Editorial
In "Return to Growth," Tory peer, and former head of PA Consulting, Jon Moynihan explores the dynamics holding the UK economy back. Among some sensible suggestions is the exhortation that the four-day week is an example of the civil service's laziness.
There's a degree of logic to the argument. After all, if you pay the same wages for fewer work hours, you'll surely get less bang for your buck?
Things aren't that simple, and there's a growing body of evidence that supports the fact that people often are more productive if we don't make them work quite as long.
The High Cost of Stress-Related Sick Days
One of the earliest advocates of a four-day week was the New Economics Foundation. Its 2019 paper noted the considerable amount of time people took off work due to stress and burnout. The paper cites figures from the British Safety Council, which found 57% of all sick days were stress-related, with 44% caused by workload pressure alone.
“Burnout, exhaustion and stress are costly for both workers’ health and the economy,” the report concluded. “Winning shorter working hours without a loss in pay offers a way to tackle symptoms of overwork, providing people with more time to rest and balance other responsibilities.”
Evidence of 4-Day Workweek Success
Numerous studies have shown that this is far from a theoretical process. For instance, one multi-year study of the four-day workweek in Iceland showed similar results to that proposed by the New Economics Foundation.
The study, which was undertaken between 2015 and 2019, involved over 1% of the country's entire working population, with participants reducing their hours to 35 per week from the standard 40, with no reduction in pay.
The results suggest that productivity and services remained pretty much the same, or in some cases even improved, despite this reduction in hours. What’s more, the wellbeing of employees rose considerably, with stress and burnout both falling.
“This study shows that the world’s largest ever trial of a shorter working week in the public sector was by all measures an overwhelming success,” the researchers wrote. “It shows that the public sector is ripe for being a pioneer of shorter working weeks — and lessons can be learned for other governments.”
Happier, Healthier and as Productive People
A recent study from the University of Münster further reinforced the conclusions. The study, which analyzed the four-day workweek across 45 organizations from a range of sectors in 2024, found the abbreviated work schedule delivered a big boost in life satisfaction, employee health and happiness.
Concerns around productivity and economic growth dissipated as financial performance indicators remained the same as the previous year when a traditional schedule was in effect, suggesting that employees got more out of their time when they worked fewer hours. What's more, these gains were consistent at both managerial and employee levels.
The German experiment revealed that people who worked less were often more effective at reducing distractions and streamlining how they did things. A big part of this was reducing both the length and frequency of meetings. Many also reported using new digital tools to further boost productivity.
"The potential of reduced working hours seems to be hidden under complicated processes, meetings and a lack of digitalization," the researchers explained. "Organizations need to do the necessary transformation work to fully realize the benefits of a four-day week."
Each of these studies refutes the notion that a shorter working week leads to reduced productivity. Further evidence comes from Microsoft's 2019 four-day week pilot in Japan, with the project coinciding with a roughly 40% leap in productivity.
Skeptics Remain, Despite All Evidence
The German study identified some potential issues, however, as larger organizations typically limited the abbreviated schedule to certain employees or teams.
A recurring theme across the studies was the importance of culture for success. Organizations typically required a cultural shift to ensure that the reduction in hours delivered the right results.
Similarly, little real consensus emerged around how to introduce the model. While most organizations provided one day off per week, in some cases the day was fixed and in others, employees had the autonomy to choose their schedule.
Participants in each of the studies showed a strong willingness to continue with the four-day week. In spite of the consensus around the benefits among those who participated, the wider debate seems likely to rumble on.
One such example comes from the UK, where government workers might earn the right to request a four-day week, but with the understanding they will work the same number of hours, which kind of defeats the point.
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As we've seen with the remote work debate, it seems overwhelming evidence only goes so far in driving change.
Editor's Note: Continue reading about four-day workweek experiments:
- How I Decided on a 4-Day Workweek — Sphero CEO Paul Copioli explains how his company implemented a 40-hour, four-day workweek, and why this approach worked for employees.
- What My Firm Learned From 2 Years of 4-Day Workweeks — While I don’t think anyone at the company would want to return to a five-day workweek, learning how to make a four-day workweek work hasn’t been easy.
- A 4-Day Workweek Isn't Business as Usual — Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a bill yesterday to standardize the 32-hour workweek. What does it take to make the four-day workweek work for you?
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