year by five hours, with all staff on duty Monday to Thursday.

Laura Clarke, managing director, said investment in new machinery improved overall capacity while giving back time to the team."

She said: "Initially, there were concerns around how our move would be received by customers but, when we ran our trial period, we managed to maintain lead times despite operating for five hours fewer.

"Many customers and suppliers have praised our move, even going as far to ask if they can have a job here.

She said the atmosphere at work had improved and there was something 'incredibly smug' about knowing you were halfway through the week on a Tuesday while team members had more autonomy over their lives and how they spent their free time, with some taking extra work elsewhere.

The hard numbers for the firm's manufacturing volumes and the first two financial quarters are positive despite the drop in hours.

She said: "I would advise others thinking of doing this to brainstorm, speak to various people within teams, gather information and look at the business from as many different angles as possible.

"It might not be something you can do in the next few months or even this year but you could start to make changes.

"Businesses need to think outside the box, we need to be innovative as we shape the working landscape moving forward."

How's work been?

Nicholas Wall is a 28-year-old toolroom assistant and press operator at Chilwell Products.

"It's nice to finish the working week on Thursday knowing you'll come in on Monday to a fresh slate.

"This also makes me feel like I'm giving something back to the company as I appreciate they've given us more time to spend however I want."

Nicholas said that, in previous roles with other employers, he felt he was rushing his evenings and weekends but had grown accustomed to it and had not noticed the effect this was having on him.

He added: "Only now that I'm more relaxed do I realise how frantic and pressured my personal life was.

"Every Friday I enjoy not setting an alarm, naturally waking up then heading to the gym to get a workout in and get it out the way."

It's not an easy process, but one we're proud we took the time to implement

City to Sea

Bristol

Bristol-based environmental organisation City to Sea has moved to a four-day working week without any reduction in pay for staff.

The community interest company employs 19 people, who are all now working a 32-hour week, but are being paid the same salary as when they worked for five days. The organisation, which campaigns to reduce plastic pollution, confirmed the move after running a four-day week trial over six months, and receiving positive feedback from staff. Now, every employee has Friday off.

Natalie Fee, chief executive and founder, said the top three challenges of implementing the four-day week were staff members feeling overstretched, managing work patterns and difficulties adjusting to reduced hours.

“We also found calculations around bank holidays and implications of those weeks being three days difficult to navigate,” she said.

However, she said the positives were staff motivation and increased wellbeing.

“It creates a much more balanced, healthier working environment and has resulted in increased staff engagement and staff retention. It's not an easy process, but one we're proud we took the time to test and implement.”

On the frontline

Steve Hynd, policy manager at City to Sea, who is 36 and is married with two children under five, says the move has been “completely transformative”.

“It’s not just the four days a week but also offering flexible working, having a really supportive line manager, and a host of other positive HR policies. This all combined is allowing me to spend more time with my two young kids, giving back to my community as a local district councillor and crucially (and very rarely) even having a bit of time for myself. It has removed the sense of being constantly over-stretched and has improved my mental and physical health significantly.”

Read more of our coverage on the four-day week:

Gender and equity effects are noteworthy: women reported better burnout and life satisfaction, men took on more housework and childcare, and non‑work duties were more balanced.

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.

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

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

However, benefits are not uniform across occupations; for example, legal workers did not see productivity gains, and sector‑specific tailoring is required.

Front‑line workers can benefit from scheduling flexibility, though feasibility depends on coverage models and demand patterns.

Meeting customer demand is the top implementation challenge, cited by 75% of employers, and smaller firms may struggle with an overnight shift.

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

Lack of resouces to support shift for sall comppanies

Industries with continuous customer or patient needs (e.g., healthcare and other customer‑facing sectors) face greater constraints, though some healthcare workers could benefit from reduced burnout.

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

Healthcare industry may face more problems.

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

Healthcare industry may face more problems.

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

Healthcare industry may face more problems.

Manufacturing experiences are mixed but promising in some cases, with one UK manufacturer offering a 36‑hour four‑day week where 50% reported better productivity and 83% felt happier.

Title:

Content: Search

04 Jul 2022

Manufacturing firm offers four-day week to all 820 staff

A Coventry-based manufacturing firm has confirmed it will permanently offer its 820 employees a four-day week.

Industry research business The Manufacturing Technology Centre has said it plans to implement the new working structure after half of employees reported better productivity.

The company said all workers will now have the option to work a four-day week, ensuring they still work a contracted 36 hours a week, from September.

It comes after a two-year trial at the company, which resulted in 50% of workers saying they have better productivity levels than during a five-day week.

Meanwhile, 83% of employees said they were happier, 42% reported increased energy levels, and 40% experienced better mental health, according to staff surveys.

“We’ve been operating flexible working patterns since April 2018, but employee engagement surveys have shown that staff wanted to extend this further,” said Vicki Sanderson, HR director at the MTC.

“We explored a range of options, including researching what was important for millennials and generation Z, as 79% of our workforce fall into these categories.

“Work-life balance was the priority, and our survey results reflected this.”

The centre said it will now share its data and lessons from the trial with industrial partners including Siemens, Rolls-Royce and Meggitt.

Dr Clive Hickman, chief executive of the MTC, said: “Flexible working has been the norm at the MTC long before the pandemic, but employees told us there was more we could do.

“The result is our Fully Flexible Working Week, including a four-day week, which I’m proud to be making permanent.

“The MTC is striving to become the most attractive employer in the country, and this is a big step towards achieving that.”

It comes after the UK’s biggest trial of a new four-day working week started last month, with more than 3,300 workers at 70 companies taking part.

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Nonprofits and tech firms, as well as smaller organizations, tend to adopt four‑day weeks more readily than large enterprises due to easier logistics and output measurability.

Title:

Content: news

11 Companies Adopting a 4-Day Workweek That Are Hiring Right Now

The four-day workweek is having a moment.

Several recent studies, including one that followed nearly 3,000 workers in the U.K., found when companies switched to a four-day workweek workers' productivity, health, relationships and even finances improved. California Representative Mark Takano recently reintroduced the 32-hour Workweek Act in Congress as well, which would change the definition of a workweek from its now 40 hours if passed.

"While the concept of a four-day workweek is not brand new, there is no denying that there is great momentum and interest in this model," says Doug Ebertowski, career expert at FlexJobs. The idea is gaining traction, he says, and "that coupled with the fact that employers have become much more creative in their approach to attracting great workers could mean that we may see the four-day work week here to stay."

Whatever the future holds for the trend becoming a norm, some companies are implementing it as their go-to schedule right now. FlexJobs, which focuses on remote and flexible roles, identified a number of companies that have or are planning to adopt a shorter workweek. And they're hiring. Here are 11 of those companies, including some of their open roles.

Augury

Augury is a software company that helps detect machine malfunctions through ultrasonic sensors.
Headquarters: Haifa, Israel
Open roles: enterprise customer success manager, regional controller, service engagement manager

Bolt Financial

Bolt Financial offers clients such as e-commerce merchants a payment platform for their online stores.
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Open roles: principal software engineer, senior machine learning engineer

DNSFilter

DNSFilter helps IT professionals filter unsafe web content and protect against digital threats.
Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
Open roles: general counsel, senior manager of digital marketing

Do Big Things

Do Big Things is a creative digital agency that offers services such as website design and spokesperson training.
Headquarters: Mill Valley, California
Open roles: finance director, senior account executive

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform whose projects span films to board games.
Headquarters: Fully remote
Open roles: senior social media manager, director of comics outreach, senior product designer

Merit America

Merit America is a nonprofit that creates pathways to careers in tech through technical training.
Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
Open roles: director of individual giving, revenue operations specialist

New Leaders

New Leaders provides equity-focused training to teachers, principals and other education figures.
Headquarters: New York, New York
Open roles: deputy chief officer of development

Panasonic

Panasonic is a global tech company with products that serve the energy, manufacturing and retail industries, among others.
Headquarters: Newark, New Jersey
Open roles: account manager of public safety, client relations specialist, field service technician

Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere creates online polling, surveys, quizzes and more on behalf of its clients.
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Open roles: engineering manager, site reliability engineer

SambaSafety

SambaSafety sells software that keeps its clients and their communities' tech safe.
Headquarters: Denver, Colorado
Open roles: onboarding specialist, senior data governance analyst, Salesforce administrator

thredUP

thredUP is an online thrift store.
Headquarters: Oakland, California
Open roles: finance data analyst, chief of staff, clothing warehouse associate

As far as trends in the list go, "they're mainly nonprofit and tech companies," says Yolanda Owens, career expert at The Muse. With the exception of Panasonic, they're also smaller companies, "mainly under 1,000 employees," she says.

"With the smaller organizations, adopting a four-day workweek makes sense because it's easier to kind of put parameters around that," she says. "I think it would be a bit more difficult for larger organizations to do that just because of the scope and scale." The logistics of arranging that kind of flexibility for people in an array of roles could be tough, she says.

"I don't think you're going to see an Amazon adopting this anytime soon."

Check out:

The biggest ever four-day workweek trial has reached its halfway point. But what are the shorter weeks really like?

Workers who tested 4-day workweek say they'll never return to 5 days—or only with a huge pay bump

10 companies that will let you work from anywhere and are hiring now

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

Complicated to roll out for large companies

What companies are adopting 4-day workweek?

Mainly nonprofit and small tech companies under 1,000 employees

Equity concerns persist: the four‑day week may disproportionately favor white‑collar workers, risk fragmenting labor markets, and may not reach low‑paid labor without careful design.

Title:

Content: "Stop looking at the crystal ball": in the world of work, you need to adopt new rules of the game
What to expect in 2022 from the world of work?
At the moment, it is difficult to predict something, and experts point out that with the beginning of the third year of the pandemic, workers still have to face unprecedented difficulties.
Moreover, the return to full-time work begins to seem more and more unreal, reports BBC Worklife.
Two years ago, when the pandemic began, many businesses began to organize work remotely.
The idea was - "so far remotely, but then everything will return to the rolled rails."
But the spread of the omicron strain delayed the plans of millions of workers to return to the workplace.
In addition, the activities of enterprises and the labor market have so adapted to the “new reality ” that a return to“ normal work before the pandemic ” seems increasingly unrealistic.
However, we still don ’ t know what or how will affect the way we work.
Last year, on January 5, people hoped that 2021 would bring some stability or strengthen the hybrid model of work.
Somewhere it worked, but somewhere it did not, as there were new variants of the virus, as a result of which it is too early to talk about stability.
The situation often changes and it is difficult to find a point of reference that would allow us to say where we will be in 12 months.
Experts who study the labor market and employment have found several trends that have already been outlined quite clearly.
This can be considered topical issues in the world of work this year, which will determine its future.
Shortened work weeks may be relevant
The call for shorter working weeks and a more concentrated work schedule is gaining ground in the world.
Many companies and even governments are already experimenting with various alternative work schedules.
We need to change the way we work and the way we work.
The standard 40-hour working week “from 9 to 5 ” was introduced back in the days of the Industrial Revolution about 200 years ago.
This was the last time the work schedule changed.
It is no longer effective in the long run, as our work has become more intense, thanks to new video conferencing technologies and the Internet, ” says Abigail Marks, a professor at the Newcastle University School of Business.
“Those in business and politics should take into account all aspects of how not to overload workers, while at the same time thinking about maintaining or increasing productivity.
This decision often comes in the form of a four-day work week.
Work that is concentrated in a shorter period of time and more free time is good news for the mental health of workers and the balance between personal and work life, ” says the professor.
Although it looks that this idea in 2022 may receive even greater support, this model of work, unfortunately, will not suit all workers.
Marx recalls that switching to a four-day working week may be convenient for individual office workers, but not for all workers.
“A four-day work week may be the privilege of a limited group of white-collar workers.
Such a change in labor policy will not affect low-paid labor in any way.
You also need to take into account the specifics of the work: in the field of IT and many other services, a four-day work week is virtually impossible, ” says Marx.
Therefore, she points out that in 2022, the main challenge will be finding a middle ground between those workers who can enjoy an elastic work schedule and those who do not.
“This way we can come to a fragmented labor market.
As long as various office workers and important officials can enjoy fewer hours of work, for others, especially health care workers, this will not even be possible in theory, ” says the expert.
Different benefits as the main way to attract employees
In 2021, there were not enough workers around the world.
This problem is not going anywhere, and in 2022 it will also create new problems.
According to Allison Sullivan, manager of corporate communications at Glasdoor, this is because "the factors that create this problem will not disappear as the pandemic and the growing demand for food delivery continue to be around."
This means that employers will be forced to change tactics when hiring new employees, as well as have to think about how to keep those who are already working.
The methods that helped before the pandemic are no longer going to help.
Associate Professor Anthony Klot of the University of Texas pointed out that this year a popular trend was a personal approach to each potential and actual employee.
"In 2022, we will see employers pay more attention to the interests of employees to improve relationships with those who are already working, as well as attract new professionals," Klot said.
This is not only the basis of good business performance – elasticity and employee care is becoming a major advantage, and more and more workers expect this from their employers.
Sullivan argues that workers will also become more demanding, so the employer must be willing to provide everything necessary to ensure a comfortable working environment.
As a result, companies will have to develop "personalized tactics of personnel organization.
Instead of a one-size-fits-all program, companies will have to take care to give each employee an individual approach, ” says Klot.
Sullivan points out that a personalized approach can be expressed in salary increases, or, for example, in helping with loan repayment, or extended maternity leave.
Another important nuance is to determine the mental health of an employee as a priority.
After all, burnout last year was a major problem for many companies, and more people are leaving their jobs, or thinking about it.
“Even bastions of career and work like Wall Street are beginning to act and changing the culture of work, focusing more on workers than just performance, ” says Klot.
Employees will not return to the same office.
When some (not all) workers finally return to work in the office - this year, or later, it will have to be concluded that the "new normal" office will not be like the one we have seen before.
Nicholas Bloom, a professor of economics at Stanford University, points out that companies will adapt jobs to all the requirements of hybrid labor, taking into account how people actually want to work.
Bloom, who has been studying the future of office work for many years, points out that the days that all employees will be in the office will be rare.
When they do, it will be unusual and even uncomfortable.
He pointed out that he had heard “horror stories about employees who have to go to an office where there is an unusual silence. ”
In other words, such work in the office, as before the pandemic, will remain in the past.
More and more companies are introducing a hybrid model in their work, where individual employees are sent to the office and the rest remain at home.
Under this model, offices are also adjusted, where everything is now equipped so that it is possible to comply with all the requirements of epidemiological safety.
"Separate meeting rooms, small soundproofed rooms for video calls, as well as free choice of workplace.
Employees no longer like being in the crowd.
Therefore, offices adapt to this by providing employees with a convenient and accessible environment where there is enough space to meet colleagues in person, ” Bloom said.
Another important thing is the need for office space itself.
Experts point out that the need for offices will not disappear, and their area will not change.
Although it is expected that the number of hours worked on site will still be 30% less than before the pandemic, companies are not going to reduce the area of   their offices.
“While the hybrid model, where we work both remotely and on-site, will be relevant, the office will remain an integral part of the job. It ’ s impossible to imagine a job without a specific base, ” says Bloom.
The Road to the Unknown Continues
Although man by nature tries to make predictions and hope for the best, much is still almost unclear.
The main thing is that we don't know - what exactly we don't know.
At the beginning of the pandemic, many analysts predicted that a return to office work would largely happen by the summer of 2021, when vaccines became publicly available.
However, this deadline continues to be pushed back to the future.
Delta- and omicron strains of the coronavirus cause concerns about public health, so plans to return to the office continue to be delayed.
“What we ’ ve learned over the past two years is to stop looking at the crystal ball, ” said Canina Blanchard, a professor at the University of Western Ontario.
There are things that give hope for a return to “normal life before the pandemic, ” such as vaccines, coronavirus medications, and a short period of self-isolation.
But we know that there are many unknowns in the future (a good example is the omicron, which unexpectedly changed the plans of many companies).
We also do not know what to expect from the future, as everything can change in an instant.
Therefore, with forecasts and hopes for 2022, you need to be careful.
Especially when it comes to returning to “normal life. ”
It is very possible that the "new normal" situation is the rules of the game that we must accept.
“What we clearly know is that in 2022, as in the previous two years, the most important thing will be health and its preservation.
Life will still be very chaotic and even abnormal, "Blanchard said.
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Some contexts report risks of longer daily hours, fewer breaks, and increased work pressure or pay pressures if productivity does not keep pace.

Title:

Content: Finally, the four-day work week trial is here

  • Marie Claire is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.
  • Progressive change is coming

    Britain is officially trialling the four-day work week and I’m thrilled. No, I’m not a skiver, I just believe that flexible working is the key to making life work, and the next step is the four-day workweek.

    Organised by 4 Day Week Global, the world’s biggest trial of the four-day work week began in the UK on Monday 6 June. The six-month-long trial will see 70 companies – totalling more than 3,300 workers – test out the four-day week (working 80% of their normal hours) with, it’s critical to note, no reduction in pay.

    Marie Claire has long advocated flexible working rights, supporting writer Anna Whitehouse with her Flex Appeal campaign, which started in 2019 when she was denied flexible working and told it would ‘open the floodgates’ to others seeking it.

    But for the majority, it was Covid-19 that truly changed attitudes towards the workplace, because the pandemic had so profoundly affected people’s working lives.

    Prioritise flexible working

    In 2020 Marie Claire‘s first Future of Work collaboration with LinkedIn explored how the British population felt about the prospect of returning to the pre-pandemic routine.

    The message was clear: employers need to prioritise flexible working going forward, because we realised we could work from home successfully (and that was during an unimaginably stressful period).

    The future of work

    The believed benefits of the four-day working week include:

    • More productivity through greater focus
    • Drive to adopt more efficient processes
    • Greater mental health through more time spent with family or on passions

    As with all trials, it’s important to recognise the potential negative effects – less manageable workloads, less breaks and longer hours, but I hope this pioneering movement will help shape the future of work for the better.

    Work-life balance

    It is currently impossible to have a work-life balance when we work five days and have two days off. Where is the logic? In my opinion, the four-day working week is less about motivating me to work harder – I already work hard, thank you. The four-day working week is actually about giving people enough free time to be healthy, happy and fulfilled.

    Reading now

    Popular Life stories

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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.

In Russia, 81% of companies support the idea for burnout reduction but warn wage cuts may be needed, while Kazakhstan plans to introduce a four‑day workweek, highlighting varied readiness.

Implementation quality is decisive, with some employees reporting increased burnout, unchanged work‑life balance, or heavier workloads when changes are poorly executed.

Title:

Content: From education to employment

Four day week – now more important to professionals than work socials

Say good-bye to work culture: Three quarters of professionals (71%) have stated that they would be willing to give up work socials and relationships with colleagues, in favour of a 4-day working week.

The findings come from a recent poll by leading recruiter Robert Walters, of 3,000+ working professionals – and highlights the ‘not-so appealing side’ of the 4-day week to employers, with office relationships taking the biggest hit.

Chris Poole – Managing Director of Robert Walters UK, comments:

“Workplaces have only just turned a corner and started to see more faces in the office – with that has come a burst of energy, collaboration, creativity, and productivity. It is a slight kick-in-the-teeth to hear that a progressive well-being initiative such as a 4-day week could have such a detrimental impact on workplace culture and business relationships.

“With the trials of 4-days being so new to many organisations, the long-term impact is hard to ascertain – but with 71% of professionals willing to forego socials and business relationships, companies should be mindful that poor company culture already costs the UK economy upwards of £20bn a year.

“As with what we experienced with remote working and then the move to hybrid, any change in the workplace brings about its challenges – and a 4-day week will be no different, business leaders need to tread with caution.”

Whilst professionals would give up the social side of their working lives, only 13% are inclined to forego hybrid work arrangements, and only 7% would sacrifice training opportunities in favour of less working days.

Entitlement at its Best?

According to the findings from Robert Walters, a staggering 91% of professionals would be keen for their employer to implement a 4-day week. In fact, a 4-day week now tops the poll on most desirable perks when applying for a job – with 49% stating that this would appeal to them most on a job description, followed by the ability to work from anywhere (35%).

With half of professionals who would like a 4-day week expecting their full pay to remain the same, debates have begun on whether the post-pandemic workforce are ‘the most entitled yet’ – with fewer professionals feeling responsibility for the financial health or stability of their employer.

Just 15% of professionals stated that they would take a 10-15% pay increase over the option of a 4-day week, and it seems office-based soft perks such as work socials or complimentary lunch or breakfasts, are less appealing in the face of fewer working days – with just 1% stating that they would opt for this over a 4-day working week.

Chris adds:

“It is absolutely right that workplaces should be held more accountable for the wellbeing of their employees, however professionals need to be considerate to the fact this responsibility goes both ways, and they have a duty to contribute to the success of a business, especially in this current period of economic uncertainty.”

The Hidden Data

Earlier this year the independent trail of 60+ companies and around 2,900 employees undertaking a 4-day week concluded – with many highlighting this as a resounding success.

However, when this data is combined with findings from the Robert Walters poll, it seems that possibly only one side of the picture has been painted, as a result it’s also important to consider the potentially negative outcomes of a change in working days.

Key findings from the 4-day Week Pilot Trail include:

  • Overall working hours only reduced by 4 hours – falling short of the 32 it was meant to achieve
  • 28% reported either working more hours, or no change to their 5-days a week hours
  • 49% reported no change in the typical amount of overtime they do – further 17% reported doing more overtime
  • 22% reported an increase in burnout-symptoms
  • 15% reported an increase in sleeping difficulties – further 45% stated that their sleeping quality hadn’t improved/changed significantly
  • 36% reported no-change to work-life balance – further 10% reported a decrease
  • 26% reported no change to work-ability – with 19% reporting a decrease
  • Just 2% stated workload had decreased – 20% reported an increase, and 78% reported no-change
  • 36% reported work-intensity had increased
  • 42% reported an increase in complexity of their work

Chris adds:

“Highlighting this data is by no means a way of pointing out that a 4-day week cannot work. Just as with every kind of trial, a balanced view of the results needs to be provided to assist us in understanding what does and doesn’t work. There is definitely a place for the 4-day working week in business but maybe it’s not the silver-bullet to increase productivity and improved wellbeing, as first thought.”

Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in Employability, Social impact, Work and leadership

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Best‑practice implementation relies on clear rules, measurable goals, aligned expectations, cross‑team schedule transparency, and continuous feedback loops.

Title:

Content: Manager of an Estonian company about a four-day work week: experience shows that it is doable
Over time, more innovative ways of working begin to penetrate the Estonian work culture.
Today, the most attention is paid to the shortened working week: for example, a four-day working week or a six-hour working day.
These approaches seem exciting to many, but the fear that they will negatively affect the organization of work, often becomes an obstacle in their implementation in practice.
Elisa manager Joosep Põllumäe noted that while the fear of innovative working methods is understandable, with the right organizational culture, proper pre-planning and strong support systems, confusion resulting from overtraining can be avoided in most cases.
For example, a four-week workweek has been successfully tested twice in Elisa ’ s technology department, which has more than 200 employees.
From now on, it will become a permanent summer mode for IT teams.
“If in recent decades everyone has known that there are forty hours a week to do work, and you can ask for help from colleagues every day from nine to five, then one day off can be a real shock, ” he said.
You just need to know which problem areas to focus on. ”
According to Põllumäe, in order for the introduction of new ways of working to go as smoothly as possible, it is first of all important to focus on establishing clear rules of the game, clear communication and the most accurate measurements.
Expectations should converge
Working four days a week, one weekday is free for the employee.
However, the details associated with this basic thesis may vary from company to company.
Therefore, according to Põllumäe, it is important that all parties involved in the organization of work understand these details equally.
For example, you should establish whether the day off is completely free, or it will be a day of study, a day of concentration or something else.
It is also important to determine who can be disturbed on the fifth day and on what issues, what changes will be made to the organization of work in the remaining four days, so that the work continues to be carried out.
“Employees need to clearly understand what is expected of them and what means are at their disposal to achieve their goals – whether they can cancel meetings, refuse additional tasks, work more from home.
Similarly, employers need to understand what employees expect.
For example, if a four-day work week includes one completely free day, you need to understand that employees do not want to be covered with working letters on this day, ” Põllumäe said.
Work must be measurable
Since expectations of attainable results do not decrease when working hours are shortened, one of the secrets to the success of the new organization of work is clear measurements and a concrete understanding of when the work is done.
According to Põllumäe, the more abstract someone ’ s role or the wider the range of tasks, the more likely it is that some important topics will go unnoticed, or people will always feel that they have to do more, and therefore will not dare to take a day off.
“Employees usually want to exceed expectations.
Try to do as much as possible in five working days.
However, if the employer suddenly allows an employee to take a day off in the case of work performed, then without clear measurements, it is difficult for some employees to understand whether they have completed their tasks or not, - he explained. - That is why very clear measurements are important - thing X should be developed within a month, analysis Y should be completed within a quarter, no "ticket" should "hang" longer than Z days. "
The better people understand their expectations, the better they can plan their work and deliver results in less time.
Communication is important
Since no team or branch of a company operates in a vacuum, clear communication and listening to feedback are also critical to implementing innovative work practices.
For example, departments ordering work from the development department should understand that one day a week from the development department should not wait for answers.
The sales team should know that marketing will not launch new ads on a certain day, and management should understand that one day a week should not expect quick reports from employees.
“If everyone knows how others work, they adjust their work accordingly.
Knowing that the data sphere teams are not working on Friday, the necessary data will be requested on Thursday, he explained. – It is also important to ask for constant feedback – if it begins to seem that the absence of someone from the team is causing real damage to the business, or customers begin to feel their absence, something needs to be adjusted, for example, to change the day when they are absent, or alternate absent employees to always provide some cover. ”
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Pilots and phased reductions help organizations test viability, gather data, and adapt workflows before broader rollout.

Title:

Content: VERNON HILLS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 7, 2022--

This week, Wonderlic, a leading pre-employment assessment company that moved to a 32-hour, four-day work week in 2021, released a first-of-its-kind guide called The Four-Day Work Week Playbook: Advice from Six Early Adopters on Planning, Piloting, and Perfecting a New Way to Work.

In the 37-page guide, leaders from Wonderlic, Uncharted, Elephant Ventures, PDQ, Awin, and Swash Labs—companies with as few as 50 and as many as 1200 employees—share:

  • How they decided whether a shorter work week was viable for them
  • The most critical questions to ask early—and what data to gather to measure success
  • Best practices for planning, managing, and learning from your pilot
  • The unexpected benefits they’re seeing beyond a recruiting and retention advantage
  • And proven strategies for increasing employee happiness and efficiency that any company can benefit from

“Moving to a four-day work week is a huge decision that requires asking a lot of tough questions, evaluating every aspect of how you do business, and being laser-focused on improving life for your employees, all while still hitting all your business goals,” says Wonderlic CEO Becca Callahan.

“As we’ve learned from our own experience—and by talking to other progressive leaders like Banks, Art, Victoria, Adam, and Josh—there’s no single ‘right’ way to go about it. In creating this guide, we wanted to provide companies curious about the possibilities with some strategic guidance to help them confidently decide if it’s the right move for them.”

Curious to learn more? Check out the full playbook here. And to contact Becca, please email mediainquiries@wonderlic.com.

About Wonderlic

Wonderlic’s mission is to help HR professionals and hiring managers identify top applicants and predict on-the-job performance by providing them the most trusted, scientifically validated assessments on the market.

Since the company was founded in 1937, more than 200 million Wonderlic assessments have been administered to job candidates. Our formula for success is simple: cutting-edge I-O psychology research, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and a company culture grounded in a thirst for innovative thinking and a sincere respect for diverse perspectives.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220707005308/en/

mediainquiries@wonderlic.com

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA ILLINOIS

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: CONSULTING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES HUMAN RESOURCES

SOURCE: Wonderlic

Copyright Business Wire 2022.

PUB: 07/07/2022 09:00 AM/DISC: 07/07/2022 09:02 AM

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Copyright Business Wire 2022.

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The 100‑80‑100 framework is a practical baseline that many trials use to protect pay while focusing managers and teams on outcomes.

AI and automation can offset time reductions by streamlining routine work, with companies using AI 90% more likely to report productivity gains and administrative time falling by 15% in some pilots.

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Content: Join top executives in San Francisco on July 11-12, to hear how leaders are integrating and optimizing AI investments for success. Learn More

A new report from Slack reveals that companies worldwide are not taking full advantage of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and automation that could unlock new levels of employee productivity. Based on responses from more than 18,000 desk workers globally, the Slack State of Work report found that only 23% of companies invest in technology to improve productivity, and only 27% use AI tools to achieve this goal.

According to the study, many organizations still operate with outdated work practices, tools, and approaches that prevent employees from reaching their full potential.

“Many companies are stuck in old ways of thinking about productivity,” Christina Janzer, SVP at Slack research and analytics, told VentureBeat. “Part of the confusion comes from a growing schism between leaders and teams over how to properly define and measure productivity in today’s environment. Organizations need to take a more holistic approach, and that includes enabling employees to experiment with tools and technology to drive better results.”

The report aims to highlight three trends that are shaping the modern workplace and driving employee productivity: the underutilization of new technologies such as AI and automation, the transformation of office work and design in the era of hybrid work, and the direct influence of employee engagement and talent development on productivity.

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Slack found that companies that have embraced AI are 90% more likely to report increased productivity levels than those that have not. In addition, the majority of employees surveyed (77%) believe that automating routine tasks, such as obtaining expense report approvals, would enhance their productivity.

Despite this potential, 60% of employees report that their company has not implemented AI tools to support their productivity, and 43% say that their team has not adopted any means of automation to make their work processes more efficient or easier.

“We’re just beginning to tap into the potential of AI at work,” said Janzer. “However, our survey shows a majority of employees are interested in testing it out. Fifty-three percent of workers said using generative AI would improve their productivity, even though most aren’t currently using it at work.”

The worldwide survey was conducted as part of a collaborative effort between experience management platform Qualtrics and Salesforce’s Slack from February 24 to March 21, 2023. The sample size comprised 18,149 individuals from various industries including both desk workers and executives from regions including the U.S. (3,115), Australia (2,034), France (2,039), Germany (2,032), the UK (2,027), India (2,039), Singapore (1,341), Japan (1,658) and South Korea (1,864).

The essence of AI and automation for streamlining productivity

Janzer highlighted that most respondents (77%) acknowledge the benefits of automating repetitive tasks in enhancing productivity. However, the study shows that only 45% of teams have implemented automation to simplify or optimize their work processes.

“That’s a mismatch, and it could cost companies that don’t move quickly to catch up,” she said.

The survey findings indicate that several companies still depend on antiquated methods to enhance productivity and monitor employee performance. Employees spend approximately 32% of their time on tasks that do not align with company objectives.

“Companies like Stack Overflow look at a blend of inputs and outputs to measure their progress,” said Janzer. “Because, regardless of how much performative work you eliminate, most of us can think of some repetitive work that we do that isn’t valuable but has to be done in our jobs. That’s where AI and automation become extremely valuable.”

Missed productivity gains

Janzer explained that numerous organizations neglect the potential of utilizing AI and automation to optimize and simplify tedious tasks, leading to missed productivity gains. This is significant, as desk workers who have implemented automation report saving up to one month of work per year.

“Companies like LG AI Research in Seoul are using generative AI to improve knowledge workers’ efficiency by automating repetitive tasks, providing insights and recommendations for decision-making, and enabling better collaboration so that their employees can focus on tasks that require human intelligence and creativity,” Janzer added. “We’re learning more about the potential benefits of these tools every day. So, companies who may not have jumped on board yet will want to catch up fast to keep up.”

Slack cited the success of music platform Spotify’s advertising team, which utilized automated workflows to bolster collaboration across account teams. This initiative resulted in a 40% increase in productivity by mitigating the need for frequent meetings and reducing email traffic.

Janzer emphasized that it is crucial to prioritize trust and safety when utilizing AI or any other work tool as we continue to uncover the benefits of these technologies. To support the responsible use of AI among customers Salesforce has developed a strong focus on building tools that prioritize accuracy, safety, honesty, empowerment and sustainability.

Moreover, Janzer said that Salesforce has established an office of ethical and humane use to address inquiries and apprehensions about the use of technologies, AI included.

Effective ways to enhance workplace collaboration

The study shows that one-third of executives track metrics like work hours and email communication, which only 15% of employees perceive as helpful in improving productivity.

“There’s much more to productivity than inputs alone,” said Janzer. “It’s key to build a culture that measures performance based on results instead of solely tracking inputs like hours worked or emails sent.”

The report also emphasizes the significance of enabling effective hybrid work by providing employees with innovative means to collaborate and communicate. According to the survey, employees require a flexible work schedule (52%), a distinct workspace with more meeting rooms and quiet areas (32%) and superior technology to collaborate from any location (80%) to boost productivity.

However, only 21% of executives are modifying the physical office to enhance productivity, and merely 19% encourage asynchronous work, which assists in reducing meeting times.

The post-pandemic office role

The role of the office has shifted in the post-pandemic world, said Janzer. In the past, the office was the primary location for all work, but now, employees primarily want to use the space to collaborate.

“The crucial factor is to create workplace policies with purposeful intent,” she added. “That includes defining core collaboration hours, a block of time when teammates are expected to be available for meetings and real-time responses, as well as time when people have more flexibility to work in a way that’s best for them — whether that’s stepping away from their computer to whiteboard, or doing heads-down focus work.”

Janzer mentioned that integrating apps directly into Slack can help teams reduce context switching and complete all their work in a single tool, regardless of their location. Additionally, Slack’s upcoming generative AI feature SlackGPT will allow employees to summarize conversations and huddles, making catching up on unread messages received during working hours easier, especially for distributed teams.

The importance of mental well-being for productivity

Another intriguing finding from the survey was that job satisfaction, engagement and mental wellness are top factors that contribute to productivity.

As a result, Salesforce recommends that leaders should focus on both productivity and wellness to achieve optimal results and believes that incorporating AI and automation tools can be a critical component in attaining this goal.

“Transparent, two-way conversations between leaders and employees help companies understand how people feel about their work and workload and whether they have the proper environment to thrive, said Janzer. “Setting employees up for success includes creating clarity around expectations, setting up a time for focus work, and adopting the right tools and technology. So, do not overlook the importance of motivating teams to create a healthy and productive environment.”

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Firms report cost savings (66%), and strategies like clear communication, trust, goal‑setting, and flexible staffing patterns help sustain customer service.

Title:

Content: 3 days a week is a trust war between employers and employees!
Journalist Ho Che-hsin / Feature article
The government will respond by June 26 to the public ’ s proposal to make Taiwan the first country in Asia to take a three-day weekend off, which has already been endorsed by more than 5,000 people.
However, in fact, in order to achieve the goal of three days of weekly rest, the role of the government is not important, the focus is on the communication between employers and employees, enhance work efficiency, the company's revenue is not affected, if the trust between employers and employees is insufficient, hastily take three days off each week, will only perish in the embarrassing situation of workers' disgrace and employers' anger, which will not help to increase labor rights and harmonious labor.
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The concept of "three days off" was first proposed by New Zealand entrepreneur Barnes, who saw a study in The Economist that "workers who take two days off and work eight hours a day are only 1.5 to 2.5 hours a day productive." Workers can also take an extra day off each week to have time to rest or do what they want, which is good for both employers and employees, so why insist on working five days a week?
As a result, Barnes began to advocate his ideas, and worked with the British non-profit organization 4 Day Week Global, among others, to conduct experiments in the United Kingdom.
Gradually, the idea of a three-day weekend became popular in Europe and spread to other countries around the world.
Barnes also wrote his experience as a "three-day weekend revolution" book, hoping that more and more companies will be willing to promote three-day weekend.
However, Barnes clearly mentioned in the beginning of the book that the three-day weekend must be a policy that can be completed by the cooperation of both employers and employees.
First of all, workers must first clarify themselves, their weekday work, whether they often encounter what will hinder the work efficiency of the trivial matters? Such as meaningless meetings, gossip chat in the tea room for too long, or lazy Internet browsing, etc., since you want to increase the daily work efficiency, you must first set goals, how to reduce these interference, so that the original five-day work can be completed in four days.
For the employer, if you are willing to give employees an extra day of leave, you must first ensure that the weekly working hours will not increase, and other working days, you can still work on time without overtime.
Otherwise, to work five days a week, eight hours a day, to work four days a week, 10 hours a day, this will also let the workers lose the incentive to this policy.
But even if the employer is willing to take three days off a week, willing to empower the worker to decide their own performance, but the enterprise is still for profit after all, if because the worker takes an extra day off, resulting in a reduction in corporate revenue, or customer complaints increase, such an extra day of leave, it is not feasible.
In addition, workers must also remember that this is the result of coordination between employers and employees, but if the employee finds that the efficiency of the employee has not improved after four days of work per week, at least compared to the efficiency of the employee working for five days, then the employer also has the right to refuse to implement a three-day weekly rest.
Weekly rest three days is the result of each enterprise, labor and capital to communicate with each other, so it is not necessarily a company to be fully implemented within the company, the willingness of both labor and capital is the most important, if the labor is unwilling to cooperate, or the supervisor has doubts, you can also be promoted by some departments first, and weekly rest three days are not mandatory to take three days off at the weekend, otherwise there are fewer rotating staff, which has an impact on the company's operations.
In short, the three-day weekend is a result that can only be achieved after both employers and employees are willing to push each other to come up with a viable alternative.
If implemented smoothly, workers take an extra day off, they can have more time to rest, so that they can be physically and mentally rejuvenated, and they can have more time to spend with their families, which can help increase the marriage rate and fertility rate.
But most workers are still worried that an extra day of leave may reduce their income, and even this day of leave does not know what to do, so it is better to keep working five days a week.
This is also a problem that European and American countries often encounter in the early days of promoting the three-day weekend. Sometimes the workers themselves are unwilling, or can not guarantee that the work efficiency will not be affected by less than one day of work, so that the management will not implement the three-day weekend.
In other words, although in order to live, everyone must work, but work is not the whole of life, with the progress of the times, everyone should pay more attention to their labor rights, the right to decide more rest, the right to value their own health, the right to spend more time on themselves, rather than just work.
Back to the network.
It can be imagined that when there is no consensus between employers and employees, everyone will expect the Government to set the standards.
But different industries are different, how each worker tries to increase their work efficiency, the method is also different, it is difficult for the government to uniformly set standards, and it is impossible to force enterprises to comply with, otherwise it will be punished, after all, the operation of each enterprise is not the same.
Therefore, before discussing "three days off week", it is more important that employees and employees should clearly express their position, why do employees want to take one more day off, how do employers ensure that taking one more day will not harm the interests of the company?
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Organizations should track success using a balanced scorecard of productivity, revenue, customer satisfaction, staff turnover, absenteeism, stress and burnout, sleep and health, and commuting and energy use.

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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.

In one UK program, business productivity averaged 7.5/10, revenue rose 35% during trial periods, absenteeism fell, and most companies chose to continue the model.

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

Policy momentum is visible as well, including proposals like the US 32‑Hour Workweek Act, even as no country has fully mandated a four‑day week nationwide.

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According to a March survey of 868 people by Monster, a job advisory website, a four-day week is becoming popular, with 61% of respondents preferring to work four days rather than five days a week and 33% willing to quit their current job to get fewer days.
Vicki Salemi, a career expert at Monster, points out that this is a significant proportion, and the result is a shift in workers to rethink how they work.
Salami said many people still feel empowered to look forward to more flexibility at work, and some seasonal factors may also have an impact, such as some people planning future summer trips and therefore want to work fewer days.
Half of the respondents in the survey said they would be more productive if they worked fewer days, and 10% were even willing to cut their pay.
For decades, a four-day workweek has been seen as an unattainable work benefit, but this is changing, and more global experiments now confirm that companies can do it.
In a six-month trial conducted by the nonprofit organization 4 Day Week Global, workers reported less fatigue, more positive work, and happier feelings about their daily work, personal life, finances and emotional situation, and companies also received more benefits, such as increased productivity and satisfaction, higher earnings, and lower turnover.
Some lawmakers are trying to push through the law with positive test results in an attempt to reduce the number of working days.
Maryland lawmakers introduced a new proposal in January to encourage public and private employers to experiment with shortening working days without cutting wages or benefits.
In Congress, Representative Mark Takano of California once again proposed the 32-Hour Workweek Act, which, if passed, would reduce the current standard legal working hours from 40 to 32 hours, and would require overtime pay for work beyond the time limit.
In the future, more and more companies are likely to try to reduce the number of working days, especially in the face of the economic challenges of not being able to raise or promote employees.
According to a recent Payscale report, last year, the proportion of companies offering four-day working days reached the 10% threshold for the first time.
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Overall, evidence from multi‑country pilots indicates that a well‑designed four‑day workweek can maintain or raise output, improve well‑being, lower turnover and absenteeism, and strengthen recruitment, while requiring careful sector‑specific design to address customer coverage, equity, and operational continuity.

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

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

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

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

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