Is it time for the 4 day work week?

There can be few things less empowering for an employee and more damaging to morale and motivation than to be forced to clock in and clock out every day to hit a "weekly hours quota". It is crazy that companies are still judging based on quantity rather than quality. It was back in 1956 Richard Nixon predicted the 4 day work week in the "not too distant future".

Well it's taken a while but the winds are changing and it won't be long before the 4 day working week is a standard practice and offered as a valuable perk in a very competitive employment market. This is not only to avoid burnout, boost mental health and improve quality of life but because survey after survey is proving that it significantly boosts productivity.

Microsoft Japan found a major productivity leap, decreased overheads and increased sales by 40% when it allowed its 2,300 staff a 3 day weekend over a trial period. 92% of employees viewed the experiment positively

Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand company, tested and later officially implemented a 4 day workweek for its 2,500 employees after deeming it was beneficial for business and staff following a 2 month pilot where employees were still paid for 5 days of work. An independent study of the shortened workweek concluded that staff stress levels decreased and engagement increased. “You’re not just getting the same productivity, you’re getting higher productivity,” the company’s owner, Andrew Barnes, said.

Adam Grant, a psychologist from Wharton Business School pitched the 4 day working idea at Davos 2019 saying "I think we have some good experiments showing that if you reduce work hours, people are able to focus their attention more effectively, they end up producing just as much, often with higher quality and creativity, and they are also more loyal to the organisations that are willing to give them the flexibility to care about their lives outside of work."

As per my previous article millennials are driving a broad shift in priorities when it comes to work, focusing more on the overall balance in their lives.

In the sales industry that I work in it is obviously easy to measure performance levels in comparison to other roles; the sales numbers don't lie. But even from my own experience at school, university and in the office - more gets done and there is much better focus and energy when you have time pressure and have to be efficient. With 4 days rather than 5 you can even start to be more sensible on which of those long-winded staff meetings should be clogging up everyone's diary. But that's a topic for another article!