A new study revealed that working 4 days a week carries amazing benefits that include improving the mental, physical and psychological health of workers, in a field experiment that included 61 companies and regarding 2,900 workers in the United Kingdom.
And the non-profit organization “Four Days Global” published promising results for a 6-month experiment. 2,900 workers in the experiment reported lower levels of stress, anxiety, exhaustion, and fatigue, indicating that it was a greater opportunity to reduce stress, improve mental health, more exercise, and an easier time to sleep.
High revenue
Forty-seven out of the 61 companies that reported financial statements said revenues remained largely the same, according to the businessinsider website.
Also, 56 companies out of 61, or 92%, said that they are continuing the system 4 days a week, while 18 companies confirmed that they changed their policy to the new system permanently.
From a desk to work – Shutterstock
As for employees, 90% of them said that they would like to continue working four days a week. 55% of employees reported an increase in their ability to work.
60% of employees found an increased ability to combine work and caring responsibilities, and 62% stated that it was easier to combine work and social life.
Decreased anxiety, fatigue and sleep problems
While levels of anxiety, fatigue and sleep problems decreased and mental and physical health improved, employees also found it easier to balance their work with family and social obligations, by 54%.
“It makes sense that working fewer hours would be associated with a range of improvements,” said Philip German, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I would like to see a longer study to see if the positive effects continue,” he added.
From a desk to work – Shutterstock
Less time.. and a better result
Other research on human brains and behavior supports the idea that less time on the job can be better for workers and employers. Research has also shown that people tend to increase their efforts at work as the weekend approaches.
Two studies also found that simply getting up in the morning for work can cause your body to release higher levels of the stress hormone (cortisol) than it did on the weekends.
And that’s not bad, but prolonged stress, and too much cortisol over time, can contribute to a host of physical and mental health problems.
