Working out four days a week is good for health and increases productivity, according to a new study.
61 UK-based companies and 3,000 employees started to work four days a week for 6 months in order to see the results of the new working model.
According to a study conducted in June 2022, experts simply reduced working hours by 20% without making any changes to employees' salaries.
Staff were surveyed throughout the study and 71% said they experienced lower levels of burnout than before, while 39% said they were less stressed. Meanwhile, most bosses saw productivity targets continue to be met and even reported an average 1.4% increase in their income.
This research, designed to see the effects and results of the four-day working model, was organized by the "4 Day Week Global" and the "4 Day Week Campaign" in the UK.
One of the most important data revealed in the research was that the four-day working model had extremely positive effects on both the physical and mental health of the employees. It shows that in a wide variety of sectors of the economy, the four-day week really does work.
Professor Brendan Burchell, Sociologist at Cambridge University; "Before we tried it, many questioned whether we would see an increase in productivity to compensate for the reduction in uptime. But that's exactly what we wanted anyway. Many employees were very keen to find the productivity gains themselves," he said.
In fact, a shortened work week encourages staff to engage more with their children and elderly parents, and to take up new hobbies and interests.
A 2021 survey revealed that three-quarters of white-collar workers are considering leaving their jobs due to "burnout", lack of "work-life balance" and "toxic" workplace environments. 30% of the companies have already made the new working model permanent. In short, the most comprehensive study to date on the effects and consequences of the four-day-a-week model reveals that the new business model is highly beneficial for both companies and employees in many different areas, from health to productivity. After the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been seen that too many workers are working from home and adopting more flexible hours instead of the nine to five, five-day workweek.
