10 benefits of working 4 days a week for your employees and business

Numerous workers, without a doubt, are attracted to the concept of a shorter workweek. If you have a long weekend or an extra day off to look forward to, you will most likely access a fresh source of inspiration, your job will improve as a consequence of your efforts and you will claim many other benefits of working 4 days a week.

According to a Harris survey done in May, when the idea of a 4-day work week started spreading more quickly than ever before, almost 82 percent of workers in the United States indicated that they would choose a shorter workweek.

Organizations that have already adopted it as a standard practice and are already claiming the benefits of working 4 days a week have also added to the discussion. The CEO of Perpetual Guardian, Andrew Barnes, claimed that his company’s adoption of a four-day workweek in 2018 resulted in reduced stress levels, more creativity, as well as a significant increase in team cohesiveness for his workers.

The benefits of working 4 days that convinced many companies to go for it

As businesses continue to reopen their doors, many believe that transitioning from working remotely to a reformed workweek structure is the best course of action for their business.

Workers and employers together may stand to gain significantly from the widespread adoption of this innovative concept, which is already being tested by businesses left and right and yielding encouraging results. The following are some of the particular benefits of working 4 days a week.

Increased productivity and productivity innovations

Sanford University performed an in-depth investigation on the link between productivity and performance, which showed a strong correlation between the two variables. Workers that are overworked are really less productive than employees who work an average or regular working week, according to research.

According to a representative from Ignite SEO, an SEO consulting company that deals with several staff members, employees that are less stressed are also more productive for their companies. Employees are more likely to come up with new and innovative productivity hacks if they are encouraged to experiment with new time-saving techniques.

Equal workplace

Employees would benefit from the implementation of a shorter workweek since it would allow them to better manage their job and personal obligations. One of the most significant factors to the widening wage disparity between hired female and male employees is the absence of flexible childcare regulations.

The majority of workers who request a leave of absence are female employees who need time off to care for children. The benefits of working 4 days a week would remove this disparity in available working hours between men and women, allowing for a more equal approach to meeting the requirements of workers’ families.

Increase in engagement

In addition to increasing employee happiness and morale, a shorter workweek may also increase commitment and overall involvement. Whereas a happy workforce seems like a far-off dream in these troubled economic times, allowing employees more schedule flexibility will go a long way toward alleviating employee stress levels, which may be higher than normal at the moment.

The benefits of working 4 days a week also imply that workers are less likely to need stress or sick days because they have more time off to relax and recuperate. Because of this, individuals can return to their jobs and be willing to take on new tasks, even during periods of interruption.

A smaller carbon footprint

In general, countries having shorter work times have a lower carbon footprint, thus decreasing our working week from five to four days may have a positive impact on the environment as well. The reduction in the length of our working week implies that workers will have less time to travel and that big office buildings will only be in use 4 days a week.

Workplace distractions are reduced

A four-day workweek was instituted by Andrew Barnes, the proprietor of the New Zealand legal company Perpetual Guardian, starting in 2018. Employees chose to build phone lockers, soundproof meeting rooms, and abbreviate meetings as a result of their input.

Barnes discovered that, despite the fact that employees were working fewer hours, they were spending 35 percent less time on non-work websites. Because workers had more time to handle their home and personal obligations outside of work, nonwork responsibilities were considerably less likely to interfere with the workday than they were in the previous year.

Increased mental wellbeing and physical health

Workers who have worked fewer days per week have reported a variety of beneficial side effects, ranging from increased physical activity to completion of a Master’s degree earlier than planned to increased volunteering to just finding more time to deal with the impacts of the epidemic.

That in turn has a beneficial effect on the overall productivity at the workplace for the employees involved. As a result, parents with children report feeling less stressed, having more time to spend with their family, and living a more balanced existence.

Longer hours do not equate to more output

Some proponents of shorter workweeks argue that the present work environment is becoming more characterized by long working hours as well as an “always-on” attitude.

However, this isn’t always the most effective method of increasing productivity in the workplace. When businesses succeed in cutting hours – or days – off the workweek, it suggests that management has lacked creativity in their approaches to problem-solving.

Reduced time spent away from work

It is more probable that workers would plan activities such as medical visits and trips to the post office on their day off while they have an additional weekday off. Giving employees the chance to attend to their personal needs once a week implies they’ll be able to devote less time to them throughout the workday.

Lower unemployment rates

Work sharing is a concept that allows businesses to fill available hours with new employees by hiring several workers to fill conventional one-person slots instead of one person at a time.

Fewer overhead costs

Last but not least, the benefits of working 4 days a week include fever overhead costs. If all of your workers are absent from the office one day each week, you will save 20 percent on all of your office maintenance costs, particularly on energy.

Conclusion

The idea of a four-day workweek is a relatively modern one, owing mainly to technological advances over the last several decades. However, several businesses are already aware of the benefits of working 4 days a week and have already begun experimenting with the concept, with encouraging outcomes for both employees and business owners. What about you? Are you convinced yet?