Most companies continued to implement the reduced week a year after the program began, and the benefits do not appear to have diminished over time as employees adjusted to the new schedule. “There is no sign of any decline in employee well-being or productivity,” said Brendan Burchell, a sociologist at the University of Cambridge.
Reducing the workweek to four days appears to improve employee health and reduce the risk of burnout, according to the results of a pilot program conducted in six countries. The study involved about 2,900 employees from 141 organizations in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, who reduced their working hours without a reduction in pay.
Before the experiment began, the companies underwent two months of training programs and changed the way they organized work, with the aim of increasing efficiency and collaboration. Then, a four-day work week was implemented, or a 20% reduction in working hours for a period of six months. After six months, employees who worked a reduced week reported less professional fatigue, better mental and physical health, and more job satisfaction. The study showed that the more the working hours were reduced, the better the employees felt about their work and, to a certain extent, about their mental health. Even employees who reduced their work hours by just a few hours a week reported better health and greater job satisfaction compared to the control group.
Most companies continued to implement the reduced week a year after the program began, and the benefits did not appear to diminish over time as employees adjusted to the new schedule. “There is no sign of any decline in employee well-being or productivity,” said Brendan Burchell, a sociologist at the University of Cambridge who has analyzed four-day week programs in the United Kingdom.
The benefits of a reduced workweek are mainly linked to three factors: a greater sense of control and efficiency on the part of employees, fewer sleep problems and reduced fatigue. This underlines the importance of sleep for health. “The link between quality sleep and all indicators of health and well-being is extremely strong,” said Burchell. In the study, employees worked an average of 40 hours a week before the experiment. A 20% reduction would mean a 32-hour workweek. This is already the average level in the Netherlands, while the average in the European Union is around 36 hours a week.
However, the results could serve as a guide for countries and organizations looking to reduce pressure on employees. In Spain, for example, the working week is set to be reduced from 40 to 37.5 hours.
The pilot study also had some limitations. The employees didn’t have a control group to measure exactly how their lives changed after the reduced hours, which could have influenced their responses. Also, the participating companies may have been more committed to employee flexibility and well-being in the past, which could have influenced the results. The study focused primarily on high-income, English-speaking countries, so it’s unclear how a four-day week would work in other countries or work cultures. Still, Burchell called the study a “watershed moment,” providing the strongest evidence yet for how a four-day workweek can be implemented across organizations and countries.
More and more countries, such as Poland, Iceland, Germany and Portugal, are experimenting with shorter work weeks in response to rising depression, anxiety and burnout among workers.