What's all the hype around a 4 day work week?

Wondering what all the hype behind a 4 day work week is? Handling burnout, work-related stress and managing professional and personal life together have turned out to be significant challenges, as the border between work and life became thin during covid with remote work becoming highly common.

India is not an exception. A new LinkedIn survey states that one in every 3 Indian professionals feels exhausted because of growing workload and stress.

It's nothing new that these are crucial concerns and must be taken care of by employers. Companies look at innumerable initiatives like a 4-day 

work week policy. A study by the management consultancy firm Gallup was determined to discover the answers.

Since last year, most organizations and nations have piloted a 4-day work week without decreasing worker compensation.

Iceland organized trials for a 4-day working week without reducing worker compensation. 

It proved that workers did not get much stressed and their work-life balance improved. In July 2021, the Japanese government introduced a 4-day workweek. Even Spain began piloting a 4-day workweek at the start of this year.

Will it be beneficial?

Some reports like the Gallup revealed that a 4-day workweek might not be as useful as you think it would be, based on its survey of more than 10,000 full-time workers. It discovered that 63% of employees work 4 days weekly and have reported feeling much better than those who work five days a week. Burnout was too low for the 4-day week. The workers who were actively disengaged chose short work days.

Actively disengaged employees mean workers who are not happy at work and show their unhappiness. The report said that even if the number of engaged workers is similar across all 3 workweek conditions, the number of actively disengaged workers was quite high for all with the 4-day and 6-day workweeks. The number of engaged to those who are actively disengaged was perfect for all, with a 5-day workweek at a ratio of 2.2 to 1 and 6-day workers experiencing a ratio of 2.1 to 1, said the report.

Based on the report, the issue gets reduced to the workplace instead of workdays.

It was also discovered that workplace flexibility results in greater employee engagement instead of work hours. This also brings down stress levels. 

In case employers remain focused on enhancing the work experience quality. Added the report, they might have 3 times more positive influence on the employees' lives compared to reducing their workweek.

Why isn't the 4 day work week a magic bullet?

Four-day work weeks are not magical because they don't always mean 32-hour work weeks.

Decreased days mean 32-hour work weeks and less time to get things done.

It might not be perfect for all businesses, but, at times, it is not about the number of workdays that causes the issue. Trust and autonomy are the pillars of success.

In case you can do your job in the least amount of time. Wouldn't you be happy doing it?

That's the thought process behind the 4-day workweek, a common trend for businesses to improve employee engagement, work-life balance, recruitment and retention.

This improves the entire productivity.

The 5-day workweek will soon become ancient, coming down from the times of the industrial revolution when Henry Ford realized that working for longer hours just resulted in little growth in productivity. This was inside the context of factory labor. Nowadays, it takes less time to do similar work.

Technical giants from Atlassian to Microsoft Japan have given a trial to the 4-day workweek. Today's burnout culture causes employees to leave in droves. Companies have a great reason to drop off Fridays from the weekday club.

 Once, behavioral analyst and coach Suprita Sinha said, "Whenever I am drained, I need some extra time to charge my battery as well as get back to work. If we have a 4-day workweek policy, we'll get some time for recharging with the help of self-reflection and thinking, Where am I?, What am I working on? How should I move forward? Employees need to reflect on their inner selves.

A few companies have stated a lot of employee engagement and productivity increase, like tech unicorn Bolt, which is now going to permanently implement the 4-day workweek.

Also, check out this blog on our website. Wish To Shift To Freelance? Follow These Steps

Concluding Words

Businesses already implementing a 4-day workweek stated that 68 Percent feel that flexible work arrangements allow them to attract the perfect talent by portraying the organization's forward-thinking work approach, like more autonomy because of meeting free days.In times of great resignation, organizations must embrace the 4-day week to keep the staff and attract new talent. The pandemic has forever changed how employers and employees handle their work arrangements. That's why a 4 day work week will only become loud.Hikecommerce has innumerable flexible work opportunities. You can work part-time, full time or according to your convenience. If you are a self-employed professional looking for work, Check out our website!