The Four Day Work Week
Over 20 countries in the world have recently run pilot programs exploring the idea of a 4 day work week
Luiza Moldovan, 04.04.2023, 13:44
Over 20 countries in the world have recently run pilot programs exploring the idea of a 4 day work week. More than that, a few countries have introduced officially the option of working 4 days a week.
The initial data related to it have proven promising in many cases, since cutting down on the work week helps employees improve their work-life balance, in terms of reducing stress and of general happiness. The four day work week has been successfully tested in Australia, Iceland, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Canada, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, and the US.
The question is, what exactly is the 4 day work week? In one version, it is 4 days with 10 hours of work, following the 40 hour rule, instead of the 5 day, 8 hour rule. However, this experiment has revealed major dissatisfaction with this formula, leading to increased levels of stress. Another version was 38 or 36 hours per week, instead of 32. At the same time, while most versions of the 4 day work week count Friday towards the weekend, others make Monday the additional spare day. A few of them make Friday the free day for half the employees, with the other half having the Monday off.
In the UK, 92% of the companies that have tested the 4 day format without increasing the daily workload want to continue with it, while 30% say they want to keep it for good. Even if this would revolutionize completely the work dynamic on the work market in Romania, right now only 4 out of 10 companies would agree to this formula, as revealed by a recent poll run by the BestJobs employment platform.
After the difficult last few years on the job market, with the trends of the great quitting and quiet quitting, this measure would be welcome in order to help with employee retention. More than that, according to the study, the Labor Code allows redistributing activities, depending on the job or the work being done. There are options for an unequal distribution of work time, with 40 hours a week being worked, but with the decision being left to a given employer as to how they would reduce the number of work days.
80% of employers would like to work 4 days a week, even in the 10 hours a day version, according to the BestJobs study, but 40% of employers are afraid that this schedule would endanger the ability of workers to concentrate, which would affect productivity. Almost 35% are concerned that, on the long term, workers would become exhausted by the daily workload, even though the results of the international study run to the contrary.
Speaking of their additional free day, about 60% of respondents said that they would spend more time with the family, about 45% of them say that they would handle administrative tasks they could not handle during their working hours, 40% say that they would dedicate more time to their hobbies, and almost 40% say they would simply rest. In other words, the reduced work week would lead to a more balanced way of life.
Ana Visian, marketing manager for BestJobs, said: “Just as remote work was seen as an exception before the pandemic, this seems to be the case with the reduced work week right now. It is no surprise that such a trend is well received among employees, especially after the negative impact on mental well being over the last few years. Employees would have more free time, in order to break away from the pressure of their job, which they can dedicate to their family and loved ones, or invest in activities with a good impact on physical and mental well being, as they themselves indicated in the study. Employers should be open to such a measure, because it will be at least as well appreciated as flexibility is now, and will contribute to attracting and retaining valuable employees. In addition, formulas can be found to distribute activities such that some of the workers could be found in the office each work day, matching the schedule of the customers.
The results of the BestJobs study show that 4 out of 10 employees now work in a hybrid system, while 29% work entirely remotely, and 28% are in the office at all hours of the workday. The hybrid system is different according to each company, so that a majority of them, 37%, work a single day in the office and 4 days from home. 20% go to the office 3 days a week, 28% go there two days a week, while 14% work a single day from home.
We spoke on this topic to Ana Calugaru, head of communications for another recruiting platform, eJobs Group, and she confirmed the results of the study:
“Romanian companies right now are not open to the idea of a 4 day work week. There were select cases of testing this model before the pandemic, but it was not proven to be too effective, on the contrary, employee performance was negatively affected, which is why they reverted to the 5 day week, the classic model. Of course, employees are looking at results from the outside, they are looking at results that companies outside themselves are having based on this model. This is especially true in the context in which employees really want to have this benefit. However, only a few are considering implementing such a measure, at least for the foreseeable future.
