The shift to a 4 day work week has been gaining momentum since 2022, and for good motive. As an answer for individuals struggling on account of pandemic-related stress, office stress, overwork and burnout, and the pressures of each day lives, 4 day work weeks can be a part of the reply.
And 4 day work week experiments are not occurring in a vacuum by progressive corporations. CNN named it one of many 9 most essential new concepts in enterprise. Globally, nationwide governments have even sponsored trials of 4 day weeks.
And 4 day work weeks don’t simply influence workers’ well-being, research have proven there are social, financial, and local weather advantages, along with a optimistic impact on the corporate’s backside line.
On this submit, we’ll outline the 4 day work week, element the positives, and share our personal expertise adopting this mannequin, together with poignant recommendation from our CEO to corporations hoping to emulate our instance.
Compressed vs Diminished 4 Day Work Weeks
To be clear, we’re speaking a few decreased 4 day work week.
A 4 day work week will be described in two methods: compressed and decreased. A compressed work week divides a 35+ hour workload over 4 days with the identical wage and advantages as a standard five-day work week. A decreased work week removes eight hours from the worker schedule, decreasing complete working hours to 32 per week over 4 days with the identical wage and advantages as a standard full-time place.
The 4 Day Work Week Is Undeniably Constructive: for Us and the Planet
Analysis carried out by the non-profit group 4 Day Week International reveals the clear good thing about a 4 day work week mannequin. The group studied 33 corporations in 6 totally different international locations that decreased their worker’s workload to 4 days (32 hours per week) throughout a six-month trial. The experiment questioned whether or not workers could possibly be as productive in 20 % much less time on the identical pay. The outcomes have been astonishingly optimistic.
Corporations revealed a income improve of 8.14 % in the course of the trial, and an unimaginable 37.55 % improve in comparison with the identical six-month interval the earlier yr. New hires elevated by 12.16 % over the course of the trial. Maybe much more unimaginable, these outcomes got here in the course of the “Nice Resignation,” a time in 2022 when staff have been quitting their jobs at file charges on account of burn-out, need for a greater work-life steadiness, and feeling that their jobs weren’t assembly their expectations.
Worker satisfaction was at an all-time excessive in the course of the trial, with 96.9 % saying they positively needed to proceed having a 4 day work week. They reported a decline in stress and burn-out, elevated productiveness, and better job satisfaction. Workers have been capable of spend extra time with household and associates, sleep higher, and improve time spent exercising.
A decreased work week has additionally confirmed important environmental, financial, and social advantages. Carbon emissions lower with much less commuting and workers socialize extra with a three-day weekend. In flip, this helps companies and, in some international locations, desired inhabitants development. Japan, for instance, has traditionally had an intense working tradition: “karoshi,” a time period that means “dying from overwork,” was coined within the Seventies. Nonetheless, the nation just lately launched new pointers to encourage corporations to make a shift to a 4 day work week in an effort to encourage a more healthy work-life steadiness. Japan hopes that anticipating the additional day without work will push residents to spice up the economic system by spending more cash, and even result in elevated marriage and beginning charges.
Why We Jumped On Board the 4 Day Development
On account of the pandemic, many corporations are placing work-life steadiness entrance and middle, and a 4 day work week could be a large a part of that effort. With happier, well-rested workers, corporations see a rise in earnings and productiveness, and giving workers extra flexibility — decreased hours and distant/hybrid work preparations — helps retain the staff members they’ve invested money and time into coaching. As evidenced by job websites like 4DayWeek.io, worker demand for the 4 day work week is excessive.
At SPI, a 4 day, decreased work week was applied to start with of 2022 throughout a trial interval. The outcomes from the staff aligned with the worldwide research cited above. Workers reported they have been extra motivated and productive, accomplished duties on deadline, supported one another extra, and felt a stronger sense of connection throughout the staff. Workers additionally took the additional time to select up new hobbies, train extra, full home tasks forward of time, and have extra high quality time with household and associates. Unsurprisingly, we’ve determined to maintain the 4 day work week in place completely.
“Don’t Rush It”
The 4 day work week has undeniably been a house run for Workforce SPI. So what would we suggest to different corporations hoping to comply with swimsuit? Right here’s what our CEO, Matt Gartland, needed to say about it:
“As Uncle Ben famously mentioned to younger Peter Parker, ‘with nice energy comes nice accountability.’
“The 4 day work week is a good energy for the fashionable office. It is a real aggressive benefit in addition to an embodiment of essential cultural values. It is undeniably the way forward for work, particularly for these of us who run remote-based corporations with distributed groups. It may foster nearer togetherness throughout the staff. It may nurture extra dedication to the mission of the corporate at massive.
That is all actually superior. It is also actually critical.
The alternative of these outcomes is feasible with a hasty implementation. Particulars are essential to outline and align on expectations for the way the 4 day work week goes to really work in addition to how its effectiveness goes to be evaluated. Here is the massive one: Beneath what circumstances may the 4 day work week be deemed to be ineffective and thus topic to rollback?
At SPI, we devoted plenty of time and vitality to defining our tackle a 4 day work week. This system particulars have been the topic of lively conversations with the staff. Those self same working particulars have been codified formally into our governing worker handbook. This course of took months. That is the way you deal with this superior alternative with the respect it deserves.
So lean into it. It is price it. Simply do not rush it.”
Workers are happier to work for an organization the place they really feel valued and appreciated. It’s unlikely that the world will make the shift to a 4 day work week in a single day, however corporations are realizing that to retain workers and appeal to new workers they should embrace a more healthy work-life steadiness. The momentum behind the 4 day work week continues, and we’re eager to see what optimistic, compounding results it reveals.
