The shift to a 4-day work week is underway from 2022 and is gaining momentum for good reason. As a solution for people struggling with pandemic-related stress, workplace stress, overwork and laziness, and pressures of daily life, the 4-day work week to be able to Be part of the answer.
And the 4 day work week experiments are no longer happening in a vacuum by progressive companies. CNN called it one of the nine most important new ideas in business. Worldwide, national governments have even sponsored trials of 4-day weeks.
And the 4-day work week doesn’t just affect employee well-being, studies have shown that there are social, economic and climate benefits in addition to positive effects on a company’s bottom line.
In this post, we’ll define the 4-day work week, detail the positives, and share our own experiences adopting this model, including poignant advice from our CEO to companies hoping to emulate our example.
Condensed vs. Reduced 4-day work week
To be clear, we are talking about a reduce 4 day work week.
A 4 day work week can be described in two ways: compressed And reduce. A compressed work week divides a 35+ hour workload into four days with the same pay and benefits as a traditional five-day work week. A reduced work week removes eight hours from the employee’s schedule, reducing total work hours to 32 per week over four days with the same pay and benefits as a traditional full-time position.
The 4-day work week is undoubtedly positive: for us and for the planet
Research conducted by non-profit organizations 4 day week worldwide The 4 day work week model shows clear advantages. The company studied 33 companies in 6 different countries that reduced their employee workload by four days (32 hours a week) during a six-month trial. The test questioned whether workers could be productive at 20 percent less time on the same salary. The results was surprisingly positive.
The companies posted a revenue growth of 8.14 percent during the trial period, and an incredible 37.55 percent growth over the same six-month period of the previous year. New hires increased by 12.16 percent during the trial period. Perhaps even more incredible, these results come during the “Great Resignation,” a period in 2022 when workers are leaving their jobs at record rates due to burn-out, a desire for a better work-life balance, and feeling like they had a job. Do not meet their expectations.
Employee satisfaction was at an all-time high during the trial, with 96.9 percent saying they would definitely like to continue with the 4-day work week. They reported a reduction in stress and burn-out, increased productivity and higher job satisfaction. Employees were able to spend more time with family and friends, sleep better, and spend time exercising.
A shorter work week has also proven significant environmental, economic and social benefits. Carbon emissions are reduced with less commuting and workers socialize more with three-day weekends. In turn, it supports business and, in some countries, desirable population growth. For example, Japan has historically had an intense work culture: “karoshi,” a term meaning “death from overwork,” was coined in the 1970s. But recently in the country Dr New guidelines released Encouraging companies to move to a 4-day work week in an effort to encourage a healthy work-life balance. Japan hopes that the prospect of extra days off will lead citizens to spend more to boost the economy and even increase marriages and birth rates.
Why we jumped on the 4-day trend
As a result of the pandemic, many companies are putting work-life balance front and center, and the 4-day work week could be a huge part of that effort. With happier, well-rested employees, companies see increased profits and productivity, and giving employees more flexibility — shorter hours and remote/hybrid work arrangements — helps retain team members who have invested time and money in training. As evidenced by job sites 4DayWeek.ioA 4-day work week has high employee demand.
At SPI, a 4-day, shorter work week was implemented during a trial period beginning in 2022. The team’s findings are consistent with global research cited above. Employees reported that they were more motivated and productive, completed tasks on time, supported each other more, and felt a stronger sense of connectedness within the team. Employees take extra time to take up new hobbies, exercise more, complete household chores ahead of time, and spend more quality time with family and friends. Surprisingly, we decided to keep the 4 day work week permanent.
“don’t rush”
The 4 day work week has undoubtedly been a home run for Team SPI. So what do we recommend to other companies hoping to follow suit? Here’s what our CEO, Matt Gartland, had to say about it:
“As Uncle Ben famously told young Peter Parker, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’
“The 4-day work week is a major force for the modern workplace. It is a real competitive advantage as well as an embodiment of important cultural values. This is undoubtedly the future of work, especially for those of us who run remote-based organizations with distributed teams. It can increase the close unity among the team. This can foster greater commitment to the mission of the company at large.
All of that is really awesome. It’s really serious.
A rapid implementation of the opposite of this result is possible. Details are needed to define and align expectations of how the 4-day work week will actually work as well as how its performance will be evaluated. Here’s the big one: under what conditions can a 4-day workweek be considered ineffective and thus subject to rollback?
At SPI, we’ve spent a lot of time and energy defining our take on the 4-day work week. Program details were the subject of active conversation with the team. Those same operating details were formally codified in our governing employee handbook. This process took several months. This is how you treat this awesome opportunity with the respect it deserves.
So lean into it. It is urgent. Just don’t rush.”
Employees are more than happy to work for a company where they feel valued and appreciated. It’s unlikely that the world will shift to a 4-day work week overnight, but companies are realizing that they need to adopt a healthy work-life balance to retain employees and attract new employees. The momentum behind the 4-day work week continues, and we’re excited to see what positive, compounding effects it reveals.
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