The concept of a 4-day workweek has been gaining traction globally, with several countries and companies experimenting with this approach.

The benefits of a 4-day workweek include improved employee well-being, productivity, and work-life balance, as well as cost savings and revenue growth.

A significant number of companies have reported positive results from implementing a 4-day workweek, including improved employee mental and physical health, reduced staff turnover and absenteeism, and increased productivity.

However, the implementation of a 4-day workweek can also pose challenges, such as meeting customer demands and ensuring business continuity, particularly in industries that require a 5-day workweek.

To mitigate these challenges, companies can use strategies such as automation and AI to improve efficiency and productivity, and prioritize clear communication and employee-focused policies.

The use of technology, such as AI and automation, can play a crucial role in supporting a 4-day workweek, and companies can leverage these technologies to improve efficiency and productivity.

Ultimately, the success of a 4-day workweek depends on the company's ability to adapt and implement effective strategies to address the challenges and drawbacks associated with reduced work hours.

The 4-day workweek has been shown to have numerous benefits, including reducing stress and burnout rates, with nine out of 10 companies planning to continue shortened workweeks.

A significant environmental benefit of a 4-day workweek is the reduction of traffic emissions by 15 percent, as well as a decrease in work-related travel by 12.5-37.5 percent.

Companies can measure and reduce their carbon footprint during the transition to a 4-day workweek by monitoring energy consumption, travel, and mobility.

The reduction in carbon emissions from mobility is a direct result of the reduced workweek, and companies can support carbon neutrality goals by reducing travel times.

A four-day week could lower CO2 emissions by over 20 percent, and a UK-wide switch to four-day working could reduce environmental impact.

The city of Iceland trialled four-day weeks in workplaces like preschools and hospitals, providing a model for other countries to follow.

A 2021 study by Platform London found that a four-day week can reduce emissions, highlighting the potential for a 4-day workweek to have a positive impact on the environment.

Companies can also reduce their carbon footprint by implementing a hybrid work system, which applies to two remote workdays.

The reduction in energy consumption in offices is another environmental benefit of a 4-day workweek, as offices are typically empty for an extra day.

To measure the carbon footprint, companies can track the reduction in mobility, energy consumption, and travel, and use this data to make informed decisions about their sustainability goals.

Overall, the implementation of a 4-day workweek has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions and support companies' sustainability goals.

The adoption of a 4-day workweek has increased to 21% in 2021 from 18% in 2019, with 65% of respondents having a four-day workweek for at least some workers.

A four-day workweek can involve reduced workdays or compressed hours, and pilot projects are underway in several countries, including the US, UK, and Spain.

The benefits of a shorter workweek include cost savings, improved productivity, and less-stressed workers, with 68% of survey respondents noting hiring and retention benefits from a four-day week.

However, implementing a four-day week can be complicated, especially for customer-facing or diverse workforces, and small companies may struggle to support a four-day week due to limited resources.

A gradual reduction in working hours can help businesses transition to a four-day week, and some countries have seen an increase in part-time jobs, with over 30% of employees working part-time in Europe.

The average annual working time in Germany is less than 1,350 hours, the lowest among OECD countries, and experts predict employee shortages will worsen as baby boomers retire.

Some organizations may be forced to close due to the costs associated with a four-day workweek, and employees' quality of life may decrease with reduced income.

The four-day workweek may also have a negative impact on employers and employees, and can lead to higher prices and inflation.

Reduced work hours can lead to lower future retirement income, and 45% of individuals worry about low retirement income with reduced hours.

A four-day workweek can increase strain on employees without proper implementation, and productivity can remain the same or decrease with reduced work hours.

Well-being benefits of four-day workweeks may level out in the long run, and four-day workweeks can lead to greater burnout than five-day workweeks.

Some companies have seen benefits from a four-day workweek, including a 25% reduction in employees' leave and sick days, and a 15% reduction in internal administrative time.

However, a four-day workweek may not be applicable to all industries, such as healthcare, and AI can automate daily tasks making a four-day workweek a potential reality.

Employees have reported benefits from a four-day workweek, including improved work-life balance, reduced stress, and increased productivity, with 71% of employees experiencing work-related burnout.

A four-day workweek can also boost employee well-being, and employees have promoted productivity technologies to maintain productivity.

Four-day workweek increases employee productivity, improves employee happiness, and helps balance work and personal life, with working hours reduced to 32 hours without pay cut.

Four-day workweek reduces traffic jams and emissions, and health and technology sectors have tried four-day workweek, which helps retain qualified employees.

Conflicting work schedules are a challenge of four-day workweek, and companies and governments can mitigate the consequences of a four-day workweek by implementing gradual reductions in working hours and providing support for employees.

To ensure a 4-day workweek is equitable and accessible for all employees, companies must consider individual employee needs and benefits, as well as the specific requirements of different industries and occupations.

Companies may adopt 4-day workweeks for better work-life balance, but this may not suit all workers, especially low-paid labor, and may be impossible in certain industries such as IT and service.

A 4-day workweek can be successfully implemented with proper planning, clear rules, and communication, as well as measurable work and clear goals.

Establishing clear expectations is key to a successful 4-day workweek, and constant feedback is necessary to adjust to the new work schedule.

The 100:80:100 model, where employees work 80% of the time with 100% productivity and the same salary, is being tested by 70 UK companies with 3,300 employees, and has shown promising results.

This model aims to improve the quality of life and competitiveness of employees, and has been shown to improve productivity, well-being, and employee stress.

Companies must also consider the potential challenges related to labor laws and corporate culture when implementing a 4-day workweek.

A 4-day workweek can be beneficial for employees, with 50% of workers reporting better productivity, 83% saying they were happier, and 42% reporting increased energy levels.

To ensure equity and accessibility, companies must prioritize employee-focused policies, operate with empathy towards employees, and invest in mental health support.

The global trend towards a 4-day workweek is gaining momentum, with nearly 500 companies worldwide testing this new work model, and 36% of companies improving performance, 54% increasing productivity, and 63% attracting more talent.

Clear measurements and goals are essential for employees to understand their tasks and adjust to the new work schedule, and companies must be willing to make adjustments to the organization of work.

Companies must also consider the potential impact on gender equality and employee stress when implementing a 4-day workweek, and be willing to make changes to ensure a successful implementation.

The benefits of a 4-day workweek include improved employee well-being, productivity, and work-life balance, as well as cost savings and revenue growth, with 24 companies reporting 34% revenue growth and 66% of respondents reporting cost savings.

A 4-day workweek can also lead to increased job applications, with Atom Bank seeing a 500% surge in job applications after introducing a 4-day week.

However, implementing a 4-day workweek can be challenging, especially for larger organizations, and companies must be willing to adapt and make changes to ensure a successful implementation.

Smaller organizations may find it easier to adopt a 4-day workweek, but all companies must prioritize clear communication, trust, and empathy towards employees to ensure a successful implementation.

Ultimately, a 4-day workweek can be a beneficial and equitable option for all employees, but companies must be willing to put in the effort to ensure a successful implementation and address any challenges that may arise.

The implementation of a 4-day workweek has been shown to increase productivity, with a 20% increase reported by a New Zealand company.

A 40% increase in productivity was also reported by Microsoft Japan.

Employee stress has been found to decrease with a 4-day workweek, from 45% to 38% in one study.

Work-life balance scores have also improved, increasing from 54% to 78% with a 3-day workweek.

Leadership scores have improved with the implementation of a 3-day workweek.

Employee confidence and sense of responsibility have also increased with a 3-day workweek.

The 4 Day Week Global organization promotes the benefits of a 4-day workweek

The concept of a 4-day workweek has been gaining traction globally, with several countries and companies experimenting with this approach.

Title:

Content: Sorry, this item is not available in your area.
Which European countries have implemented a system of four days a week with employees keeping their salaries?
Conversation
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.

The benefits of a 4-day workweek include improved employee well-being, productivity, and work-life balance, as well as cost savings and revenue growth.

Title:

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

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

The employees were happier
The productivity  increased

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Increase in employee and customer satisfaction.

A significant number of companies have reported positive results from implementing a 4-day workweek, including improved employee mental and physical health, reduced staff turnover and absenteeism, and increased productivity.

Title:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Report highlights four-day week advantages

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

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

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

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

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

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

A shorter workweek can mean challenges

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.

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

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

The employees were happier
The productivity  increased

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

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

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

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

Increase in work quality indicators
Increase in productivity

However, the implementation of a 4-day workweek can also pose challenges, such as meeting customer demands and ensuring business continuity, particularly in industries that require a 5-day workweek.

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

Food and beverage industry may face more problems.

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

To mitigate these challenges, companies can use strategies such as automation and AI to improve efficiency and productivity, and prioritize clear communication and employee-focused policies.

Title:

Content: For best browsing results, we recommend using Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge browsers.
Please download from Edge official website, please download from FireFox official website, please download from Google official website
Limitation level
You must be at least 18 years old to view the news content you are about to enter.
In accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 3 of Article 6 of the amended Regulations on the Classification and Processing of Computer Network Content, it has been marked on the homepage of the website or each of the restricted pages in accordance with the provisions of the Taiwan Website Rating Promotion Foundation.
TICRF Website: http: / / www.ticrf.org.tw
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.
The diagram has nothing to do with this news.
(Euronews)
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.
No need to smoke, no need to grab, now use the APP to watch the news, guarantee the daily winning point I download the APP
Related News
International hot today.
Netizens respond.
This page has been idle for more than 5 minutes. Please click on the transparent black bottom or the X button at the bottom right corner.

The use of technology, such as AI and automation, can play a crucial role in supporting a 4-day workweek, and companies can leverage these technologies to improve efficiency and productivity.

Title:

Content: My channel
* Drag categories can be customized sorting
Recover Default OK
Setup
Alert
Trump Appears in Court, "1 Truth" Exposed, Self-reported Height 6 feet 2, Shrunk 1 inch
Not even interstate abortions...
Idaho passes "the strictest abortion law in the country"
Don't want to work...
33% of employees are willing to resign to find a “4 days a week ” job
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.
Labor Benefits in California
The last one.
KENYA has a lot of weird rules...
Students only eat sushi for lunch, class is on the 1st floor
Extended reading
Super-popular
More >

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

Ultimately, the success of a 4-day workweek depends on the company's ability to adapt and implement effective strategies to address the challenges and drawbacks associated with reduced work hours.

Title:

Content: BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

A Psychologist Explores The ‘Shorter Workweek Paradox’

Following
Click to save this article.
You'll be asked to sign into your Forbes account.
Got it

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.

The 4-day workweek has been shown to have numerous benefits, including reducing stress and burnout rates, with nine out of 10 companies planning to continue shortened workweeks.

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

A significant environmental benefit of a 4-day workweek is the reduction of traffic emissions by 15 percent, as well as a decrease in work-related travel by 12.5-37.5 percent.

Title:

Content: news

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Copyright CNBC
Contact Us

Companies can measure and reduce their carbon footprint during the transition to a 4-day workweek by monitoring energy consumption, travel, and mobility.

Title:

Content: My channel
* Drag categories can be customized sorting
Recover Default OK
Setup
Alert
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.
Artificial Intelligence AI Australia
The last one.
Iran is no longer fighting a “shadow war ” with Israel.
The next one.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is now studying the pros and cons of AI.
Extended reading
Super-popular
More >

The reduction in carbon emissions from mobility is a direct result of the reduced workweek, and companies can support carbon neutrality goals by reducing travel times.

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

Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter

Copyright CNBCs - CNBC
Contact Us

A four-day week could lower CO2 emissions by over 20 percent, and a UK-wide switch to four-day working could reduce environmental impact.

Title:

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.
News you might like.
No stories found.
Sabq Electronic Newspaper
sabq.org

The city of Iceland trialled four-day weeks in workplaces like preschools and hospitals, providing a model for other countries to follow.

Title:

Content: Four working days a week increases profits and improves workers ’ health
T + T - normal size
Researchers have found that the four-day workweek system tested by British companies with about 2,900 employees not only saves workers from fatigue and disease, but is also good for the work itself, as it does not lead to lower profits, but increases them.
Therefore, most of the companies that tested it plan to continue working with it, according to Russia Today.
The researchers surveyed employees regularly and periodically to assess the impact of the extra day off on their lives.
The workers stressed that currently they rarely suffer from anxiety and that their mental health has improved significantly.
Print Email

A 2021 study by Platform London found that a four-day week can reduce emissions, highlighting the potential for a 4-day workweek to have a positive impact on the environment.

Title:

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.
I'm reading.

Companies can also reduce their carbon footprint by implementing a hybrid work system, which applies to two remote workdays.

Title:

Content: 16 +
More news
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.
Today at 10: 23, views: 73, comments: 0
No comments yet.
Comments can be left only by registered users.
You can log in to the site
Top 10
1.
In Surgut, a vandal broke the tops of young cedars 793
2.
In Nizhnevartovsk confectioner paid for the use of images of “Malysharikov ” 718
3.
Police of Surgut district called “signs ” of counterfeit banknotes 667
4.
More than 900 cases of covid recorded in Ugra per day 666
5.
Yugra brought silver from the all-Russian beauty contest for wheelchair users 604
6.
A resident of Lyantor came up with mechanisms capable of combating oil spills 556
7.
In the capital of Ugra will host an inclusive reading festival 529
8.
In Ugra by the end of the year plan to provide all orphans with housing 527
9.
The price bites: what has risen in price in Yugra over the summer? / / OVERVIEW SIA PRESS 427
10.
The car lady tragically died in an accident in the Surgut district 202
1.
Gone is the era: in Surgut began the demolition of unfinished Energetikov 1974
2.
“The era of stagnation in the Russian space industry is over, but we should not rejoice.
Because the degradation begins. ” 1842
3.
Half of home buyers in Surgut are afraid of becoming a victim of a fraudster 1573
4.
In the Surgut district held elections of the heads of three settlements 1525
5.
How worn are Surgut utilities and how much does it cost to change them?
1498
6.
The Department of Culture and Youth Policy of Surgut was headed by Anton Akulov 1466
7.
Residents of Pyt-Yakh steal fertilizers from the topiary park 1437
8.
Strange: the viper on the "Grasov pyatachka" could not be demolished for 15 years, and the railway station was solved very quickly 1385
9.
Natalia Komarova showed how high-speed passenger boats are built in Surgut.
Far from the water, 1341
10.
Poachers from Ugra caught fish for more than one million rubles 1328
1.
The supply of heating in Surgut will begin on Monday and will last five days 7114
2.
How 37 years ago Gorbachev came to Surgut 4849
3.
In the accident killed the director of the popular beauty clinic in Surgut 4154
4.
Escaped in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug teenagers found almost one and a half thousand kilometers from the house 4084
5.
Snow is just around the corner.
The cold is approaching on Yugra 3498
6.
In Surgut looking for a man who came to the city to work and became homeless 3138
7.
At the Yugorsk deposit noticed a flock of wolves 2872
8.
In Surgut will build a large mosque for half a billion rubles 2854
9.
Casimir Landgraf is a worthy disciple of the great teacher 2727
10.
In Nizhnevartovsk, the owner of the shopping center dismantled the playground to further sell alcohol 2423

The reduction in energy consumption in offices is another environmental benefit of a 4-day workweek, as offices are typically empty for an extra day.

Title:

Content: New Zealand company "closed 4 days a week"!
Employees go to work for 3 days "productivity increased by 20%"
▲ Taiwan 's three-day weekend continues to ferment. (Photo by reporter Li Jiarong)
Intern reporter Su Minzhen / Comprehensive report
The number of signatures reached the threshold of "three days a week", and the government must respond by June 26.
In this regard, a doctor shared that a financial company in New Zealand implemented a "four-day week off" with a significant effect, and increased productivity by about 20%.
Dr. Ooi Hean, a critical care physician who compiled scientific reports on “days off ” on Facebook, mentioned that Andrew Barnes, founder of Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand financial services company, started an eight-week experiment with 240 employees in 2018 with“ constant pay but only three days a week. ”
[Advertisement] Please continue reading...
After the results of the experiment were released, everyone was shocked, and the results showed that when employees worked only three days a week, their physical and mental health improved greatly: 1.
Employee productivity increased by about 20% ”, 2.
Proven improved employee leadership, excitement, confidence and accountability, all positive related scores, 3.
Employee stress decreased from 45% to 38%, and the work-life balance score increased from 54% to 78%.
After this experiment, Andrew Barnes officially changed the company to "four days off" and set up the "4 Day Week Global" organization to promote the "four days off" in the hope of making an impact internationally.
Taiwan ’ s “three-day weekend ” issue has also continued to ferment recently. In response to an interview yesterday (15), Vice Premier of the Executive Yuan, Cheng Wen-chan, said that no country in Asia has yet implemented this policy, and will report the world trend to the citizens of the proposal according to the facts.
According to the Central Police report, the Ministry of Labor today (16) responded that at present, no country in the world is through the law, compulsory weekly rest of three days; if Taiwan wants to legislate, involving a wide range of aspects, I am afraid it is difficult to extend.
Save money and fight! Super super discount waiting for you to go
Large cans and cheap ► Washing clothes thoroughly "Miao Butler Antibacterial Laundry Detergent 4000gx4 Bottles" Limited Time $399
Less than $7 for 1 tablet ► Dr.Bone for Cats & Dogs $399
Share with friends:
※ This article is copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without permission. [ETtoday Copyright Notice]
Hot News
The best video
And more.
Hot News
Back to the top.

To measure the carbon footprint, companies can track the reduction in mobility, energy consumption, and travel, and use this data to make informed decisions about their sustainability goals.

Title:

Content: Survey: More than 80% of British companies believe that the four-day work system is effective
Subscriber
Font Size:
More than 70 companies in the United Kingdom participated in the four-day work week pilot project in June this year, the latest survey and evaluation shows that the four-day work system is feasible, more than 80% of participants responded well, think the four-day work system is effective.
According to a survey released on September 20 by 4 Day Week Global, a whopping 88% of participants felt that working four days a week was “good. ”
Nearly half of the participating companies said their business productivity was "at the same level" as the five-day system; about a third had "a slight improvement" in productivity, and another 15 percent had "a significant improvement" in productivity.
Sign up to continue reading the full article!
LIKE Our official website for more information

Overall, the implementation of a 4-day workweek has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions and support companies' sustainability goals.

Title:

Content: 4 working days experience succeeds brilliantly in Britain – Al Manar Channel – Lebanon
Lebanese Media Group
Al Manar Channel
Four days of work in the UK.
The four-day week trial has been successful in British companies, after the vast majority of companies that participated in the largest experiment in the world chose to continue working with this new system, according to the Guardian newspaper.
British companies have promised the experiment is proof that it can succeed at the UK level, and have indicated that the results will be presented to MPs, as part of a campaign that encourages politicians to adopt the new experiment.
Of the 61 companies that participated in the six-month trial, 56 extended the four-day workweek, while 18 made it permanent.
Four Days a Week campaign manager Joe Ryle described the experience as a major achievement: “In a wide range of sectors, employee comfort has improved significantly; productivity has remained the same or improved in almost all cases.
Sheffield ’ s Rivelin Robotics, one of the companies that participated in the experiment, plans to continue working with the new approach, and Chief Product Officer David Mason hopes that this system will improve the recruitment system in the future.
Launched in the UK in June 2022, the four-day trial was promoted by the New Zealand-based non-profit organisation, 4 Day Week Global, and overseen by the Autonomy Centre and a team of academics.
The companies participating in the experiment underwent training and mentoring sessions to help them work with the new system.
Employees were given the opportunity to continue receiving their current salary, working 4 days instead of 5.
Around 2,900 employees across the UK participated in the experiment.
Surveys conducted before and after the trial found that 39 percent were less stressed, 40 percent slept better, and 54 percent said it was easier to balance work and home responsibilities.
It is noteworthy that the number of sick days requested by employees during the experiment decreased by about two-thirds, and the number of employees leaving the companies participating in the experiment decreased by 57%, compared to the same period of the previous year.
The Social Loan Bank said it was a successful and wonderful experience for nearly two-thirds of our team.
They have successfully moved to work 4 days a week, and they love it.
It was a shift in their mood, and they were proud of their work.
At the Royal Society of Biology in London, its 38 employees now take time off on Monday or Friday, and the working day has been extended from seven to eight hours, with its chief executive, Mark Downs, showing that changing the way the society works is vital.
“You can ’ t reduce your working hours without increasing productivity and improving performance, ” he said.
Downs said that employees sometimes had to be flexible to attend important meetings on non-working days, for example, but the employee surveys conducted during the experiment yielded a great result: “I would say without exaggeration that it is the most positive response I have seen in any employee survey.
This system was unanimously adopted.
Everyone was very supportive of him. ”
Source: Locations

The adoption of a 4-day workweek has increased to 21% in 2021 from 18% in 2019, with 65% of respondents having a four-day workweek for at least some workers.

Title:

Content: The 3-day experiment was successful!
Employees say, "Can't go back," and the company benefits.
Editorial Center / General Report
Most countries around the world still use the “five-day work ” system, which allows employees to get two days off in seven days a week.
However, in recent years, some advanced countries have begun to carry out "three days off" experiments. Recently, the United Kingdom carried out a test that lasted for half a year, and the results showed that three days off a week is not only conducive to the health of employees, but also the company can benefit from it.
This is an advertisement, please continue reading.
According to foreign media reports, researchers from the British non-profit organization "4 Day Week Global" and top universities such as Autonomy think tank, Cambridge, Oxford and Boston, USA, led the three-day weekend trial, and found 61 companies in different fields, a total of 2,900 employees from June 2022, to maintain the three-day weekend work mode for six months, with no change in salary.
This experiment is also the world 's largest weekly rest 3 day experiment, also in the recent experimental results released, the results found that for employees, not only can get enough sleep and improve anxiety problems, work laziness, but also more time to study and accompany their families, "71% of employees think that after the implementation of the weekly rest 3 days, work laziness is reduced, 40% of people also feel their own. Mental health and physical conditions have improved", and 96% of the employees admitted that they prefer to take a 3-day week off, and 15% of them insisted that they continue to take a 3-day week off, even if the salary is increased, they will not want to return to the 2-day week mode.
Brendan Burchell, a professor of social sciences at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, also mentioned that before the trial, there was concern that employees working only four days a week might usher in higher intensity work, which would offset the benefits of three days off, but the results showed that “people found various ways to be more productive and reduce a lot of time wasted. ”
Because of the improvement of the physical and mental conditions of employees, the 61 companies in this experiment also benefited, not only the number of sick days of employees decreased by 60%, the turnover rate of employees decreased, and the average income increased by about 1%, so most companies want to continue to implement the three-day week off model.
(Editor: Pan Yi)
This is an advertisement, please continue reading.

A four-day workweek can involve reduced workdays or compressed hours, and pilot projects are underway in several countries, including the US, UK, and Spain.

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.
BACK TO TOP

The benefits of a shorter workweek include cost savings, improved productivity, and less-stressed workers, with 68% of survey respondents noting hiring and retention benefits from a four-day week.

Title:

Content: news

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Copyright CNBCs - CNBC
Contact Us

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

However, implementing a four-day week can be complicated, especially for customer-facing or diverse workforces, and small companies may struggle to support a four-day week due to limited resources.

Title:

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:

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

Lack of resouces to support shift for sall comppanies

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

Food and beverage industry may face more problems.

A gradual reduction in working hours can help businesses transition to a four-day week, and some countries have seen an increase in part-time jobs, with over 30% of employees working part-time in Europe.

Title:

Content: Whether to implement the four-day work week can be decided by the employer.
Font Size:
Faced with a tight labour market, the Ministry of Manpower has called on employers to implement flexible working arrangements and to decide for themselves, as appropriate, which work arrangements best meet the needs of business and employees, including whether to implement the four-day work system, but the government has no intention of piloting the four-day work system in the public sector at this time.
Yan Xiaofang, Minister of Education and Minister of Manpower, said Tuesday (September 13) in response to an oral question from Yang Yicai, a member of the Latin Maersk region, that the four-day system is one of the forms of flexible working arrangements, and that reducing the number of working days may be effective for some employers and employees, while others are not.
The Ministry of Manpower and the Labour and Management Tripartite Partners encourage employers to be open to all forms of flexible working arrangements in order to identify and adopt the most suitable form.
The Ministry noted that a number of countries, such as Ireland, Japan and Spain, had experimented with the four-day system.
In Belgium, on the other hand, employees are entitled to work four days a week, but the working hours are extended each day, and the total number of hours worked per week remains the same, and so far the results appear to be mixed.
Stakeholder concerns include the impact of the four-day system on productivity, business costs and employee well-being.
While there are examples of productivity gains, it depends on the field and type of work.
In other cases, reduced working hours mean employers need to hire more people.
At the same time, there are also concerns that wages may be reduced, and some people may face greater pressure by working longer hours per day.
LIKE Our official website for more information

The average annual working time in Germany is less than 1,350 hours, the lowest among OECD countries, and experts predict employee shortages will worsen as baby boomers retire.

Title:

Content: Linsay Moran On How We Need To Adjust To The Future Of Work

Flex time in a way that hasn’t been explored before. This will require trust between employees and employers. Working from remote locations and embracing the digital nomads who are contributing to work, but from a different location, and seeing that as a benefit, not a challenge. When it comes to designing the future of work, […]

Thrive invites voices from many spheres to share their perspectives on our Community platform. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team, and opinions expressed by Community contributors do not reflect the opinions of Thrive or its employees. More information on our Community guidelines is available here.

Flex time in a way that hasn’t been explored before. This will require trust between employees and employers. Working from remote locations and embracing the digital nomads who are contributing to work, but from a different location, and seeing that as a benefit, not a challenge.

When it comes to designing the future of work, one size fits none. Discovering success isn’t about a hybrid model or offering remote work options. Individuals and organizations are looking for more freedom. The freedom to choose the work model that makes the most sense. The freedom to choose their own values. And the freedom to pursue what matters most. We reached out to successful leaders and thought leaders across all industries to glean their insights and predictions about how to create a future that works.

As a part of our interview series called “How Employers and Employees are Reworking Work Together,” we had the pleasure to interview Linsay Moran.

Linsay Moran is the Co-Founder of Unwrapit, a digital gifting platform on a mission to help companies break free from the conventional thinking that surrounds corporate gift giving. An operational leader, committed to social impact businesses, Linsay had a career as an events director and more recently, played a key leadership role in a rapidly scaling engineering company prior to co-founding Unwrapit. Linsay is passionate about supporting, mentoring and amplifying women, in all stages of their career.

Thank you for making time to visit with us about the topic of our time. Our readers would like to get to know you a bit better. Can you please tell us about one or two life experiences that most shaped who you are today.

Thanks for the opportunity to connect!

It was one decision that defined two of my most significant life experiences.

At the age of 23, a fresh university graduate, I decided to pack my bags and move to London to work and live for a short period of time. My intention was to live in London for 6–8 weeks and spend a few additional weeks travelling throughout Europe.

The decision to embrace this “life experience” taught me a lesson, one that continues to shape who I am today. The lesson was fairly cliché and a variation on “things don’t always work out as you plan and as a result, stay open to opportunities”. Upon arriving in London I secured a short-term role as a PA (personal assistant). They needed someone in the position full-time but the agency placed me temporarily as they worked to secure their candidate.

Within a week the Founder/Owner of the business told the agency to cease the search and asked me to take on the full-time position. I would have never applied for the role, thinking I didn’t have the qualifications (nor did I plan to stay in London long-term). Instead, I demonstrated my ability to learn, leaned into my “roll up the sleeves” approach and realized it was something I could be good at. I went on to work for that company for about a year and learned so much about the corporate events industry in the UK.

During that time I understood the concept that life truly is too short. Just a few days after landing in the UK, I found out that one of my closest friends had been diagnosed with breast cancer at age 24. She fought for her life but in the end she passed away just five short months after diagnosis.

When I came back to Canada I was determined to do something in her honour. It led me to the world of nonprofit organizations and I’m grateful for that experience. I had the opportunity to work with individuals who had careers rooted in giving back. I learned an incredible amount in just a few years with strong leadership who took a chance on me and pushed me to get outside of my comfort zone and take on challenges I may not have initially felt prepared for . I try to do the same for other new team members as I recognize how much this shaped me.

Let’s zoom out. What do you predict will be the same about work, the workforce and the workplace 10–15 years from now? What do you predict will be different?

Work will always play an important role in an individual’s life, by its very nature. But the notion of someone being defined by their work is shifting and changing. Life is full of uncertainties, especially during a global pandemic. And for many, the last two years have proven that nothing is permanent. This has been an awakening for many.

I think (hope) that individuals will still find meaningful relationships at work. With colleagues that they learn from and grow with. And there will of course be challenges that run alongside that. “Office politics” will still play a role in a virtual or in-person world with new challenges to overcome.

Another thing that is the same and evolving further is the idea that “work” isn’t just confined to your job or an office. People are connecting through LInkedIn, networking organizations and events in a way that they might not have before.

Additionally, I was chatting with our newest team member (Awurakua Anim) about this question and she offered some great insights regarding what would be different. Her objective view is interesting, as someone recently graduated from University and new to the workforce. We talked about companies further investing in their team and prioritizing transparent, employee-focused, policies. We saw this recently with the #showusyourleave movement that rocketed around LinkedIn over the last few weeks. She also noted that companies, our own included, need to further invest and prioritize building systems around their internal and external processes. And that this is particularly important when someone first starts a new role.

And of course, the shift to remote work will continue to drive innovation in tech platforms that connect people and teams. The tools available to us, many developed over the last two years, are allowing for efficiencies at work and fostering better remote connections. Something that most of us wouldn’t have thought was possible just a few years ago. I am not afraid to admit that I was guilty of thinking that an office and a company was defined by four walls and in-person presence. I also acknowledge that some companies will choose to be primarily in-person and bound by four walls. They’ll do this for a handful of rational reasons and it will be a reflection of their culture. We’re not sure at Unwrapit where we’ll land on the fully remote/fully in-person spectrum but we are open and flexible in our approach to it.

What advice would you offer to employers who want to future-proof their organizations?

Think bigger about employee attraction, engagement and retention. Gone are the days of providing great perks and calling it a day.

Many people want to do something that matters. And they want to do it for companies that care about them and their professional growth and personal well-being.

Whether companies like it or not, the next decade is going to require a wholesale transformation of how they do business in order to avoid runaway global warming. And the companies that understand that and get behind it with commitments to organizations like 1% for the Planet and BCorp, will attract talent that understand the importance of putting people and the planet first. With the climate crisis becoming more of a priority for consumers and employees, companies can’t afford to give lip service to sustainability.

On the employee side, creating an “open” environment, free of fear is critical. Where innovative conversations are encouraged and growth and learning are the result, without uncertainty for how it will be received. People want to know that their contributions matter. And that even if their ideas are not spot on this time, if they’re well-thought out and astute, they may be right for another moment.

What do you predict will be the biggest gaps between what employers are willing to offer and what employees expect as we move forward? And what strategies would you offer about how to reconcile those gaps?

As we continue to shape and create the new normal of remote work, we’ll continue to shape and create what is considered to be part of that reality. This will mean different things to different people. And it will mean different things to different sectors of the workforce. It will be imperative that employers don’t “paint all with the same brush” and assume that one policy or plan will work for everyone, or even everyone within one part of their team.

In order to minimize any gaps, or frankly, to even see that there are gaps in the first place, a company and its leaders need to operate with empathy towards their employees.

A recent Forbes article stated it like this, “According to the Harvard Business Review, businesses that put empathy and emotional intelligence ahead of everything else out perform other businesses by 20%. When a leader lacks empathy, everyone keeps their guard up and protects their own self-interest. This means employees don’t share ideas, issues or problems and leaders learn of their employee’s unhappiness only when that employee is walking out the door.”

Employers will also need to reconcile with:

Which roles can be fully remote & which ones can’t due to their nature

And, that hybrid work means different things to different people, there’s a risk of delivering the worst of in-person and the worst of virtual by combining the two and trying to please everyone (per a recent NYT article). We’re going to see more adjusting and revising of policies as hybrid and remote work become more common. Ultimately, we may end up going back to in-person events and offices, and instead, adopt a four-day workweek.

More companies are coming on board with the four-day workweek which is picking up popularity. As it does, it means that companies will need to shift the meaning of what a workweek looks like and how to make employees feel comfortable. This also means different things for different industries. There may be a gap in expectations for employees who want the four-day workweek but are drawn to companies that have chosen to stick with the five day work-week (or have to as a result of their sector). What that means is drawing clear boundaries, rules and expectations around a new, proposed work-week. As a result of tighter work schedules, employees will become better at emailing less, fewer meetings, and prioritizing their work and focusing on that work. There are plenty of success stories out there that support the four day work-week and prove that it alleviates a significant amount of stress for employees who now have more time to focus on their hobbies, families, and personal time.

We simultaneously joined a global experiment together last year called “Working From Home.” How will this experience influence the future of work?

This was another one that I talked to my new (younger!) colleague about and we both agreed that it was quite the experiment. The first words that came to her mind when I asked her this question were, “Flexibility and productivity, with a mutual shared experience of resilience.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Despite the significant efficiency we’ve found in many areas of this “experiment”, we’ve also proven that it can be tough to replace authentic, face-to-face connections with colleagues, if only for the purpose of getting to know one another better. But the world of work (and therefore the future of work) has changed materially and so have our collective expectations of it. We have experienced a blurring of lines, the convergence of our work and home and the reality that one can affect the other. We see individuals becoming more comfortable with this nuance, talking about it on LinkedIn and unapologetically showcasing kids and pets and partners on screen.

And related to that, I think we’re all worrying less about where a person lives and more about what they can bring to the business. Distributed teams will be the norm, not the anomaly as we go forward. We’ll focus less on time at our desks and more on execution and ideas. .

It must be said that we are talking about a specific subsection of businesses and employees as not all sectors will be affected in the same way. For example, those in manufacturing will still go to their job each day in person. And therefore the “future of work” may not look that different to all.

We’ve all read the headlines about how the pandemic reshaped the workforce. What societal changes do you foresee as necessary to support a future of work that works for everyone?

A mental shift as alluded to earlier. Individuals are less defined by their jobs and more so defined by their place in the world. The pandemic forced a pause for many people and it also shone a light on some or our biggest cracks. Childcare. Healthcare. “Hustle culture”. And more. It will be many years before we fully comprehend the collective impact of all of these things.

What is your greatest source of optimism about the future of work?

That two years into this “experiment” so many companies are thriving in the new paradigm and it’s allowed people additional flexibility and the opportunity to focus on quality over quantity.

Our collective mental health and wellbeing are now considered collateral as we consider the future of work. What innovative strategies do you see employers offering to help improve and optimize their employee’s mental health and wellbeing?

This will be the biggest hurdle to overcome , but I don’t think that it’s entirely on employers. Of course, they have an important role to play. Generally individuals that take better control of their own mental health and if they are also supported by their employers, create a winning strategy.

Perhaps controversially, I might note that the old saying, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force it to drink” is applicable in this instance. An employee needs to feel that there are supports in place and feel safe enough in their role to make use of them. But they also need to take responsibility for their own wellbeing (and ensure that they take the drink!).

Through Unwrapit we’ve seen employers embracing some unique strategies including ‘just because’ that includes health and mental wellness gift options. We’ve worked with a vendor who offers remote wellness for teams and she’s used our platform to enhance the experience by adding a fun “lunch on us”. We’ve also seen employers investing in significant mental health support and offering training for things like JEDI if that’s of interest to their teams.

It seems like there’s a new headline every day. ‘The Great Resignation’. ‘The Great Reconfiguration’. And now the ‘Great Reevaluation’. What are the most important messages leaders need to hear from these headlines? How do company cultures need to evolve?

I stated it above and I think it’s worth noting again. For many, the “Great Reevaluation” is about where they are putting their energy, and what they are prioritizing. Many people are asking themselves, is this a company that only cares about the bottom line and keeping their shareholders happy at the end of the fiscal year? Or a company that has a healthy bottom line, happy shareholders, and puts people and planet first.

It isn’t a stretch to understand that the latter is where most people want to work, and as we’re seeing with the Great Resignation, more people have more choices. Employers that don’t see this message in the current shifts taking place will be challenged by high turnover and burned out, unhappy employees.

Let’s get more specific. What are your “Top 5 Trends To Track In the Future of Work?”

  1. Empathetic tech — It’s no longer enough for online tools and services to be functional. Every generation inevitably spends more time on digital. We are now reaching the point where online is the norm, and people are forming their communities and identities within digital environments. This means that the tools we build as technology companies need to adapt to the human aspects of online communities and identities. Just like the progression we’ve seen in architectural design — from the brutalist and modernist mid-20th century buildings to the empathetic and human-centered design of the 21st century –tech companies have to employ empathy to make it comfortable and enjoyable to use tools online.
  2. Putting people and planet first — BLab (the certifying body behind the BCorp Certification) has seen an incredible increase in applicants throughout the pandemic. It seems that the movement has sparked, and companies understand the value of a designation like this. Further, we’ve had job applicants approach us using the 1% for the Planet Membership Database as a “ job search portal”, focusing only on companies who have sought out and completed their certification.
  3. Flex time in a way that hasn’t been explored before. This will require trust between employees and employers. Working from remote locations and embracing the digital nomads who are contributing to work, but from a different location, and seeing that as a benefit, not a challenge.
  4. Parental support. #shareyourleave was a great recent example of this, providing better support to working parents and in particular, women, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
  5. Recognition (done the right way). This isn’t the old school way of recognizing teams. It’s about meeting people where they are, providing them with choice, making it spontaneous sometimes.

I keep quotes on my desk and on scraps of paper to stay inspired. What’s your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? And how has this quote shaped your perspective?

“Lighten up on yourself. No one is perfect. Gently accept your humanness.” — (Deborah Day)

I am always a work in progress. I’ve made mistakes, I think it’s healthy to accept that. I used to say I was a recovering perfectionist but I think I am now recovered (for the most part). I now embrace “progress over perfection” and recognize that in order to move things forward, sometimes it just has to be good enough. I had someone that really pushed me out of my comfort zone on this, and I’m grateful to him for the mindset shift.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He, she, or they might just see this if we tag them.

I’d love the opportunity to connect with Alexis Ohanian. Right front and centre, first line of his personal site he makes this statement, “I’m a technology entrepreneur and investor. I want to be known for making this world better — much better.” And he means that. It’s clear by his actions. We want to do the same thing! It would be amazing to talk to him. He offers his number on the site — maybe I should just text him!

Our readers often like to continue the conversation with our featured interviewees. How can they best connect with you and stay current on what you’re discovering?

We’d love for people to follow us on LinkedIn! We’re active there and talk about social impact, corporate gifting, leadership and much more!

Thank you for sharing your insights and predictions. We appreciate your time and wish you continued success and good health.

You might also like...

Community//

Evan Sohn On How We Need To Adjust To The Future Of Work

by Karen Mangia
Community//

Tom Wilde On How We Need To Adjust To The Future Of Work

by Karen Mangia
Community//

Rajnish Sinha On How We Need To Adjust To The Future Of Work

by Karen Mangia
We use cookies on our site to give you the best experience possible. By continuing to browse the site, you agree to this use. For more information on how we use cookies, see our Privacy Policy.

Some organizations may be forced to close due to the costs associated with a four-day workweek, and employees' quality of life may decrease with reduced income.

Title:

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

What are the views that object 4-day workweek?

It may lead to a large increase in labor costs

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

Lack of resouces to support shift for sall comppanies

The four-day workweek may also have a negative impact on employers and employees, and can lead to higher prices and inflation.

Title:

Content: Weekend shift in UAE: The great disruption and greater benefits

It is clear this change is a progressive shift which will not only help the UAE attract and retain talent, but also improve work-life balance and mental health across its workforce, besides increasing productivity.

private sector, expo 2020, dubai, uae, abu dhabi, IHS Markit UAE Purchasing Managers' Index PMI, non-oil, economy, Dubai, paperless, uae, digital, smart dubai, Emirate, Dubai Government, DubaiNow, Dubai Paperless Strategy

By Hessa Al Ghurair

Published: Sun 16 Jan 2022, 10:00 PM

To align its economy with global markets and gain greater international business, the United Arab Emirates made a strategic announcement to switch the weekend to Saturday and Sunday.

The UAE had previously observed a Friday-Saturday weekend. Starting in 2022, the public sector will operate four-and-a-half days workweek and private companies will be free to choose their own working week.

The weekend will now kick off on Friday afternoon so resident Muslims are still able to leave work by 12pm so they can attend the afternoon prayer. Following in the footsteps of the federal government is the emirate of Sharjah, which has chosen to mandate a three-day weekend — Friday, Saturday and Sunday — to align with international operations while keeping Friday free for religious practice.

Countries like Japan, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, and Iceland have already started to trial a four-day workweek with overwhelming success.

For example, Iceland kicked off a pilot programme between 2015 and 2019 with one per cent of its working population across the public sector. During this time productivity stayed the same or improved and researchers found that workers reported feeling less stressed and at lower risk of burnout. Today 86 per cent of Iceland’s workforce have moved to shorter hours for same pay or have gained the right to.

In response to the challenges of Covid-19, Spain will experiment with a 32-hour workweek over three years, without changing workers’ salaries. It is expected that 200 companies will participate in the pilot programme.

The UAE’s decision to embrace a shorter workweek is a natural step as the country has long embraced flexible working culture across a number of industries. This new shift reaffirms the UAE’s stance on encouraging people to work from home to cater to the new schedule and balance work-life priorities when they need to.

This change will also greatly improve equal employment opportunities, especially for people who have family or caregiver responsibilities.

This shift has proven to be a major win for gender equality in the workforce. According to the World Economic Forum, the gender pay gap starts to expand after women have children. This policy has the potential to help support working mothers to balance work and child-rearing needs while remaining on the same level as the rest of their colleagues.

This change in the UAE has had some mixed reviews from businesses. According to a recent Mercer poll, nearly a third of companies are concerned about the impact of being out of sync with other countries in the Middle East. However, on the plus side, this shift will make the UAE more attractive to foreign investment and talent at a time it’s growing its competitive advantages with other regional nations, such as Saudi Arabia.

For the banking sector, this was a welcome change as it aligns with the operating hour of global markets. Turning to the food & beverage and hospitality sectors, adjusting to the new weekend will provide an increased opportunity — an extra half-day on Friday, and aligning the majority of the population to the same weekend will help boost revenue and allow the industries to cater for more diverse residents and tourists.

A gaining trend during the pandemic has been ‘the great resignation’ and employment is at an all-time high globally and across different industries. There are a number of drivers behind this new phenomenon. For starters, workers have reached a breaking point after months of high workloads and stretched resources, especially in tech, e-commerce and healthcare industries. Secondly, the uncertainty and limited revenue in certain industries impacted by the pandemic resulted in mass layoffs. Lastly, for some people, this was considered a great opportunity to either change job roles, retire early, or leave the corporate world to start their own business. Now more than ever there is a scramble for talent and the UAE’s shorter workweeks will be a competitive way to attract and retain a talented workforce.

Overall, the longer weekend is the next great disruption of hybrid working and has had proven positive impacts. The UAE’s openness to test new ideas reflects how it is emerging as a truly agile nation. It is clear this change is a progressive shift which will not only help the UAE attract and retain talent, but also improve work-life balance and mental health across its workforce besides increasing productivity.

From an economic perspective, the new workweek reflects the UAEs’ strategic position on the global economic map, connecting international businesses to the country and region.

This shift will improve finance, trade, and economic transactions with the majority of countries around the world, while strengthening relations with thousands of multinational as well as local companies.

While the weekend shift may be disruptive initially, I think the overall benefits will shine bright in the long term.

Hessa Al Ghurair is an HR expert with the General Civil Aviation Authority

More news from Opinion

Opinion

Female leaders are just leaders; they’re not ‘girlbosses’

At a time when the world was only starting to see the emergence of powerful female leaders who spoke passionately about leaning in, being your own role model and asking for what you want, Amoruso’s words were a source of inspiration. But now, it’s not so hard to realise that the girlboss culture has set unrealistic standards for women.

Opinion1 week ago

Opinion

Covid has taught us to be grateful

Psychologists have found that negative events have a greater impact on our brains than positive ones, referred to as the negative bias. As a result, a lot of people tend to move farther away from gratitude, which is an essential precursor to happiness.

Opinion1 week ago

What are the views that object 4-day workweek?

It may lead to a large increase in labor costs

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

Reduced work hours can lead to lower future retirement income, and 45% of individuals worry about low retirement income with reduced hours.

Title:

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

A four-day workweek can increase strain on employees without proper implementation, and productivity can remain the same or decrease with reduced work hours.

Title:

Content: More vacations, less time, higher productivity.
American companies are testing their four-day job.
In an effort to retain competencies and balance work and personal life
In an effort to retain competent employees, offer incentives not to give them away to other competitors, and to balance work and personal life, many American companies have begun experimenting with a new work system that is perpetually only four days a week instead of five.
Participants in this experiment were asked to apply it for six months, with working hours reduced from forty hours a week to thirty-two hours, without prejudice to the financial entitlements of the employees.
Experiments from several US companies have found that employees who worked only four days a week were more productive and happier.
One of the advantages of working only four days a week, according to these experiences, as reported by Sky News Arabia, is that it made employees stick to their work more, which achieves a balance in the difficult equation between the professional and personal life of the employee.
Commenting on the experience, David Leventhal, chief economic editor at Business Insider, said: “In the United States, the coronavirus epidemic has changed everything, including employees who have worked from home for months, but so far there has been no move by the federal government to work for just four days.
Nick Loris, a researcher in the clean energy and climate sector, said: “Working just four days will be very important in terms of its environmental impact, as it will reduce the traffic jams that come with going to and from work at the same time for many people, especially in large cities, thus reducing emissions later. ”
The most prominent sectors that tried this approach were health and technology, and it came as an attempt by employers to retain qualified employees and offer them incentives not to give them away to other competitors.
On the other hand, there are those who have registered their objection to this career approach, pointing out that it may cause challenges that are difficult to resolve in terms of conflicting work schedules and scheduling.
News you might like.
No stories found.
Sabq Electronic Newspaper
sabq.org

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

Well-being benefits of four-day workweeks may level out in the long run, and four-day workweeks can lead to greater burnout than five-day workweeks.

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

Some companies have seen benefits from a four-day workweek, including a 25% reduction in employees' leave and sick days, and a 15% reduction in internal administrative time.

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. ”
Key words
Back to top

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

However, a four-day workweek may not be applicable to all industries, such as healthcare, and AI can automate daily tasks making a four-day workweek a potential reality.

Title:

Content: BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

The Evolution Of Summer Fridays In The Workplace

Following

With beach weather and long days in full swing, you might be enjoying that well-deserved office perk—summer Fridays. The concept of summer Fridays began in the 1960s when New York advertising agencies were trying to prevent a decrease in employee productivity during the summer months. By allowing employees to leave early on Fridays, employers hoped that they’d return to the office rejuvenated on Monday. In later years, the policy took hold during the pandemic as employers took steps to address their staff's need for improved work-life balance.

It's no secret that summer often results in a productivity slump at the office. In fact, a survey commissioned by Wisetail and conducted by OnePoll found that 23% of respondents admitted that hot temperatures are a factor in decreased productivity. To counter this trend, many employers institute a popular perk—summer Fridays.

With companies like Samsung asking executives to work six-day weeks, giving employees Fridays off might seem like a luxury. Let’s examine how summer Fridays are defined and whether they are actually good for business.

What Are Summer Fridays?

Summer Fridays are a flexible scheduling option that allows employees to either leave early on Fridays, take the whole day off or enjoy another alternative. The policy usually takes effect from June through August. Summer Fridays typically begin on the last Friday in May (to coincide with Memorial Day weekend) and run through the first Friday in September (to coincide with Labor Day weekend). The exact way this perk is offered varies by company. Here are some different ways organizations implement summer Fridays:

Fridays off: employees receive the entire day off

Half-days: employees are allowed to leave work early

Time bank: employees can work extra hours during the first four days of the week so they can take off on Friday

Flexible hours: in this scenario, employees can start earlier to finish earlier

Rotating Fridays: some companies rotate which employees get Fridays off, so the office is never empty

Optional summer hours: employees have the option to participate in summer Fridays or maintain their regular schedule

In What Industries Are They Popular?

According to Gartner, 55% of organizations in North America offer their employees summer Fridays. This benefit is popular in more creative and innovative industries, like technology, marketing and advertising. Some companies that provide summer Fridays include Pfizer, Viacom and IBM. Other organizations like KPMG and EY shut down for a week during the summer. KPMG also has a Summer Jumpstart program where employees can leave two hours early on Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Teradata, a data analytics firm, closes at noon every Friday during the summer months.

Benefits Of Summer Fridays

Summer Fridays offer distinct advantages to both employees and the organization.

Decreases Burnout

When you support your employees’ work-life balance, you help them avoid the adverse effects of burnout. This, in turn, ensures they remain happy and productive. With a lighter Friday schedule, team members can recharge and pursue personal interests. As a result, summer Fridays boost morale and make employees more productive the rest of the week. In fact, in a recent Monster poll, 66% of workers surveyed reported increased productivity when offered summer benefits.

Increases Retention

Organizations are always looking for ways to increase employee satisfaction. In today’s competitive job market, offering this flexible work arrangement can help boost loyalty. Consequently, retention rates improve.

Boosts Ability To Attract Talent

Apart from salary, one of the top benefits prospective candidates look for is flexibility. Employees want work-life balance to prevent burnout. By offering this unique benefit, companies can set themselves apart from the competition and attract top talent.

Drawbacks of Summer Fridays

While summer Fridays are a great perk, it doesn’t necessarily benefit all businesses.

Disrupts Business Function

Not all companies can benefit from summer Fridays. If your organization is heavily customer-facing or needs to perform at its peak during the summer, having all or most of your team out of the office could be detrimental. Some examples include the retail, food service and shipping industries. Additionally, any business with a small team may encounter staffing issues.

Adds Stress

Some companies stopped offering summer Fridays because it had the opposite effect. Instead of building morale, employees felt pressured to work longer hours the rest of the week to keep up with their workload. As a result, the policy added stress because it reduced the ability of team members to take breaks during the day.

Delays Work Projects

When you shorten the workweek, there is always a chance that projects won’t get completed on time. Also, if you offer a partial day off, some employees might not treat that day as a workday. Instead, little work gets done in the morning because employees are distracted by their upcoming weekend plans.

Now that many companies embrace a remote or hybrid work culture, are summer Fridays here to stay? With 30% of large U.S. organizations exploring new work schedules like four-day workweeks, it's only a matter of time before adoption becomes widespread. At that point, flexible work options may simply become business as usual.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website

Join The Conversation

Comments

One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.

Read our community guidelines .

Forbes Community Guidelines

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's Terms of Service.  We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

  • False or intentionally out-of-context or misleading information
  • Spam
  • Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kind
  • Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
  • Content that otherwise violates our site's terms.

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

  • Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
  • Racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory comments
  • Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
  • Actions that otherwise violate our site's terms.

So, how can you be a power user?

  • Stay on topic and share your insights
  • Feel free to be clear and thoughtful to get your point across
  • ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ to show your point of view.
  • Protect your community.
  • Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's Terms of Service.

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

Healthcare industry may face more problems.

Employees have reported benefits from a four-day workweek, including improved work-life balance, reduced stress, and increased productivity, with 71% of employees experiencing work-related burnout.

Title:

Content: Alert
Taoyuan now + 11 cases of public market, supermarket 6 footprints exposed
Hashabu-shabu-shabu-shabu-shabu-shabu-shabu-shabu-shabu-shabu-shabu-shabu
Start the weekend with the top 10 announcements.
Do you get depressed every Sunday night?
Maybe your weekend is the same as the author of the book “Weekend Transformation Project: Turn Your Body and Mind Off for 2 Days, Create a Happy 365 Days ”, she used to live a similar life, always repeating many daily chores: playing hockey with her children, doing housework, checking emails, and so on.
After the children fall asleep, she can get a few hours of quiet time and watch a little TV, which is her weekend entertainment.
This feeling of “losing the weekend ” made her determined to find various ways to revive the weekend.
From the perspective of life, culture, history, and psychology, she delves into the development and value of the weekend, and collates the following key elements that she believes the best weekend should include!
by Katrina Onstad
Stop fooling around and let time find you.
I know that a good weekend isn ’ t necessarily a weekly one, because there are a variety of social and economic forces that contribute to a culture of overtime, such as: fear of layoffs; inadequate childcare; lack of family support; and a free market designed to pursue profit and take up employee time.
And while we struggle to solve these anti-leisure structures, we may as well try to make ourselves spend a pleasant weekend, with practical actions to encourage people to work overtime system to say "fuck you."
It ’ s a great way to avoid the “work first ” trap that prevents us from experiencing real freedom in our free time.
When there is a small gap on the weekend, we must activate the anti-work mode and refuse to let it take up the time. Always remind yourself with a favorite phrase of the New Century Movement believers: “Busy is a choice. ” Or, alternatively, busy is self-seeking.
Why not make this a bumper sticker and stick it to your heart?
To have a good weekend, you have to have some key elements.
It ’ s hard to be 100% perfect on every weekend, but even with just a few of these elements of relaxation, you can completely change how you feel from the inside out.
You might also be inspired to take a different kind of casual approach next weekend, or better yet, experience it directly during the week.
In fact, not only the weekend, our every minute and every second is equally important; every day, seven days a week, is worth our heart and happiness to operate.
If we can keep it that way, we will no longer struggle to balance work and life, but live well all the time: full and satisfied.
Seneca is well aware of the importance of time: “No one can recover the lost time; no one can bring you back to yourself. ” In short, the weekend is a shelter and a laboratory where we can experiment with what we want to live.
This is your time, how are you going to use it?
Top 10 Declarations for a Great Weekend
• Build a connection with people.
Connect face to face: meet an old friend; meet a new friend; connect with a neighbor; connect with a long-lost relative; expand your personal relationships.
Second, pay attention.
Give your time: volunteer; become a social activist to advocate for an issue you believe in; write a letter expressing anger and discontent to government officials; meet with a group of people who care more about an issue than you and work together to solve it.
Third, have fun.
Every time you do a passive entertainment, do two active entertainment.
Fourth, go into nature.
Choose what you call a natural environment; get close to it.
Go back there every few weekends until it becomes your temple.
V. Looking for beautiful things.
Get yourself in the midst of beautiful works of art that hold your breath; create something with your hands; go outside the church on Sunday morning and listen to a chant; join a choir.
6) Do less of everything.
Less shopping; less cleaning; less tidying up (which doesn ’ t mean becoming more messy!); less attention to children.
Do not make a plan, leave more blank.
8: Walk around.
9) Be curious.
10, live in the moment.
Then, keep repeating the above over the next weekend.
The price of “rest ” can ’ t be quantified, but you know it ’ s worth it
However, the benefits of working less are not just in terms of money saving.
A shorter work week is more human: it boosts the intangible things like mood and loyalty.
Felicitas Betzl is Managing Director of Serps Invaders, an online boutique marketing company based in Edinburgh, Scotland, with clients around the world.
In order to compete with other larger companies and attract top talent in the industry, she decided to give her employees (five full-time employees, plus about 20 consultants and freelancers) what she called a “gift ”: a four-day work week.
Online marketing requires a set of professional skills, so these kinds of jobs are often scarce, and many companies are clamoring for such talent. Serps employees work hard for four working days, nine and a half hours a day, and can choose when to go to work; they work a total of 37 and a half hours a week, nearly 40 hours, which sounds like tiring, but they don ’ t have to go to work on Fridays, leaving only one person on standby. All very cooperative.
She said: “They also asked me about my practice and wanted to implement it in their own company.
In the three years since Friday closed, Bezos employees have been called back to the company to deal with problems only three times on Friday.
To ensure that every employee does their job well, Bezos uses “productivity artifacts ” like project management tools to schedule and track progress on a regular basis.
Making efficient use of your time at work is key to your weekend getaway; too much office time is wasted, not including time spent checking Facebook or chatting in the bathroom.
Many office management systems are designed to stifle the effectiveness of our work.
Most people are able to focus on their work efficiently for the full 90 minutes without having to take a break; however, when there are temporary meetings large and small each day, they can ’ t stay focused. Jason Fried told me that meetings are strictly forbidden at Basecamp because their company finds that meetings take up too much of the day, forcing employees to do real work in the evenings and weekends.
However, if employees can have a calm, uninterrupted environment (turn off your notifications!) to focus on their work, they may have a chance to take back some weekend time.
According to Bezos, overtime work has decreased since Serps Invaders implemented a four-day week.
Employees become more engaged when they go to work because they can use Friday to see a doctor or go to the bank to do business, instead of having to use working days to sneak in like they used to.
Some say the downside is getting off work too late (the office closes at 7: 30 p.m.) and having to delay dinner.
But even so, no employee turned down the non-mandatory option of a four-day week and returned to work for five days.
“On Monday morning, when I saw people holding their coffee ready to start a short workweek, I realized they didn ’ t look the same: they looked refreshed and ready for work, ” Bezos added.
She would ask people what they had done over the three-day weekend, and many employees said they were traveling and spending time with their children; one female employee said she had started running marathons.
The housework that used to be crammed with weekends can be done on Friday, and you can rest for the next two days.
Perhaps leisure is a social contagion: if we see people taking time off for a good weekend, we want to follow suit.
Of course, after seeing employees make the most of their vacation, Bezos found herself inspired as well.
Her own working hours were seventy to eighty hours a week, a sharp drop of at least a third.
"If I don't take time off, my staff will be angry with me, they are really caring."
I know I can rest because I have complete confidence in them and their abilities. ”
At Basecamp, I asked Fred if there were any metrics that could be used to demonstrate to other companies the viability of long weekends and the value of their profits.
Fred says that value is hard to measure in money, and he doesn ’ t even know how much his company is worth (but at least big enough for Amazon ’ s Jeff Bezos to invest in 2006).
Rather than using money as a criterion for assessing the value of a short work week, he said, “Do we lose part of our productive time?
In business, everyone wants to measure this, measure that, but I don ’ t know if I can measure this.
I think the return we get from it is more valuable.
At the end of the day, you no longer waste your time at work, leading to a calmer, more relaxed environment.
People can use their weekend time to do more interesting things and thus create more interesting people.
It ’ s hard to quantify its value, but you feel it ’ s the right thing to do.
For example, how do you measure the value of giving thanks to humanity? How do you measure the value of a smile? You can ’ t measure these things, you just know it ’ s the right thing to do.
Failure to complete or delay does not affect our company, and since it does not affect us, why not do it?
Don ’ t you want everyone to have a better work-life balance, spend more time with their families, or do what they want? A four-day week feels like the right thing to do. ”
● This abstract is from the publication of the newspaper "Weekend Transformation Plan: Turn off the body and mind for 2 days to create a happy 365 days (Weekend Happy Upgrade Edition)".
Times Publishing Social Movement Reading Windward Ball
Related News
Start the weekend with the top 10 announcements.
No more weekend key elements
Chiang Ching-kuo's most important literary hero, Chang Yu-tzu, reveals his unknowable nature.
Chang Chu-yueh, a century-old writer who has lived in Chiang Ching-kuo through history, reveals the unknowable true feelings and loveliness of powerful people. In June 1972, Chiang Ching-kuo took over as Premier of the Executive Yuan, which was the beginning of the miracle of Mr. Chang Chu-yueh and Mr. Chiang Ching-kuo.
Until the death of President Chiang Ching-kuo in January 1988, Mr. Zhang Zuyue was always an important scholar of President Chiang Ching-kuo and witnessed firsthand the ups and downs of Taiwan's political scene.
One hundred and four-year-old Mr. Zhang Zhu-yueh, feeling the responsibility of history, spent two years in memory of his work and friendship with President Chiang Ching-kuo, and personally wrote "The President and I", reproducing the concept of governance and governance of that era, and recording the true character and behavior of Mr. Chiang Ching-kuo.
"The President and I" vividly describes some of the interactions between the President and the author that are not known to the outside world, so that we have a profound understanding of Mr. Ching's spirit of "taking the world as our own responsibility" and the selfless heart of loving the people and the people, and also a deeper understanding of the role of national leaders.
How do humans use their power to reverse natural catastrophes?
Elizabeth Kolbert ’ s The National Sea Simulator has declared it “the world ’ s most advanced research aquarium. ”
Aquarium in the East Sea of Australia
Russian-American Journalist Martha Leaves a Divided Nation ’ s Story (Part I): Into Ukraine ’ s Independence Square
This is totalitarianism again!
Martha Gerson, author of “Putin: The Return of the Tsar, ” writes about the rapidly changing political, economic and social environment of Russia in the past 30 years through four protagonists and more than 20 characters.
This is the life history of the Russian people, and it also reflects how Russia is open, unrestrained and tightened, and how it is subservient to the tyranny of the powerful and lost in nationalism.
The scientific puzzle in the kitchen: why shake the bottle before drinking milk?
The milk that is bottled to the door has a layer of cream floating on the surface.
Why? Because cream is just milk with a higher fat content, because the fat is lighter than water (lower density), so it floats on the upper layer.
The Story of a Divided Nation Under Russian Totalitarianism: The Historical Context of Crimea
Putin ’ s speech clearly spelled out Russia ’ s arguments for Crimea.
His first argument speaks to history, echoing the historical claims made by any country to other territories since ancient times.
Putin said Crimea was the cradle of Russian civilization (as Serbia has always claimed Kosovo as its cradle).
He somewhat acknowledged that ethnic cleansing had taken place in Crimea: indeed, there was a time when the Crimean Tatars, like the rest of the Soviet Union, were treated unjustly.
But I would like to point out that millions of people were oppressed during those times, of course Russians were the majority.
This is not true, but this statement is in fact accurate throughout the Soviet Union, even if the reason is simply that the number of ethnic Russians is far greater than that of other ethnic groups.
With this rhetorical trick, Putin removed the suffering and fear of the Crimean minority and repositioned the Russians as victims.
Product recommendation
udn Forum

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 work quality indicators
Increase in productivity

A four-day workweek can also boost employee well-being, and employees have promoted productivity technologies to maintain productivity.

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.
This is an advertisement, please continue reading.
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?
This is an advertisement, please continue reading.

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

The employees were happier
The productivity  increased

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Increase in employee and customer satisfaction.

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

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

Four-day workweek increases employee productivity, improves employee happiness, and helps balance work and personal life, with working hours reduced to 32 hours without pay cut.

Title:

Content: [Retain talent] Enterprise test 4 days a week production efficiency improvement of employees: work pressure reduction and health improvement
Stock Market 07: 41 2023 / 02 / 22
Share:
Share:
[Retain talent] Enterprise test 4 days a week production efficiency improvement
Do you want to work four days a week?
According to the Wall Street Journal, most of the British companies participating in the four-day work week test said that after six months of testing, the staff turnover rate and absenteeism rate fell sharply, which is the largest four-day work week test to date. 61 companies, including banks, fast food restaurants, marketing consultants, etc., involved 2900 employees. Eighteen companies said they would permanently implement the four-day workweek.
For decades, the market has been exploring the idea of working less than five days a week, or 40 hours a week, which has become a new opportunity under the pandemic, as home-based and mixed-work arrangements have become more widely accepted, and employers have also taken the opportunity to explore whether shortening work hours can improve employee happiness and loyalty.
Working days have become a retention and recruitment issue
Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College, said that it was initially due to the mental fatigue of wage earners during the epidemic, but it has now become a retention and recruitment problem.
Her team has helped conduct research around the world on a four-day workweek, including researchers from the UK think tank Autonomy and the University of Cambridge.
The research is being conducted around the world. Small tests in the United States and Canada are being led by research institutes in the United Kingdom, and similar tests are being conducted in Australia and Brazil. Unilever, an internationally renowned consumer goods company, is also participating in the tests.
Testing in Iceland, involving more than 2,500 employees in various industries, researchers found that most employees maintained or increased productivity, as well as reduced work stress.
Most companies that try 4-day work are small employers
Since most of the companies experimenting with four-day work are small employers, many large companies have yet to embrace the concept.
In the test, some employees reported that it was difficult to complete all the work during this time.
In a study conducted in the UK from June to November, most employees did not increase their work intensity, but bosses held fewer meetings to give employees more time to get their work done.
Finally, employers rated employee productivity and performance on an average of 7.5 on a scale from 0 (very negative) to 10 (very positive), and at half of the test, 46% of companies said their business productivity remained unchanged, while 34% reported a slight improvement and 15% reported a significant improvement.
20% of your time is wasted on unnecessary meetings
On the other hand, 39% of employees reported less stress at work, but half of employees reported no change in their index.
Nearly half of employees reported improved mental health and 37% reported improved physical health.
Claire Daniels, CEO of Trio Media, a digital marketing company with 13 employees in the UK, said she took part in the trial to see if she could improve productivity.
Before the test began, she analyzed with employees that 20% of their time was wasted on unnecessary meetings, business trips, and other inefficiencies.
"Very soon, we will know that we do not have to do any extra work in these four days," she said.
The productivity of the 4-day work was flat or slightly improved from the same period last year
Daniels pointed out that she would have employees work from Monday to Thursday, and Tuesday to Friday, and have employees take extra places to follow up on their colleagues ’ work during the holidays.
No longer do marathon daily team meetings with employees, in longer meetings involving customers and multiple presentations, employees will only attend part of the meeting based on necessity and then leave.
The hardest part, she says, is for employees to make sure they don ’ t go back to their old work mindset or habits. Overall, productivity was flat or slightly higher compared to the same period last year, with revenue up 47%.
She wants to continue experimenting for another six months before making a permanent change, “but I don ’ t think we ’ re going to go back to the typical five-day week. ”
If the four-day work week can improve production efficiency and the employees are happy, the bosses think that they can give it a try, or they think that the workload of five days can be completed in four days, so that the employees can continue to overcomplete their work on the fifth day.
Related articles:
[US CPI] Dismantling tens of thousands of American science and technology layoffs disappeared into the mystery of employment reports
Boeing plans to hire 10,000 total workers before the outbreak of the epidemic
Do you think it will be lower all year round?
East Asia Bank Luggage Zhenhao Analysis of the Most Valuable Market in China and Hong Kong Stock Market
Reporter: Tam Chi-wai
Read articles ・ Earn ET Points
hket members can redeem $500 electronic gift card as long as they complete the quotation task and save enough points.
Follow the latest financial news analysis, like hket Facebook
Subscribe to the Hong Kong Economic Times email newsletter
Receive first-hand financial news Learn more about investment and financial knowledge Submit my consent to receive promotional messages from Hong Kong Economic Times Group. You may also check the privacy policy of this website Terms of Use
Subscribe to the Hong Kong Economic Times email newsletter
Receive first-hand financial news Learn more about investment and financial knowledge Submit my consent to receive promotional messages from Hong Kong Economic Times Group. You may also check the privacy policy of this website Terms of Use

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

The employees were happier
The productivity  increased

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

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

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

Increase in employee and customer satisfaction.

Four-day workweek reduces traffic jams and emissions, and health and technology sectors have tried four-day workweek, which helps retain qualified employees.

Title:

Content: Work life

Summer Fridays walked so the four-day workweek could run

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

· 3 min read

Level up your career and your life with Sidekick

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

What’s top of mind at the water cooler.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Level up your career and your life with Sidekick

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

Conflicting work schedules are a challenge of four-day workweek, and companies and governments can mitigate the consequences of a four-day workweek by implementing gradual reductions in working hours and providing support for employees.

Title:

Content: 📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

Reduce Your Labor Costs Mandatory furloughs might not be popular--but they sure beat layoffs.

By Toddi Gutner

Making tough choices is a big part of running any business, especially during an economic downturn. And no decision is harder to face than that of laying off employees.

There can be a somewhat pain-free solution, though: implementing mandatory days off without pay (also known as furloughs).

That's what D.D. Ford Construction of Santa Barbara, California, did in response to the stock market tanking and the housing market collapsing in the fall of 2008. President Doug Ford, charged with significantly cutting his monthly expenses, was preparing for a round of layoffs when his human resources manager suggested the furlough alternative.

Ford went forward with the plan, and it allowed him to temporarily, but quickly, cut $60,000 off his monthly payroll while avoiding the permanent pain of layoffs and costs of rehiring and retraining. "We were also able to keep the employees' benefits in place," says Ford. In addition, some states, like California, enable employees to collect unemployment for those days they are furloughed.

And how did the employees respond? "They all decided that they didn't want anyone to be let go and wanted to share together in the burden of getting the company overhead down," says Ford. "It was great for team-building."

While the benefits of implementing furloughs are many, it's essential to understand the complex legal issues such a process entails. The rules vary for hourly-wage employees versus salaried professionals. With hourly workers, it's simple: Just cut back their hours.

For salaried, exempt employees, however, it's much more complicated. Under law, if salaried employees work any time during a given week, they are entitled to the salary for the week unless they choose to work less. And if a salaried employee works at all on a given day, he or she is entitled to salary for that day. "You will want to think through the end game before you pull the trigger on this kind of program," says Max Caldwell, managing principal and global leader of the workforce effectiveness practice at Towers Perrin. You'll also want to implement the process in a way that doesn't impede employee morale. Here is what to consider:

Consider your workflow. Labor laws require "that employers ask salaried employees to take off specific weeks rather than a day a week for several months," says Doug Christensen, a partner in Dorsey & Whitney's labor law practice in Minneapolis. So if your work flow is better suited to allowing employees one day off each week over a specific period of time, then you will need to implement a 20 percent salary reduction to get to a 32-hour workweek. Note, however, that if you do salary reductions, says Christensen, your employees need to make a minimum of $450 a week. That means if someone is earning $500 a week and you cut his workweek one day, then his salary falls to $400. "That wouldn't meet the labor law requirements," says Christensen.

Draft an agreement. Give your furloughed salaried employees explicit instructions not to work on those days off. "Do it in writing to use as a defense and prove down the road that you didn't want them to work," says Christensen. Of course, it gets a bit tricky with smartphones and computers, but an agreement will help keep the instructions clear.

Try to give options. To help employees maintain their sense of control, try to let them choose those days they take off. At D.D. Ford Construction, all the employees in one department took the same number of days off, either one or two, and also decided which days they would be. "The employees felt that had a certain amount of control as well," says Ford, who adds that some employees are back to full-time.

Communicate, a lot. Throughout the entire process -- from informing the employees of the need to cut costs to explaining the benefits process -- make sure you give your employees as much information as you can. You might want to run seminars to discuss the impact on benefits, if any, and to let them know the process is temporary and how long it might last.

Toddi is an award-winning journalist, writer and editor and currently is a contributing writer covering career management issues for The Wall Street Journal.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business Culture

Want to Improve Your Productivity? These 7 Types of Music Will Help You Focus

Listening to the right music can help you concentrate when you're on a deadline, studying for an exam or just trying to increase productivity.

Side Hustle

These Coworkers-Turned-Friends Started a Side Hustle on Amazon — Now It's a 'Full Hustle' Earning Over $20 Million a Year: 'Jump in With Both Feet'

Achal Patel and Russell Gong met at a large consulting firm and "bonded over a shared vision to create a mission-led company."

Leadership

You Might Think You're a Great Leader — But Do Your Employees Agree? Here's How to Harness Empathy to Drive Team Success

True empathy is the mixture of unfiltered honesty with a deep understanding of an individual's narrative.

Growing a Business

If You Aren't Betting on the Media Industry, You Are Losing a Competitive Edge — Here's Why.

Building or acquiring media assets is an increasingly popular strategy adopted by creative entrepreneurs and startups looking to leverage the industry's unique characteristics.

Productivity

Want to Be More Productive? Here's How Google Executives Structure Their Schedules

These five tactics from inside Google will help you focus and protect your time.

Resumes & Interviewing

6 Traits to Look For in Your Next Boss

These are the characteristics you need to look for to find a manager who understands they're in service to their teams — not the other way around.

To ensure a 4-day workweek is equitable and accessible for all employees, companies must consider individual employee needs and benefits, as well as the specific requirements of different industries and occupations.

Title:

Content: Rise of the four day week? Bank becomes largest British company to slash hours for staff

DIGITAL bank Atom has become the largest company in the UK to introduce a four day week without cutting pay for any of its staff.

Link copied

Home working is ‘regressive’ for women claims Rachel Johnson

The app based bank has confirmed it introduced the new four day week on November 1 for all of its 430 employees with the majority choosing to adopt it. Previously Atom employees worked a 37.5 hour week across five days but this will now reduce to a 34 hour week spread over four days. Staff taking up the reduced hours option will see their shifts lengthen slightly, working 8.5 hours instead of 7.5. It is expected most employees will take Monday or Friday as the default day off apart from those in operational or services roles whose days will vary to allow seven day a week customer support. Mark Mullen, CEO of Atom, explained experiences during the pandemic had "exploded many of the myths of the modern workplace" with changes not needing to stop at working from home.

Mr Mullen said: “A four-day week will provide our employees with more opportunities to pursue their passions, spend time with their families, and build a healthier work/life balance.

"We firmly believe that this will prove beneficial for our employees’ wellbeing and happiness and that it will have an equally positive impact on business productivity and customer experience."

Ben Willmott, Head of Public Policy at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development cautioned a shorter working week would only be sustainable by smarter working to improve productivity.

Mr Willmott explained: "“It is undoubtedly a positive move for employers to seek to reduce people's working hours without compromising pay.

"However, the challenge of simply reducing people’s working hours without other changes is that you can increase exposure to work intensity and stress, which is already one of the main causes of working time lost to sickness absence."

Workers will see hours cut but not salaries (Image: Getty)

Atom CEO Mark Mullen (Image: Atom )

Atom points to the evolving history of working patterns as evidence for the need to change.

The standard five day working week was first popularised by US carmaker Henry Ford in the 1920s and subsequently taken up by Boots in the UK in 1934.

From there most other companies began to follow suit whereas previously a six day week had been more common.

In Iceland a trial was run by Reykjavik City Council this year to introduce four day weeks to workplaces such as preschools, social services and hospitals.

The five day week was introduced by carmaker Henry Ford in the 1920s (Image: Getty)

Widely reported to be a success trials are also now taking place by consumer giant Unilever in New Zealand.

The idea of a four day week has not always worked for all sectors though.

In 2019 the Wellcome trust shelved its plans to try out four day working after concluding it was "too operationally complex to implement."

Mr Mullen commented: “While we appreciate a four-day working week will not be right for all workplaces, the move to working from home has proved that working practices that may have seemed years away can be introduced rapidly."

"We are proud to be one of the first businesses to introduce a four-day week for all our employees, and we hope many others follow suit."

DON'T MISS:
UK courts can freeze stolen Crypto [LATEST]
Euro slides over lockdown fears [ANALYSIS]
Cold Weather Payment Scheme: Could you be eligible? [REVEALED]

Iceland has been trialling a four day week (Image: Getty)

As well as benefits to employee welfare Atom also believe a shorter working week could reduce the environmental impact of companies.

The group cites a 2021 study by environmental organisation Platform London which found a UK wide switch to four day working by 2025 could lower CO2 emissions by over 20 percent.

Atom was launched in 2016 as the UK's first app based bank offering savings accounts, mortgages and business loans.

Companies may adopt 4-day workweeks for better work-life balance, but this may not suit all workers, especially low-paid labor, and may be impossible in certain industries such as IT and service.

Title:

Content: My channel
* Drag categories can be customized sorting
Recover Default OK
Setup
Alert
Yuehong Yang, a playful leader, builds Taiwan 's successor team in Silicon Valley
Image / Sichuan forest fire more than 400 kilometers away in Chengdu "the sky is yellow"
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. ”
Sanders Senate Republican Party
The last one.
Home Depot founder blasts Sanders for “rich and hypocritical ” Republicans for pushing up inflation
The next one.
If the proposal is approved, the workplace operation and the overall economy will be drastically changed.
Extended reading
Super-popular
More >

A 4-day workweek can be successfully implemented with proper planning, clear rules, and communication, as well as measurable work and clear goals.

Title:

Content: World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Four-Day Workweek Trial Proved So Successful Many UK Firms Will Retain It as New Policy

CC BY 2.0 / Nenad Stojkovic / Businesswoman with beautiful nails working on her laptopBusinesswoman with beautiful nails working on her laptop
Subscribe
It's one of the largest trials to put a four-day workweek to the test. The non-profit firm invited companies to either shorten their employees’ workweeks by giving them one day a week off or reducing their work hours to 32 hours per week, while still paying their employees the same salary or wage as before the trial.
Newly released study results have suggested it might finally be time to implement a four-day work week after a trial revealed the shift provided major benefits to general productivity and employee health.
The trial, which took place in the United Kingdom, involved nearly 3,000 employees and was organized by the not-for-profit group 4 Day Week Global (alongside the research group Autonomy and researchers with Boston College and the University of Cambridge).
Some 61 British businesses including banks, fast-food restaurants and marketing agencies participated in the trial.
Analyzing the study findings, officials determined the businesses found a sharp decline in the number of employees wanting to quit, while about 46% of companies said their business productivity remained the same, and 34% reported a slight improvement in productivity. Another 15% of employers reported a significant improvement in productivity.
One company, Trio Media, reported a 47% increase in revenue from the year-earlier period. The chief executive of the company, Claire Daniels, said she would continue the trial for another six months before making a permanent switch, but added she didn’t “see [the company] going back to a typical five-days-a-week model.”
Overall on a scale of 0 (very negative) to 10 (very positive) employers scored the productivity and performance of their employees at 7.5 after six months of a shortened workweek. At least 18 businesses from the study said they planned to make the shorter workweek permanent, while 56 of the 61 companies said they would continue testing the shortened work shifts even after the trial ended.
Just three companies said they would not pursue a shortened workweek.
About 15% of employees who participated in the trial said that “no amount of money” could convince them to return to a five-day workweek, as employees reported better sleep, lower stress levels, and improved personal lives and mental health.
“At the beginning, this was about pandemic burnout for a lot of employers. Now it’s more of a retention and recruitment issue for many of them,” explains Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College whose team helped conduct the study.
A separate study from October 2021 found that in a survey of over 1,000 Americans, 98% of respondents said a four-day workweek would improve their mental health, nine out of 10 people said that a five-day workweek was outdated and almost 80% of respondents said the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged their desire for a shortened workweek.
Three out of four respondents in that another study also said they would consider leaving their current job if they were offered a position with a four-day workweek. And a Gallup Report from 2019 revealed that high turnover rates cost US businesses $1 trillion in voluntary turnover per year.
Opponents argue that a shortened workweek would not be suitable for every field of work including child care and health care, both of which are experience widespread staff shortages as nurses in England have gone on strike after struggling to secure increased wages from their government.
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала

Establishing clear expectations is key to a successful 4-day workweek, and constant feedback is necessary to adjust to the new work schedule.

Title:

Content: 15: 57 GMT24 September 2021
LIVE
SCIENCE
Copy the link
0 0 0 0
Follow us via
A recent study revealed that working from home has environmental benefits and can save the planet, at a time when many companies around the world are preparing to return their employees to work from their offices, after the spread of vaccines for the new coronavirus.
Employees who work remotely four days a week can reduce nitrogen dioxide levels by as much as 10 percent, the study said.
Researchers from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona found that after testing for remote work two, three or four days a week, nitrogen dioxide levels dropped by 4, 8 and 10 percent, respectively.
In their study, published in Urban Sustainability, they found that if 40 percent of service sector employees worked remotely four days a week, it would not only reduce nitrogen dioxide levels by 10 percent, but also reduce traffic emissions by 15 percent.
The authors of the study also noted that the duration of work-related travel would be reduced by rates of 12.5%, 25% and 37.5%, if working remotely two, three or four days a week, respectively.
They also found that online education would reduce the use of private vehicles by 20 percent, and shopping would decrease by 30 percent.
The researchers based their findings on mobility and air quality data obtained in Barcelona during the coronavirus shutdown last year.
The authors of the study advise prioritizing remote work, promoting it as an effective contribution to reducing urban air pollution in the long term and peak pollution in the short term.
As the lead author of the study, Alba Badiaa, suggests resorting to the option of working remotely 4 days a week during periods of heavy pollution, because it is simply based on maximizing remote work and reducing work-related travel and shopping.
The findings of the new study are supported by another study published by NASA in June, which found that global NOx levels have fallen by 15 percent since June 2020, the peak of COVID-19.
See also:
7 Habits That Affect You While Working From Home
Violent burglary of Di Maria's house and player switch during the match
Work from home thwarts thieves in Germany
An employee who is absent from work for 15 years and receives $650,000 while at home.
8 Tips to Achieve High Productivity at Work from Home
Keywords:
Coronavirus

The 100:80:100 model, where employees work 80% of the time with 100% productivity and the same salary, is being tested by 70 UK companies with 3,300 employees, and has shown promising results.

Title:

Content: -- >
Friday, 01 December 2023 08: 36 GMT
eanad to implement 4 days a week in the UAE
(MENAFN- Al-Bayan)
iAND announced the introduction of a four-day work week in three of its departments in the UAE, becoming the first technology group in the country to adopt a global model that allows flexibility in the work environment.
The pilot initiative reflects EAND ’ s leadership in shaping future policies and models for the work environment, recognizing that the well-being of its employees is directly linked to enhanced productivity and innovation. The new work programme supports employees and enables them to achieve work-life balance.
Dina Al Mansouri, Chief Human Resources Officer at E & D, said: “We are pleased to launch this pilot initiative, as we understand that as we strive to innovate new services and technology solutions, we must also update our work environment strategies to keep pace with development.
It is essential to revisit and update existing standards, learn through experience, and align internal business policies to create a more efficient and productive work environment, while at the same time achieving business prosperity and growth. ”
Employees who join the initiative are entitled to a three-day weekend from Friday to Sunday, and EAND applies a hybrid work system where employees work remotely two days a week, one on Friday, to focus on sustainability by reducing energy consumption in offices and reducing carbon emissions from mobility.
The new work week model is proving to improve employee well-being and productivity, and significantly contribute to protecting the environment by reducing carbon emissions from mobility, according to research published by the World Economic Forum.
“We believe that the well-being of our employees is one of our top priorities to shape and lay the foundations for a more sustainable future. By reducing travel times and resource consumption, we reflect the UAE ’ s ambition for well-being and sustainability, and we support the Group ’ s commitment to achieving its carbon neutrality goals, ” Al Mansouri said.
The launch of E & T ’ s pilot initiative is in line with the federal government ’ s announcement of a four-day reduced work week for government employees and underscores the success of Sharjah, which has recorded a 90% increase in job performance, happiness and mental health following its introduction in 2022.
E & E views these employee-focused initiatives as key factors that have helped it win several international awards, including “Best Employer in the MENA Region ” by Global Brand and“ Best Employer in the Private and Government Sectors ” by the GCC Human Resources Award, demonstrating E & E ’ s efforts in creating a work environment where everyone can succeed and excel.
Follow the economic statement via Google News
MENAFN30112023000110011019ID1107516433
Legal Disclaimer:
MENA Financial Services Network provides information "as is" without any representations or warranties...
This disclaims our responsibility for the privacy practices or content of the sites included in our network, including images and videos.
For any queries regarding the use and reuse of this source of information, please contact the provider of the above article.

This model aims to improve the quality of life and competitiveness of employees, and has been shown to improve productivity, well-being, and employee stress.

Title:

Content: New Zealand company employees' productivity is 20% higher than 4 days off
Reporters Pan Yi / Comprehensive Report
Recently, a public participation platform in the Public Policy Network proposed "Let Taiwan become the first country in Asia to take a three-day holiday". The proposal was successfully signed, and the government must respond by June 26.
This proposal also aroused different views from all walks of life. In this regard, Dr. Huang Xuan collated the research of various countries, and found that a New Zealand company experiment "week off 4 days" was successful, and the complete results were also exposed one by one.
This is an advertisement, please continue reading.
Critical care physician Huang Xuan shared on Facebook that the day off was created after the Industrial Revolution in 1900, and the day off was founded in 1926 by the founder of Ford Motor Company "Henry Ford" and has even more influence today.
The 40-hour workweek rule was enacted in 1938 in the United States.
In recent years, Western countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Iceland, Belgium and other countries have begun to conduct “three days off ” experiments, including Perpetual Guardian, a financial services company in New Zealand, which began in November 2018, its founder Andrew Barnes began to implement a more advanced“ four days off ” experiment.
Perpetual Guardian has 240 employees working just three days a week with no pay.
After a period of time, the researchers found that “employee productivity increased by about 20% ” and“ employee stress decreased from 45% to 38% ” after switching to three days of work per week.
The score for work-life balance also increased from 54% to 78% ” and also improved employees ’ “all positive related scores for leadership, excitement, confidence, and sense of responsibility ”
After the data was shared, Andrew Barnes decided to officially change the company to “four days off ” and founded the organization“ 4 Day Week Global ” to promote the benefits of the holiday and hope to make an impact internationally.
This is an advertisement, please continue reading.

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

The employees were happier
The productivity  increased

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

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

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

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

Increase in work quality indicators
Increase in productivity

Companies must also consider the potential challenges related to labor laws and corporate culture when implementing a 4-day workweek.

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.

A 4-day workweek can be beneficial for employees, with 50% of workers reporting better productivity, 83% saying they were happier, and 42% reporting increased energy levels.

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

Related Articles

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

The employees were happier
The productivity  increased

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

Increase in employee and customer satisfaction.

To ensure equity and accessibility, companies must prioritize employee-focused policies, operate with empathy towards employees, and invest in mental health support.

Title:

Content: Is there any basis for subjective intent?
Nearly 70% believe ‘ working four days a week ’ will happen in Australia
The latest survey shows that nearly two-thirds of Australians surveyed believe that the five-day week pattern may soon end as calls for four-day work become normal.
The latest survey shows that nearly two-thirds of Australians surveyed believe that the five-day week pattern may soon end as calls for four-day work become normal.
Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
Nearly half of the 42,000 workers surveyed in a recent poll by recruitment firm Hays believe that a four-day work week model will be achieved within five years, with another 16% saying it will be achieved within 12 months.
Another fifth said they thought it would take another decade to achieve, while the remaining fifth said working four days a week would never happen.
Nick Deligiannis, Managing Director of Hays Australia and New Zealand, told The Associated Press:
“The workers ’ subjective aspirations and positive emotions have become apparent … It ’ s clear from the workers ’ point of view that it ’ s their expectation to work four days a week. ”
Many employers are still hesitant to switch to a four-day week, he said, because they face a potential decline in productivity.
“They will think: One of the key factors is that they can still operate effectively after four days of work. ”
Can you still maintain high productivity? ”
Research has shown that three-day weekends are more like a small holiday to improve workers ’ health, while unions say Australians are working longer hours and finding it increasingly difficult to balance their work and personal lives.
Deligiannis said the move to four days a week could even improve employee attrition rates and affect the attractiveness of hiring.
A four-day week would also help alleviate the increased work pressure some employees are currently under due to skills and labour shortages during the pandemic.
Sally McManus, general secretary of the Australian General Workers Union (ACTU), said work-life balance was widely discussed but rarely achieved.
"Australians have the longest working hours in developed countries and it is definitely time for us to reduce our working hours and spend more time with important people," Mr McManus told the ANZ.
Working four days a week is a model that should be considered in Australia.
General Secretary of the National Workers Union (ACTU), Mike Manus.
A 13-month study by the University of South Australia also looked at the benefits of reducing working hours and found that with the right time off, employees were more likely to be more active, sociable and sleep more.
Research has also shown that labor gains increase with the length of the holiday, but positive results can be seen even on three-day weekends.
The senior researcher in charge of the research project, Mach, said:
Research provides empirical evidence that people have a healthier lifestyle during short breaks, such as a three-day weekend.
Senior Researcher Mach
Earlier this month, a parliamentary committee also called for a four-day working week to be piloted with government support to see how the arrangement could actually improve people's lives.
The trial will be based on the 100: 80: 100 model, whereby workers retain full wages and maintain the same productivity, performing 80% (four days) of work.
Many Australian companies have already made the switch, including Unilever, Bright Agency and FinTech Indebted.
After four days in New Zealand, Unilever decided to expand their trial to Australia.
The absenteeism rate of employees under the new arrangement has fallen by a third and income has increased in 18 months.
Nicky Sparshott, the company ’ s chief executive for Australia and New Zealand, said working four days a week could be a tool to give the company a competitive edge.
“It ’ s the result of trying new ways to remove possible constraints, create value, and slow down barriers. ”
For more information on the latest news, please visit or subscribe.
SBS is committed to providing fair, impartial and accurate news coverage and current affairs in both traditional and simplified Chinese. Both SBS Cantonese and SBS Putonghua have been serving the public for more than 40 years.
Share
Published 15 April 2023 1: 52pm
By Ivan Leung
Source: AAP, SBS
Available in other languages

The global trend towards a 4-day workweek is gaining momentum, with nearly 500 companies worldwide testing this new work model, and 36% of companies improving performance, 54% increasing productivity, and 63% attracting more talent.

Title:

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

Clear measurements and goals are essential for employees to understand their tasks and adjust to the new work schedule, and companies must be willing to make adjustments to the organization of work.

Title:

Content: UK 60 companies trial 4-day working week to increase employee mental health happiness
Commercial 14: 06 2022 / 05 / 05
Share:
Share:
A shift in post-pandemic work patterns to speed up hybrid and more flexible new work patterns.
According to a report by recruitment and human resources management consultancy Hays, the UK will pilot a four-day work week plan in about 60 companies next month. Most respondents believe that working four days can increase mental health and well-being, while half of the employees surveyed said they would consider quitting if their employer did not provide a four-day work week.
More than half of Apple ’ s employees plan to leave
According to the report, which surveyed 9,600 employees across all industries, two-fifths of respondents believe that more companies will offer four-day workweeks to their employees in the coming years.
Hays recruiter Gaelle Blake said companies in a competitive labor market offer potential employees more diverse and creative hiring conditions, such as higher pay and flexible work patterns, but data shows that only a few companies currently offer four-day work, which will be a factor in attracting professionals in the future.
4-day work trial plan expects enterprises to bear higher costs
According to the report, the four-day work week pilot scheme, organized by academics from Oxford University, Cambridge University and Boston College, is expected to take place on June 12. The scheme currently involves about 60 UK companies and institutions from different industries, including charities, and aims to shorten the working week (up to 35 hours per week) without deducting staff salaries to create better jobs for employees. Balance with your lifestyle and want to increase productivity.
However, the report said that the four-day work week will cause more stress and cost for enterprises.
[Business Management] Hybrid Work Redefines 5 Ways to Invite Enterprises to Build a New Model
In addition, according to Joe O'Connor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global, the epidemic has changed working patterns, employees have higher expectations for their health and work-life balance after the epidemic, and companies need to adopt new policies to attract and retain employees in a competitive labor market.
A similar four-day workweek pilot scheme has been piloted in some companies in the United States, Canada, Ireland and Japan.
Companies such as Panasonic, Hitachi, Mizuho Bank and Uniqlo have also begun to allow employees to shorten their workweeks, the report said, citing the Japan Times, and a survey of 4,000 companies found that about 8.5% of companies in East Asian countries offered employees a four-day work week or similar work mode last year.
Editorial responsibility: Xiang Songqin
For each episode, please come to Hong Kong corporate brands to share tips for doing business under the epidemic.
See the latest episode:
Open hket app and read more
Follow the latest financial news analysis, like hket Facebook
Subscribe to the Hong Kong Economic Times email newsletter
Receive first-hand financial news Learn more about investment and financial knowledge Submit my consent to receive promotional messages from Hong Kong Economic Times Group. You may also check the privacy policy of this website Terms of Use

Companies must also consider the potential impact on gender equality and employee stress when implementing a 4-day workweek, and be willing to make changes to ensure a successful implementation.

Title:

Content: Residents of Belgium were allowed to ask the employer to switch to a four-day working week
Author:
Oleg Panfilovich
Date:
The Belgian authorities have allowed workers to submit a request to their employers to switch to a four-day week with pay.
This is reported by The Guardian.
The introduction of a four-day work week is part of Belgium ’ s labour reform.
According to Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Cros, only about 71% of Belgians under the age of 64 have a permanent job.
This is 10% less than in neighboring Germany and the Netherlands.
Companies may reject an employee ’ s request for a four-day work week, but then employers will have to justify their response in writing.
In addition, companies with 20 or more employees may allow employees not to respond to calls, emails, or messages from 23: 00 to 05: 00.
“Switching to a four-day work week will give employees and companies more freedom in organizing their working hours, ” de Cro said.
He also noted that the new rules will allow you to work an unequal number of hours from week to week - one more and the other less.
• In the UK, a test project with a four-day working week will be launched from June.
About 30 companies will participate.
• The results of two large studies, which took place in Iceland from 2015 to 2019, showed the effectiveness of a four-day work week.
The four-year study involved 3,000 Icelanders (1% of the country ’ s workforce).
They were transferred to a 36-hour working week without a pay cut.
They worked according to the standard schedule (from 09: 00 to 17: 00), and some on night shifts.
The studies mainly involved civil servants from various fields, from teachers to doctors.
• The results showed that people became happier and more productive.
In addition, stress and burnout became less, and the employees and managers themselves noted the establishment of a balance of work and rest.

The benefits of a 4-day workweek include improved employee well-being, productivity, and work-life balance, as well as cost savings and revenue growth, with 24 companies reporting 34% revenue growth and 66% of respondents reporting cost savings.

Title:

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.

Event

Transform 2023

Join us in San Francisco on July 11-12, where top executives will share how they have integrated and optimized AI investments for success and avoided common pitfalls.

Register Now

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.”

VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Discover our Briefings.

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

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

A 4-day workweek can also lead to increased job applications, with Atom Bank seeing a 500% surge in job applications after introducing a 4-day week.

Title:

Content: My channel
* Drag categories can be customized sorting
Recover Default OK
Setup
Alert
Yuehong Yang, a playful leader, builds Taiwan 's successor team in Silicon Valley
Image / Sichuan forest fire more than 400 kilometers away in Chengdu "the sky is yellow"
The development of AI technology may accelerate the dream of a three-day weekend
After many companies in the Covid-19 era tried and achieved positive results, it began to be implemented in countries such as the United Kingdom, Iceland and Portugal; some experts point out that as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more popular, it will help companies speed up the implementation of the three-day weekend.
Tech.co surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. business leaders at the end of last year to ask how technology will impact the workplace in 2024, the BBC reported.
The researchers found that 29% of companies that took a three-day break used AI extensively in their operations, relying on programs such as ChatGPT to streamline operations, compared with only 8% of companies that took a two-day break.
From another perspective, 93% of companies that apply AI are willing to let their employees work for only four days; less than half of companies that use AI less are willing.
Shayne Simpson, general manager of TechNET IT Recruitment, a British technology agency, said that AI is the foundation of the company ’ s success on a three-day weekend, and AI tools can save 21 hours per week per HR consultant by automating repetitive manual tasks such as data entry, email confirmation, resume screening, and candidate expansion.
Not only does this increase productivity and morale, Simpson says, but it also keeps talent: senior professionals are attracted to streamlined processes, while novices are eager to try new tools.
Digital design firm Driftime co-founder Abb-d Taiyo (Abb-d Taiyo) said that before the process was slow and wasted a lot of valuable time, now can give simple tasks to AI tools such as Modyfi, the production of graphics are real-time and modifiable, designers can create concepts and ideas more easily and faster, the workload of four days has not decreased, and the quality of work and employee satisfaction is high.
But advanced technology alone may not bring about institutional change.
Na Fu, professor of human resources management at Trinity Business School in Ireland, said that the key to the success of the three-day weekend is corporate culture and values, such as whether the company has a high degree of trust in its employees and is willing to try innovative work structures. Is the director supportive?
AI Weekly Outbreak
The last one.
House Oversight Committee to Investigate Chinese Infiltration Comer: Beijing Is Attacking the United States According to the Means of the Book
The next one.
Home Depot founder blasts Sanders for “rich and hypocritical ” Republicans for pushing up inflation
Super-popular
More >

However, implementing a 4-day workweek can be challenging, especially for larger organizations, and companies must be willing to adapt and make changes to ensure a successful implementation.

Title:

Content: The authorities of Germany and the Dominican Republic from February 1 launched a pilot program to transfer employees to a reduced working week.
In 2019, such an idea was put forward by the then head of the Russian government, Dmitry Medvedev.
What they think about the transition to four-day in Russia and the world - in the material RTVI.
In Russia
Yaroslav Nilov, Head of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs
Commenting on the possibility of transferring Russians to a four-day working week, Yaroslav Nilov recalled that this initiative in 2019 was made by the then Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev.
The deputy called the initiative implemented, but not in the near future and not for all spheres and industries.
“For someone there is already a four-day period, especially after the pandemic, after the practice of remote, mixed employment, we have workers who have not a five-day period, but a four-day period, and someone has a three-day period.
The most important thing is that there is no need to impose anything hard in the sphere of labor, no need to introduce strict regulations, no amendments.
Everything should be natural, synergistic and evolutionary.
This is a multifaceted issue, and the labor market should itself line up - taking into account new technologies, artificial intelligence, optimization solutions, "he said.
According to him, the task of reducing the working week is to make people rest more without reducing labor productivity and wages.
“It should be beneficial for both the employee and the employer.
If you shift the four-day period to the employer, this will lead to higher prices, to the closure of enterprises, and an increase in unemployment.
We don't need that.
If you do not shift, then this can lead to a loss in the salary of employees, especially since there is a piecework form of employment - payment depends on the volume of services provided or goods produced, "Nilov explained.
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council
In 2019, former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced the possibility of switching to a four-day working week during his speech at the International Labour Conference in Geneva, timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organization.
“Technological progress leads to a reduction not only of jobs, but also of working time, to the expansion of leisure.
It is very likely that the future lies in a four-day working week as the basis of a social and labor contract, "Medvedev said.
Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister
After Dmitry Medvedev ’ s statement, Tatyana Golikova said that the government is “analyzing the situation ” in the labor market as part of a discussion of the possible introduction of a four-day working week.
“These four days are just a possible response to the changing world of challenges, when some professions will die, others will come to replace them, ” she said.
According to Golikova, as a result of global digitalization in the future, the need for a large number of labor resources to be occupied “in a particular workplace ” may disappear.
She also noted that in implementing the transition to a shorter working week, it will be necessary to take into account the level of wages and social guarantees.
“What kind of salary they will receive: the same as when they were occupied for five days or a little more, or in a reduced form, the question remains open here, ” she explained.
Anton Kotyakov, Minister of Labour and Social Protection
Speaking about the possibility of shortening the working week, Anton Kotyakov said in 2021 that he considers the idea of switching to a four-day schedule irrelevant.
“Given the flexible forms of employment that we have now provided in the Labor Code, the need to switch to a four-day working week is mandatory for today is irrelevant, ” he said.
According to the minister, thanks to the spread of remote employment, employers have the opportunity to form a flexible schedule.
“And if necessary, you can do four-day work in the office, and three-day, and a couple of days with a certain mode of remote work, you can work because of the city, ” he said.
Valery Fadeev, Head of the Presidential Council on Civil Society Development and Human Rights
In 2021, Valery Fadeev said that he has nothing against reducing the working week, but recalled that the salary of more than half of working Russians is about 27 thousand rubles per month, and urged to think about increasing this amount.
“Work has come to be seen as a burden and as a yoke.
But in fact, work is almost the main thing in a person ’ s life.
A person should live for the sake of family, for the sake of children, for the sake of doing something in life.
Work should bring joy to man.
I can ’ t say that we have such a situation now in our country that everyone can find a job in joy.
Unfortunately, this is not the case, ” he stressed.
Mikhail Shmakov, Head of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions
Answering a question about the transfer of companies to a four-day schedule, Mikhail Shmakov said in 2023 that representatives of the trade union movement supported the idea of reducing the working week in Russia to 36 hours only while maintaining wages for employees.
At the same time, he suggested that in the conditions of a shortage in the labor market, this idea may not be relevant.
Svetlana Bessarab, member of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs
In November 2023, Svetlana Bessarab promised to make a proposal to switch to a 36-hour working week after the completion of the military operation in Ukraine.
“I can promise that after the end of the SVO and our victory, I will make a proposal to reduce the working week to 36 hours without reducing wages.
This is how rural women now work: they have the right to a shorter working week with the same salary.
And, as practice has shown, we do not lose anything in productivity, ” she said.
In August 2023, Bessarab called for “talking seriously ” about the transition to a four-day working week.
In particular, she drew attention to the fact that labor productivity has increased many times thanks to the introduction of digital technologies, while workers continue to be treated the same way as 50 years ago.
In the world
Iceland
In 2021, the British research center Autonomy called the results of an experiment to shorten the working week in Iceland a “stunning success ”.
As part of this experiment, the working week of 2.5 thousand municipal employees was reduced by 4-5 hours, and those who worked five days a week had another day off.
Autonomy, in particular, praised performance and service delivery in most of the workplaces tested, where employees began to show a higher level of enthusiasm and also began to get more pleasure from the work process.
“As a result, about 86% of the working population will be able to switch to a reduced working schedule or demand a reduction in working hours, ” the study says.
Belgium
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Cros said in 2022 that citizens of the country can require their employers to transfer to a reduced working week.
In case of refusal to provide them with such an opportunity, the employer must justify his decision in writing.
“The goal is to allow people and companies to more freely manage their working hours.
If you compare our country with other countries, you will notice that we often act much less dynamically, ” he said.
Britannia
The largest experiment on the transfer of workers to a reduced working week began in Britain in June 2022.
As part of the experiment, 3,300 employees from 70 companies were given the opportunity to work four days a week with full pay.
For the participants of the experiment, a “100: 80: 100 ” model was developed, according to which 80% of working time is paid at 100%, and employees in return agree to show 100% productivity.
“We will study how project participants respond to the extra day off in terms of stress and burnout, life and work satisfaction, as well as overall health, sleep quality, energy expenditure, range of movements and a host of other aspects, ” explained Boston College sociology professor Juliet Shore, who leads the project ’ s research team.
In 2023, sociologists at the University of Cambridge recognized the results of the experiment as successful.
In their study, they pointed out that employees who worked four days a week had significantly reduced levels of stress and illness, as well as increased levels of loyalty to employers.
At the same time, the revenues of the companies that decided to take part in the experiment did not show a significant decrease, and 23 of them even noted a slight increase, the average figure of which was 1.4%.
Spain
In October 2023, a commission of independent experts evaluated the results of a test experiment for the introduction of a four-day working week in the Spanish city of Valencia, in which 360 thousand employees took part.
Experts pointed to a reduction in stress levels, as well as an improvement in the atmosphere by reducing the number of vehicles on the streets of the city.
Representatives of the tourism sector reported that during the experiments, they had increased the flow of customers, while retail chains noted a decrease in sales.
“We want the city to be friendly, healthy and take care of people.
We want people to work to live, not to live to work, ” said the mayor of the city, Joan Ribeau, at the start of the experiment.
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic was the first Latin American country to experiment with a four-day work week.
The experiment, which began on February 1, 2024, will last six months.
According to the government, it will last six months – for three months, employees will work on a reduced schedule and receive 100% of their wages, and for the next three months a special commission will collect and analyze information to understand how this change has affected the country ’ s economy.
The experiment was initiated by the Minister of Labor Luis Miguel de Camps.
He stressed that he considers the reduction of the working week not only an innovation in the labor market, but also a significant step towards a more harmonious and humane society.
“Priority is given to people, improving health and well-being, and promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly productivity, ” the official added.
Germany
In September 2023, Germany opened the reception of applications from organizations ready to take part in the experiment to shorten the working week.
Despite the statement of the Minister of Finance of the country Christian Lindner, who questioned the possibility of switching to a four-day working week, 45 companies in test mode transferred their employees to the new schedule from February 1, 2024.
German authorities have agreed to an experiment with a shortened working week amid a crisis associated with rising inflation and a shortage of trained personnel.
As Bloomberg notes, these factors led to the fact that German workers began to actively seek higher wages, as well as to fight for the flexibility and independence that they received during the pandemic.

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

Complicated to roll out for large companies

Smaller organizations may find it easier to adopt a 4-day workweek, but all companies must prioritize clear communication, trust, and empathy towards employees to ensure a successful implementation.

Title:

Content: General Supervision
Elham Aboul Fath
Editor-in-Chief
Thank you for your patience.
General Supervision
Elham Aboul Fath
Editor-in-Chief
Thank you for your patience.
Artificial intelligence will help employees work 4 days a week
A job expert said AI would allow us to work four days a week, instead of five.
Sir Christopher Pissarides explained that technology like ChatGPT could boost productivity and save humans from having to do tedious jobs.
The Nobel Prize-winning economist insisted that employees can work four days a week thanks to artificial intelligence, which will help employees complete their work faster and better.
Pissarides, who led a review on the effects of automation on jobs, noted that the impact of AI could be positive — though some fear it could lead to widespread layoffs of employees worldwide.
A recent report by Goldman Sachs estimated that 300 million jobs worldwide could be at risk due to artificial intelligence.
Sam Altman, president of OpenAI developer ChatGPT, admitted he was “a little scared ” that the technology could replace jobs too quickly.
In a recent blog he proposed within five years believing that computer programs would be able to read legal documents and provide medical advice.

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

Ultimately, a 4-day workweek can be a beneficial and equitable option for all employees, but companies must be willing to put in the effort to ensure a successful implementation and address any challenges that may arise.

Title:

Content: Express Computer
Home  »  Guest Blogs  »  How AI and automation will play an increasing role in Industry 5.0

How AI and automation will play an increasing role in Industry 5.0

0 19

By Niranjan Nayak, MD, Delta Electronics India

Industry 5.0 describes the next phase of industrial development following the current Industry 4.0. Industry 5.0 is focused on combining the strengths of both humans and machines to create a more collaborative and inclusive working environment.
In Industry 5.0, advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) continue to play a significant role. However, the emphasis shifts towards the interaction and cooperation between humans and machines, with the goal of augmenting human capabilities and enhancing productivity.

It’s important to note that the concept of Industry 5.0 is still evolving, and there is no universally agreed-upon definition or framework for its implementation. It represents a vision for the future of the industry, focusing on the harmonious collaboration between humans and advanced technologies to drive innovation, productivity, and societal well-being.

Transformation in Industry 5.0
Advancements in AI and automation are key drivers of the transformation in Industry 5.0. AI is revolutionizing industries by enabling machines to learn from data and make intelligent decisions. In Industry 5.0, AI enables machines to work alongside humans, assisting in complex decision-making, problem-solving, and improving overall productivity. IoT devices play a crucial role in creating a connected and intelligent manufacturing environment. They enable real-time monitoring of machines, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision-making. IoT data can be used to optimize production processes, improve quality control, and reduce downtime.

The availability of large volumes of data, combined with advanced analytics techniques, enables deeper insights and informed decision-making. Big data analytics can uncover hidden patterns, correlations, and trends that can optimize production processes, enhance product quality, and identify potential issues before they occur. It helps in predicting maintenance needs, reducing downtime, and improving overall operational efficiency. AR and VR technologies are transforming training, maintenance, and collaboration in Industry 5.0. AR overlays digital information onto the real-world environment, providing workers with real-time instructions, data visualizations, and remote expert assistance. VR creates immersive virtual environments that simulate real-world scenarios, allowing for virtual training, design reviews, and prototyping.

Evolved Supply Chain Management
AI and automation are significantly improving supply chain management in Industry 5.0 by enhancing efficiency, visibility, and decision-making across various stages of the supply chain.

Here are some ways in which AI and automation are driving improvements:

Demand Forecasting and Inventory Management: AI algorithms can analyze historical sales data, market trends, and external factors to predict future demand more accurately. This enables companies to optimize inventory levels, reduce stockouts, and minimize excess inventory. Automation systems can automatically trigger reorder points and generate purchase orders, streamlining the procurement process.

Supply Chain Visibility and Tracking: AI-powered tracking systems leverage IoT sensors, RFID tags, and GPS technologies to provide real-time visibility into the movement of goods throughout the supply chain. This enhances traceability, enables proactive issue detection, and facilitates timely decision-making. AI analytics can identify bottlenecks, optimize routes, and suggest alternative options to ensure on-time delivery.

Predictive Maintenance: AI and machine learning algorithms can analyse real-time data from connected equipment and sensors to predict maintenance needs accurately. This proactive approach helps reduce unplanned downtime, improve asset utilization, and optimize maintenance schedules. Predictive maintenance also ensures the availability of critical equipment and minimizes production disruptions.

The Era of Smart Factories
AI and automation play a crucial role in the creation of smart factories in Industry 5.0. Smart factories leverage advanced technologies to enable autonomous, interconnected, and data-driven manufacturing systems.

Autonomous Operations: AI-powered automation systems enable autonomous operations in smart factories. Robots, machines, and equipment can operate independently, performing tasks with minimal human intervention. AI algorithms guide robots in tasks such as assembly, quality control, and material handling, leading to increased productivity, efficiency, and consistency.

Adaptive and Flexible Production: AI and automation enable adaptive and flexible production capabilities in smart factories. By analyzing real-time demand data, production systems can adjust production volumes, prioritize orders, and optimize production schedules. AI algorithms can dynamically reconfigure production lines and adapt to changing product specifications, allowing for efficient customization and faster response to market demands.

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability: AI and automation systems contribute to energy efficiency and sustainability in smart factories. AI algorithms optimize energy usage by monitoring and controlling machines, lighting, and HVAC systems based on real-time conditions and production requirements. Automation systems can identify energy-saving opportunities, reduce waste, and contribute to a greener manufacturing environment.

Future Outlook
The future advancements in AI and automation have the potential to further shape Industry 5.0 and bring about transformative changes. Here are some potential areas of advancement that could have a significant impact. The development of more sophisticated and versatile robots is expected in Industry 5.0. These robots may have enhanced mobility, dexterity, and cognitive capabilities, enabling them to handle a wider range of tasks and collaborate more seamlessly with humans.

In Industry 5.0, the integration of AI with edge computing and IoT devices will facilitate faster data analysis, improved connectivity, and decentralized decision-making. This will enable more efficient and autonomous systems at the edge of the network.
The future of AI and automation in Industry 5.0 will prioritize ethical considerations and responsible deployment. Advancements will focus on developing frameworks and practices that ensure fairness, transparency, privacy, and accountability in AI algorithms and automated systems. Regulations and guidelines may emerge to govern the ethical use of AI and automation in various industries.

Conclusion
The future of AI and automation in shaping the industrial landscape holds immense potential for transformative change. As advancements continue to unfold, we can anticipate a profound impact on various industries. AI and automation will revolutionize manufacturing processes, workforce dynamics, and business models, leading to unprecedented levels of productivity, efficiency, and innovation.

Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.

LIVE Webinar

Digitize your HR practice with extensions to success factors

Join us for a virtual meeting on how organizations can use these extensions to not just provide a better experience to its’ employees, but also to significantly improve the efficiency of the HR processes
REGISTER NOW
India's Leading e-Governance Summit is here!!! Attend and Know more.
Register Now!
Attend Webinar & Enhance Your Organisation's Digital Experience.
Register Now
Enable A Truly Seamless & Secure Workplace.
Register Now
Attend Inida's Largest BFSI Technology Conclave!
Register Now
Know how to protect your company in digital era.
Register Now
Protect Your Critical Assets From Well-Organized Hackers
Register Now
Find Solutions to Maintain Productivity
Register Now
Live Webinar : Improve customer experience with Voice Bots
Register Now
Live Event: Technology Day- Kerala, E- Governance Champions Awards
Register Now
Virtual Conference : Learn to Automate complex Business Processes
Register Now

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

Complicated to roll out for large companies

The implementation of a 4-day workweek has been shown to increase productivity, with a 20% increase reported by a New Zealand company.

Title:

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

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

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

A 40% increase in productivity was also reported by Microsoft Japan.

Title:

Content: In the world
News of Moscow
Politics
Society
Accidents
Science and technology
Show business
Army
Games
The state Duma warned about the risks of a four-day working week
The introduction of a four-day working week can lead to serious consequences for the country, said the deputy, chairman of the labor committee.
An interview with him was published in the Telegram channel of the portal Ura.ru.
Photo by RIA NovostiRIA Novosti
Nilov warned that the transition to a four-day working week could have a negative impact on both employers and employees.
The deputy stressed that if you shift the financial component of the initiative on the shoulders of employers, it will lead to higher prices and inflation.
Some organizations will be forced to close.
Then people will be on the street.
In the same case, if the issue is resolved at the expense of citizens, the deputy specified, the innovation will affect the incomes of citizens.
The quality of life of workers will decrease, its duration will decrease.

Employee stress has been found to decrease with a 4-day workweek, from 45% to 38% in one study.

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.

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.

Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.

Work-life balance scores have also improved, increasing from 54% to 78% with a 3-day workweek.

Title:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leadership scores have improved with the implementation of a 3-day workweek.

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.
Is the overall efficiency of returning less than one day of work declining instead of rising?
Click to learn more ▼ ▼ ▼
+ 16

Employee confidence and sense of responsibility have also increased with a 3-day workweek.

Title:

Content: 03 May 2022, 12: 12
The transition to a four-day work week will take place in the near future.
The Deputy of the state Duma called the upcoming changes evolutionary
Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs Yaroslav Nilov, told RIA Novosti that the reduction of the working week is a matter of the near future.
The parliamentarian also believes that the transition from five to four working days is a matter of the near future.
“Some enterprises are already working in this format – in the framework of remote or part-time employment during the pandemic.
This was one of the best solutions in the matter of personnel retention and the continuation of the enterprise.
But the main condition here is a step-by-step evolution, not in any case a legislative-forced implementation.
In addition, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the work of enterprises of a continuous cycle, where a shortened working week is initially impossible ”,
Nilou noted.
At the same time, he added that for certain areas of business, such a transition means a direct reduction in profits.
Photo by pixabay.

The 4 Day Week Global organization promotes the benefits of a 4-day workweek

The 4 Day Week Global organization promotes the benefits of a 4-day workweek

The 4 Day Week Global organization promotes the benefits of a 4-day workweek