Community News
The Future of work is here, and it’s a four-day week
BY SIMONE J. SMITH
The verdict is in: A four-day work week is good for business. Apparently having a shorter work week leads to less stress and higher productivity.
Imagine, if you can, a world where every week feels a little bit longer, a little bit more relaxed. A world where you have an extra day to recharge, to spend with loved ones, or to simply enjoy a well-deserved break.
We all know that feeling when the holidays roll around. That extra day, that precious gift of time. It’s a chance to: catch up on chores, run errands, or simply unwind. What if I told you that this dream of a four-day work week is no longer just a holiday fantasy? It’s becoming a reality, and the results are nothing short of astounding.
Countries around the globe are experimenting with this innovative work model, and the impact has been truly remarkable. From increased productivity to improved employee satisfaction, the benefits are clear.
Here is a sneaky suggestion; leave this article on screen when your boss walks by.
So, let’s be clear about something; I am not talking about a four-day week, as nice as that would be, but more like 35 to 36-hour weeks. Between 2020 and 2022, 51% of Icelandic workers accepted reduced working hours with no reduction in pay. The trials involved several thousand public sector workers. Iceland’s economy grew by 5% in 2023, the second-best among wealthy European countries, per the International Monetary Fund.
Fifty-two percent of workers with reduced hours felt it improved their work-life balance, and 42% felt that it decreased stress outside of work. Six percent apparently said their stress had increased (probably the same nerds who said, “Teacher, you forgot to give us homework,” as kids).
Olesya Dmitracova, (a writer for CNN) released an article called, “Iceland embraced a shorter work week. Here’s how it turned out!” In the article, she noted that Iceland’s economy was outperforming most European peers after the nationwide introduction of a shorter working week with no loss in pay.
Between 2020 and 2022, 51% of workers in the country had accepted the offer of shorter working hours, including a four-day week. “Last year, Iceland logged faster economic growth than most European countries and its unemployment rate is one of the lowest in Europe,” noted the Autonomy Institute in the United Kingdom and Iceland’s Association for Sustainability and Democracy (Alda).
In two large trials between 2015 and 2019, public sector employees in Iceland worked 35-36 hours per week, with no reduction in pay. Many participants had previously worked 40 hours a week.
The trials involved 2,500 people — more than 1% of Iceland’s working population at the time — and were aimed at maintaining or increasing productivity while improving work-life balance. Researchers found that productivity stayed the same or improved in most workplaces. What they did notice is that workers’ well-being increased “dramatically” on a range of measures, from perceived stress and burnout to health and work-life balance.
“The 4-day week has been transformative for our business and our people. Staff are more focused, more engaged and more dedicated, helping us hit our goals better than before,” shared Jon Leland, Chief Strategy Officer for Kickstarter
What were seen as potential drawbacks? Actually, increased stress is a potential downside of a shorter workweek, because you have less time to get work done. That’s one reason why employers are also on board with the concept. Since workers have less time to work, but the same workload, they spend more of their actual work time working. Not surfing the internet, checking Instagram, or watching reels on TikTok. Let’s be real people; do you really spend all 40 hours of your workweek doing work? Think about it; is losing downtime at the office worth it for a few more hours at home?
Calls to shorten the working week have become more of a topic in recent years. As millions of employees switched to remote work during the pandemic — cutting onerous commuting time and costs — those calls have only grown louder.
So, what do you think community? Are you ready to redefine your work-life balance? Let your employers know that the future of work is here, and it’s a four-day week.
REFERENCES:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/06/business/iceland-shorter-working-week-intl-scli-wellness/index.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/17/success/companies-perks-recruit-and-retention/index.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/04/business/four-day-work-week-risk-takers/index.html
On firmer ground: Iceland’s ongoing experience of shorter working weeks