The pros and cons of working week for 4 days

There is no doubt about that a race For good jobs (and to keep your current job) fierce. Moreover, there are increasing demands for workers to raise their game and be more productive and sincere. On the other hand, the worker pressure and Exhaustion At the height, many younger workers want a job that provides a better balance between work and life. What may be a solution?

Throughout the world, there is a movement in some countries to reduce the work week from 5 days to 4. In a recent study, Dr. Juliet Shore studied thousands of workers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Germany and other countries that were placed in a 4 -day experimental program per week (there was no decrease in salaries). One of the concerns was that the reduced hours (32 hours instead of 40) would lead to a decrease in general productivity. For the largest part, this was not the case. In fact, at the end of the study, the vast majority of companies maintained a 4 -day working week.

What are the effects?

It was very clear that the employees working for a 4 -day timetable per week reported better (and even physical) mental health. There was a significant decrease in the exhaustion of the employee.

However, one of the concerns is that high -demand jobs that require long hours may lead to increased pressure as workers try to do the same amount of work in fewer hours. Another concern is that some jobs, such as retail and customer service, require coverage through the full work day/week, so employers may bear the costs of employing more workers to ensure that the stations are inhabited.

One of the “side effects” for the work week for a period of 4 days is that the employees do not take many “personal days” to operate the necessary tasks, such as the dates of the doctor, the dentist, and the like.

Another positive is a decrease in the time of navigation (and the reduction associated with greenhouse gases).

What happens psychologically?

There is no doubt that the majority of workers prefer the shortest work week. In fact, they seemed to attack it, as some workers say they refused to return to the schedule for 5 days even if more money is paid.

One of the important factors in schedule the low working day is flexibility and a sense of controlling workers for their lives. They can organize a longer weekend for Getaways, and they can use “Fifth Day” to operate the missions. Employers may benefit from this increasing sense of control by allowing workers to have more flexibility in their schedules, even if the work week remains for 40 hours in place.

Although employers may inherit the lack of invested working hours, there are some strategies that can ensure that productivity is not delayed, even with a decrease in hours. For example, in some companies, it limits the length of meetings to encourage workers to accomplish more in less time.