Is a four-day workweek the answer to a more efficient and healthier work environment?

Countless times we have either experienced or witnessed the effects of stress and pressure at work. Long days and hours with overwhelming tasks can easily be overpowering.

What if the solution resides in shortening our week and thus letting the employee choose how to organize, and maximize their efficiency based on their own flexibility and work method?

A recent survey released by the recruitment firm Hays reveals that both employers and employees are more open to the idea of concentrating their energy to work over four days a week rather than five.

This new four-day workweek schedule would eliminate any remote working and employees would have to be physically present every day.

Early this month, the World Economic Forum released the results of the four-day workweek trial performed on over 60 UK companies between June and December 2022.

The results have shown that more than 90 per cent of participating businesses have chosen to carry on with the 4 days week setup with 18 of them adopting it permanently.

The majority of employers claimed it boosted productivity and an improvement in staff retention and well-being. They have noticed a reduction of 65 per cent in the number of sick days and 71 per cent of employees declared they were experiencing lower levels of burnout.

Moreover, this setup will allow employees to be paid for a full week and the salary perks remain the same.

The pilot has also been run in Iceland, New Zealand, and Belgium. It has been implemented in all structures in the United Arab Emirates last year, structuring the week into four and a half days.

In Belgium, workers can now choose to work either a four or five days week with a full salary. Furthermore, the multinational Unilever has run an encouraging 18-month trial in New Zealand with a 34 per cent drop in absenteeism.

According to a 2021 Reed survey, more than 80 per cent of people in the UK would prefer working on a four-day basis.

The participants have stated that it improves morale and reduces absences. Moreover, it is a great asset regarding recruitment as it provides a flexible work frame and a less pressuring environment.

However, working only four days a week is not a perfect structure and might not be suitable for every sector and every employee.

For instance, the healthcare department requires its staff to alternate over a 7-day basis. Furthermore, it would involve extra costs and expenses for those sectors, thus the system needs to be readjusted so that no workers feel unfairly treated.

Attar Naderi, Associate Director Europe & MENA at Laserfiche stated that ultimately each company and employer had to find their own model tailored to their workforce to progressively move towards more flexibility.

He also added that companies could either trial and perhaps set up a four-day workweek structure or allow employees to control their own diaries and schedule.

This would potentially mean that employees cooperate to find the best options suitable for the whole team and engage in a more trusting relationship between employers and employees.