Over a working week, a certain number of hours are useless, according to a study.
Working 5 days a week is the most common rhythm of active people. This allows you to have free time on weekends, while spending a good part of your week at work. However, is this the best pace to adopt? If teleworking helps to organize this work time, the question is increasingly recurrent in France. The introduction of the 4-day week is often put back on the table. It has already been adopted by a few companies.
The heart of the problem arises in terms of productivity. According to a study carried out over 18 months by the organization 4 Day Week Global on workers in the United States, Canada and Great Britain, workers can accomplish as much in 33 hours over four days and a little over 8 hours of work per day, as in 38 hours over five days at a little over 7 hours per day, without impacting the quality of their work.
Over 5 days, employees experience a drop in productivity per period. It is even estimated at almost a day lost according to the study. This lost day would be linked to a mixture of procrastination, fatigue and distraction.
Moving to 4 days a week often causes fear of increased stress levels, including a reduction in the time available to perform the same tasks. However, according to the study, this would not pose a problem because employees would take advantage of this additional day off to rest physically and mentally.
“The positive effects of a 4-day week on life satisfaction may furthermore be more deeply rooted in the general well-being of individuals than in job satisfaction alone,” explains researcher Juliet Schor. After six months of a four-day week, the employees studied reported being less exhausted and therefore more efficient. They also found a better work-life balance.
However, reducing the work week by one day requires a lot of organizational changes and contractual modifications, with employee agreement. Additionally, this model does not suit everyone: “Like any change, it will suit some and alienate others. In reality, this structure may not suit all employees or all models of management. “company”, declared to FortunePierre Lindmark, CEO of the management consulting firm Winningtemp. According to him, some employees working less may also feel more isolated and more anxious.