Blog 5: Stress in the workplace and the 4 day work week

 Stress in the Workplace and the 4 day work week

The article titled “A four-day workweek Reduces Stress Without Hurting Productivity” written by Jan Donges and Sophie Bushwick for the publication Scientific American explored a recent study done in the UK regarding shortened workweeks, their impacts on employees’ mental health and on businesses' profitability.

According to a study that was conducted by a group of independent researchers in collaboration with the advocacy groups 4 Day Week Global and 4 Day week Campaign, a four day workweek led to significantly improved well-being among employees and the change didn’t affect productivity levels at the businesses. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many workers experienced increased stress and burnout which made it difficult for businesses to meet their goals let alone succeed. The six-month test period ran from June to December 2022 and involved 61 different U.K. companies with approximately 2900 employees.

According to the participants of the survey, 71% of the respondents reported that they were experiencing lower levels of burnout and 39% said that they were feeling less stressed than when they started the test 6 months ago. The businesses that participated also reported that employees used on average 65% fewer sick and personal days than before. Despite employees logging fewer working hours than a traditional 5 day work period the participating businesses saw that revenues barely changed during the test period and in fact, they actually saw a slight increase by 1.4% on average. The test included companies from various industries which included online retailers, financial services firms, animation studios and even a fish and chips storefront. Each business chose how to implement its own four day work week. 92% of the companies that took part in the test/ pilot program stated that they would be continuing to test the four day work week and 18 companies decided to permanently keep the reduced working hours. The researchers that conducted the test/ pilot program said that they would be conducting a follow-up survey with all of the participating companies that chose to maintain the four day workweek at the one year mark to see if the trend of positive results continues. However, it is important to note that because the original test period was so relatively short there is a question of weather the favourable impact on employee’s wellbeing will continue as a long term trend.  

This article applies to other workplaces because the findings of this U.K. study suggests that a four day work week with the same pay as a traditional five day work week could be implemented without harming the businesses bottom line while also helping to improve morale, reduce sick time and personal days. Not only does this have the potential to make employees happy and give them a better work-life balance it also has the potential to improve productivity/ profitability.

This article applies to me personally as work-life balance is a very important aspect of any place that I conder working in. I’m married to someone who is already enjoying the perks of working a 4 day work week and he loves it, he has the time to recharge after work, spend time with friends and family and rarely feels like there’s not enough time to get everything done. I believe that more businesses will be making the move to four days in the next 5-10 years here in Canada as the 4 day work week movement grows.   

Comments

  1. Austin Lefort6 April 2023 at 18:06

    Work life balance is important to me as well and I would love to see more companies implementing 4-day work weeks too. This would create so much more time to focus on other things in life instead of just work. This will be one thing I will look for in a job for the future.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ore Afolabi6 April 2023 at 23:33

    A four-day work week could have many benefits, such as a better balance between work and life, more efficiency, better employee health, a smaller carbon footprint, and the ability to find and keep good workers. But switching to a four-day work week needs careful thought and planning to make sure it doesn't hurt how the business runs or how much employees are paid. But just as Austin said, I look forward to searching for companies that implements this practice.

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