4-day working week – is it a good idea?

Home » News & Knowledge » 4-day working week – is it a good idea?

Burnout is becoming a widespread problem across almost every industry – but some organisations are making moves to tackle this.

The theory is that giving workers an extra day off, could promote wellbeing in the workplace and boost productivity.

According to statistics, burnout has become an ‘occupational phenomenon’ with one in five workers in the UK claiming to feel ‘unable’ to manage pressure and stress levels at work.

4-day working week

Burnout is a recognised illness by the World Health Organisation, and this could be due to the high pressures of a work-life balance and everyday stressors in life.

A study by researchers in Iceland found that reducing the number of hours worked while keeping pay the same increased productivity. The study also found that employees working a four-day working week had a lower rate of burnout and higher well-being.

Meanwhile, in Japan, employers are being encouraged to allow employees to work four 10-hour days, instead of the same hours but split across five days. The UK also conducted a 4-day working week trial across 61 UK-based companies which was widely considered a success.

The majority of firms that participated in the trial, opted to keep the 4-day model in place. The figures showed that 56 of the companies decided to extend the four-day week, while 18 made it permanent.

Joe Ryle, the director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, called the trial a “major breakthrough moment”, adding:

“Across a wide variety of sectors, wellbeing has improved dramatically for staff; and business productivity has either been maintained or improved in nearly every case.

“We’re really pleased with the results and hopefully it does show that the time to roll out a four-day week more widely has surely come.”

Are 4-day weeks really beneficial?

Gallup, a workplace advisory company conducted a study involving 12,313 full-time employees to work out which business model creates the highest engagement and lowest burnout rates.

The study found that people who work six days a week had the highest level of burnout. Meanwhile, those who worked a five-day week had the highest engagement and lowest burnout rates.

However, those with four-day weeks had the lowest active disengagement but they did not have significantly higher well-being compared to those who work 5-day weeks. It also found that people working four-day weeks suffered from a higher rate of burnout compared to those who work 5-days.

However, according to the data, a four-day week may be advantageous for those who do not have the option to work remotely.

Gallup’s data says that although a four-day week doesn’t improve the likelihood that fully on-site workers will be engaged in their work or workplace, the four-day work week does reduce the chance that they will perceive work as miserable – and increases their opportunity for thriving wellbeing.

4-day working week – is it a good idea?

Burnout is becoming a widespread problem across almost every industry – but some organisations are making moves to tackle this.

Are 4-day weeks really beneficial?

Further reading

WHAT TO DO NEXT