In 2030, most office employees will work four days a week globally

May
2024

Steen Uno

A large number of pilot projects and test courses are now unfolding to the mutual satisfaction of companies as well as employees: It IS possible to scale down to a 4-days work week at the same time boosting the workplace's overall productivity.

May
2024

Steen Uno

Most British companies that took part in the world's largest-ever trial of a four-day workweek have now changed it to a permanent schedule.

Of the 61 companies and organizations that took part in one of the six-month UK pilots from June to December 2022, 54 (or 89%) now, after a year, are still sticking to the reduced working week, and 31 ( or 51%) have confirmed the change as permanent.

Positive headlines such as greater efficiency, happier employees, and also significantly increased job satisfaction were reported by employees and employers who participated in the test course.

In a follow-up survey, over half (55%) of the participating managers indicated that the four-day week, where employees work only 32 hours for 100% pay, has had exclusively positive effects on their company.

Future standard

82% of the respondents stated that implementing a 4-day workweek has shown a positive impact on their employees' well-being and mental health. Furthermore, 32% of those surveyed believed the strategy had improved their company's recruitment efforts.

A corresponding survey conducted by the UK 4-Day Week Campaign found that 58% of participants expected the 4-day workweek to become the new standard in the labour market by 2030.

Greater efficiency, happier employees and significantly increased job satisfaction
are the positive headlines on the 4-day test course expressed by both employees
and employers. Photos: iStock

"This is a huge breakthrough for the movement towards a four-day working week. Across various sectors, the results show that the four-day week without loss of pay can easily work," Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, says.

He states that the shortened working week causes less burnout and makes employees happier and more focused in their roles. A flexible workflow helps attract and retain talented professionals.

Adopted by law

In Europe, Belgium became the first country to legislate for four-day weeks without loss of pay. The new law launched in November 2023 allows employees to decide whether they will work four or five days a week.

The Belgian Prime Minister hopes that the change will make the country's notoriously rigid labour market more flexible and make it easier to combine family life with a career, just as the new law will generate a more dynamic economy.

In Europe, Belgium became the first country to legislate for four-day weeks without
loss of pay. The new law was launched in November last year and allows employees
to decide whether they will work four or five days a week.

Germany currently has one of the shortest work weeks in Europe, with an average of 34.2 hours. In February, the Germans launched a pilot project for a four-day working week involving 45 companies.

The project includes fewer meetings and more independent work for the participating companies. Similar test courses conducted in the past received broad support from trade unions making efforts to make a four-day working week the standard for the future.

More stress

In the United States, independent Senator Bernie Sanders recently presented a bill that will shorten Americans' weekly working hours from 40 hours, the American standard for over 80 years, to 32 hours in future.

But amid the general, immediate excitement over the prospect of reduced working weeks, more and more experts are now warning against increased work pressure and stress.

Amid the immediate excitement over the prospect of reduced workweeks, more
and more experts are now warning against increased work pressure and stress.

In 2021, experts from New Zealand's Auckland University observed 45 employees at a medium-sized company testing a four-day workweek. They concluded that many workers felt the 32 hours caused a more stressful work environment.

According to this study, many employees had to deal with the same workload despite having less time to complete their tasks. Company managers noticed that these employees had to squeeze their 100% workload into only 80% of the time, which led to difficulties for them.

Also, the study showed employees had fewer interactions with their colleagues because they stressed adapting their tasks to the reduced schedule. ●

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