The potential advantages of working a four-day week as opposed to a five-day week have been the subject of much discussion. Making 32 hours the standard rather than 40 can prompt superior prosperity for laborers without a deficiency of efficiency for organizations.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that as the number of hours worked increases, productivity decreases at some point. People may be overworking themselves out by working forty hours a week.
Various organizations overall have pulled off a four-day long week of work for a year or more, and Japan’s administration has suggested it as a public strategy.
It’s anything but a groundbreaking thought, yet it appears to have gone under more noteworthy thought since the Coronavirus pandemic produced a wide reexamination of how we work.
What Is a 4-Day Workweek?
A 32-hour workweek with no reduction in productivity, pay, or benefits is ideal for a four-day workweek.
2 Everyone might work Monday through Thursday and have Fridays off, depending on the company and the industry. Other options include giving each employee the option to choose an additional day off or establishing a policy that every employee has a different third day off, like Monday or Wednesday.
Each option has advantages and disadvantages. Keeping everyone on the same schedule, for instance, increases opportunities for teamwork but leaves a company without staff on days when most people are at work. Individual employees may benefit more from a flexible third day off, but teams may struggle.
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The Origins of Working Less
It is not a novel idea to complete more work in less time to take more time off. We can all thank Ford Motor Company—as well as the Industrial Revolution—for the current five-day work as opposed to the previous six days.
By September of the same year, what began as an experiment at some plants in July 1926 became company policy.
5 In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed by the federal government. It mandated a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour, a 44-hour workweek, and overtime pay equal to 1.5 times a worker’s regular pay. In 1939, the act mandated a 40-hour work, while in 1940, it mandated a 42-hour work.
How Many Hours Are We Really Working?
According to data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the lowest annual average number of hours worked by employed people in 2020 was 1,332 (or 25,6 hours per week) in Germany.
Canadians work 1,664 hours per week, while Americans put in an average of 1,767 hours. The British work 26 hours, the Spaniards work 30 hours, and the Japanese work 31 hours, among other places, experimenting with four-day workweeks.
Taking a look at these figures, it would appear that workers in some other nations have even more free time than the average worker in the United States who is 16 or older.
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Benefits of a 4-Day Workweek
The fundamental goal of a four-day workweek is to improve workers’ quality of life. By working fewer hours overall and having three full days off, people have more time for personal priorities like these:
- Spending quality time with family, friends, and pets
- Caregiving
- Doctor appointments
- Personal development
- Education
- Travel
- Hobbies
- Home maintenance and improvements
- Household management