Introduction
Various organizations and companies have always been looking for a way to increase the productivity of their employees. One of these methods is to reduce the working week to four days. In connection with such a decision, people were divided into two camps. Some believe that a four-day working week will do more harm than good, and therefore such an experience should not be adopted. Other people are sure that such an approach has many undeniable advantages and is worthy of further consideration and application. The author of this work believes that a four-day working week is a promising and prosperous method, which, despite some shortcomings, will positively impact companies’ economy and the condition of employees.
The Positive Effects of the Four-Day Workweek
Nowadays, the day of an ordinary person is painted literally by the minute. According to analytical data, the number of cases of burnout of employees of various companies is gradually increasing. Burnout often leads to health problems, which is bad not only for the employees themselves but also for the companies in which they work – they suffer losses. Burned out or just tired employees are less proactive, less productive, and the quality of their work is worse. Therefore, it is desirable to find an optimal balance between work and personal life. According to doctors, on average, a person can productively perform their duties for no more than 4-5 hours during the working day (Evans). The rest of the time is creating the appearance of work, smoke breaks, conversations, and coffee. Increasing the number of working hours, as a rule, does not lead to a rapid increase in the efficiency of the company.
It is advisable to consider the advantages of such a schedule in more detail.
- Some employees may be motivated by the idea of three days off and increase their productivity on working days (Evans).
- Employees are less likely to be distracted from the work that needs to be done in a week and try to solve all the day’s tasks without postponing tomorrow. The work should be done efficiently and on time because there will no longer be the fifth day to revise and correct errors.
- Due to three days off, employees get more time for their hobbies, creative development, additional training, and self-improvement.
- A four-day working week helps reduce traffic in cities and harmful emissions and fuel and travel costs (Evans).
Thus, a four-day work week provides employees with more time for families and hobbies and reduces stress levels while increasing productivity and efficiency.
Experiment in Japan
In 2019, Microsoft Japan, the Japanese division of the American corporation, introduced a four-day working week. As part of the Work-Life Choice Challenge project, 2,300 employees began working from Monday to Thursday, and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, they rested. The company then presented the results, comparing them with August 2016-2018, when there were no such experiments (International Business Times). As it turned out, employees began to go on sick leave less often, the number of days off decreased by a quarter, paper consumption fell by half, and electricity consumption decreased by about a quarter. Labor productivity increased by 39.9%, even though employees spent less time working (International Business Times). The company explained the increase in productivity, including a decrease in the number of working meetings and a reduction in their holding time. Thus, the experiment conducted in Japan ended successfully and demonstrated various advantages of a four-day working week.
The Negative Effects of the Four-Day Workweek
Nevertheless, speaking about the advantages and positive aspects of such a schedule, it is necessary to mention the negative aspects that are undoubtedly present.
- Not everyone can switch to such a schedule, which includes four-working days a week. It is difficult to imagine a metallurgist, a seller in a store, or a public utility representative moving to a four-day working week. In most cases, only office employees can switch to a shortened week (Ovais, Bharatan and Shrivastava).
- After leaving for a four-day working week, the increase in labor productivity may fall after a while because, at first, a person experiences the joy of shortening the working week and then gets used to it.
- Shortening the working week without reducing the number of working hours leads to an increase in the level of fatigue on working days (Ovais, Bharatan and Shrivastava).
- Employees may experience significant stress from completing a task in just four days instead of five.
- Companies that have offered a shortened working week, in some cases, proportionally reduce employees’ salaries.
- The reduction in the average length of the working week is equivalent to the loss of several hundred thousand private jobs in the non-agricultural sector (Lazear).
Based on all of the above, it can be noted that such an initiative has some severe drawbacks that need to be taken into account during the transition to a four-day working week.
Conclusion
A shortened working week has real prospects for many companies, as it allows for positive changes in the economy and the condition of employees. This method increases the amount of free time that employees can spend on themselves, their families and hobbies, and raises their motivation level in the workplace. Although the shortened working week has an impressive number of positive aspects, it is impossible not to note the disadvantages that it also has. Nevertheless, this initiative is effective for many companies, as it has a beneficial effect on their corporate culture.
Works Cited
“4-Day Workweek Experiment Boosted Microsoft Japan’s Productivity By 40%.” International Business Times [U.S. ed.], 2019, p. N.A. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, Web.
Evans, Joseph. “It’s Time to Retire the Five-day Workweek.” Marriott Student Review 4.2 (2021): 15.
Lazear, Edward Paul. “The bad news in the good jobs numbers: the economy is creating more jobs, but shorter workweeks have wiped out the gains.” Hoover Digest, no. 3, 2014, p. 56+. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, Web.
Ovais, D., Bharatan, S., & Shrivastava, G. (2020). Four Day Workweek A Magic Trick or A False Impression: Sustainability Analysis In The Digital Era. In AU Virtual International Conference Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in the Digital Era (Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 89-103).