An experiment with 33 real companies demonstrated the benefits of implementing a 4-day work week. Greater productivity, better employee health, less staff turnover, more positive work environments and increased income, among others.
Implementing the 4-day work week is not a new idea. It is something that has been around for a long time in various countries, and even in some such as New Zealand, Germany, Spain and Chile there are already companies that have implemented it.
In May 2021, the Chilean company People & Partners joined this trend and at that time indicated that they did so to improve the quality of life of their employees.
But how successful is this model? The latest evidence says a lot.
An experiment organized by the non-profit community, 4 Day Week Globalanalyzed 33 companies that implemented the system for six months.
Thus, in February 2022, these companies reduced the working hours of their workers to 4 days or 32 hours a week, without reducing their wages.
The idea was to see if people might be just as productive by working fewer hours.
The effects of the 4-day work week: more income, higher productivity, better health and lower job turnover
According to Insiderthe results were positive.
The companies that participated in the program not only reported higher income and productivitybut also saw that the health and sense of well-being of the employees improved.
They also saw a positive impact on the work environment.
Soothing Solutions, an Irish company that makes cough drops, decided to participate in the experiment as a way to attract and retain talent.
According to its founders, Sinéad Crowther and Denise Lauaki, since they implemented the system, no staff member has resigned.
Crowther said he was even moved by the testimony of several workers.
“One of our employees has an elderly father who is terminally ill and he spends three to four days a week with him,” he said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that at any other job,” he added.
Likewise, another worker said that she was able to cultivate her passion for photography in her spare time, and “it turns out that she is a fantastic photographer,” Crowther said.
In addition, Soothing Solutions was successful in launching sales on Amazon during this period and expanding sales to other countries.
“We have absolutely no concerns. It probably sounds crazy, but it works.”Crowther said.
Another Irish company, Rent a Recruiter, dedicated to recruiting personnel, assured that following participating in the program, its gross profits increased and the productivity of its staff doubled.
Barry Prost, co-founder of the firm, said they were happy with the change.
“We have moms and dads who can drop off and pick up their kids on a Friday, which they wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise,” she added.
The study reported that the companies participating in the project increased their productivity by around 8.14%, and some even reached almost 40%.
Likewise, of 27 companies that completed a final survey following the experience, all decided to maintain the 4-day work week.
Other less expected benefits: help to the environment and gender inequality
Other benefits reported were the reduction of carbon emissions.
“People travel less and businesses use less energy. The 4-Day Week test found that participants spent one hour less traveling than before.notes Insider.
Orla Kelly, an environmental sociologist at University College Dublin and one of the 4 Day Week researchers, said this model also helps people make more environmentally friendly choices.
“When people are working longer hours, they tend to be in this spending cycle, where consumption patterns tend to be quite intensive,” Kelly said.
This is because if you have less free time, you are more likely to buy food in disposable plastic containers, drive to work instead of walking, and spend more money on impulse purchases.
On the other hand, women also benefited. “Women tend to have lower-paying jobs, so they tend to be the ones to cut back to part-time even if they don’t want to,” Kelly said, often leading them to quit.
“This can be problematic for your long-term career path, your pension contributions and power dynamics within the household,” added the professional.
However, if the hours are shortened for everyone, women are more likely to stay in their full-time jobs and not feel pressured to leave their jobs.
Can all companies?
A 2019 research paper from the Henley Business School in Iceland found that two-thirds of companies operating a 4-day work week saw an increase in employee productivity.
But not everything is hunky-dory, this method might also imply that by working fewer hours the daily load is concentrated, causing more stress in some people.
In addition, for some types of companies that need to be at the service of customers 24 hours a day, it would be very difficult to implement, such as the media or health services.
“But in those cases, companies might approach the four-day week the way they already handle weekends: just organize team schedules so there are always people working,” says Insider freelance journalist, Molly Simpson.
Notably, 4 Day Week Global has partnered with academics from Harvard Business School, the University of Oxford, and the University of Pennsylvania, to carry out their research.