The benefits of a 4-day work week

The 4-day workweek is on the lips of many right now.  While some fear it and do not believe in it, others have decided to try it or have embraced it for a while now. To help you see things more clearly, we offer you a look at this new practice that is likely to gain popularity in the coming years (we hope so a lot at Boite Pac).

What does the 4-day workweek consist of?

The concept of the 4-day workweek does not consist of asking employees to work less for a smaller salary. In our opinion, the idea is rather to offer the same salary to employees while allowing them to work fewer hours.  This means cutting one day from the week (hello to Fridays off) or distributing work hours differently from Monday to Friday, working a little less each day. In short, it’s about working just as hard, but differently.

So, in case you’re just as excited as we are about the reduced workweek, here are 4 benefits that may encourage you to adopt the 4-day week. We also thought to suggest some solutions to adequately equip you IN CASE you want to implement the concept in your own company. If you remain unconvinced after that, let’s go grab a coffee or a beer to chat about it:)

Benefit 01: Employees who work 4 days are more productive

The more time we have in our week, the more we waste! I speak for myself here, but when I have a deadline, I cut out unnecessary actions to be more effective (checking my emails 20 times in a day, spending too much time on LinkedIn and Instagram, etc.). This is also what the New Zealand company Perpetual Guardian observed when it implemented the reduced workweek. People spent less time in meetings, less time on social media, and set up mechanisms to avoid being interrupted regularly by their colleagues. In summary, the company observed that productivity was indeed affected, but in a positive way.

Benefit 02: Employee stress levels decrease

Having more time to devote to personal activities, more time to experiment with new hobbies, and more moments to spend with family and friends, employees find themselves less stressed by their work. This is, in fact, one of the many results observed by Iceland when its government asked 2500 public sector workers to reduce their workweek by one day. Another very interesting observation: employees reported having a better work-life balance, thereby decreasing their risk of experiencing burnout.

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Benefit 03: The 4-day workweek reduces gender pay inequality‍

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According to The Guardian, the number of women working part-time, often to balance family life and work, is 4 times higher than the number of men. Part-time work also means lower pay and fewer chances of getting a promotion.  You see where I'm going: Considering 4-day weeks as full-time and allowing women access to the same salaries as their male counterparts is a step in the right direction towards equity.‍

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Benefit 04: The 4-day workweek reduces the environmental impact of businesses‍

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We saw it during the pandemic: going to the office less often allows us to reduce the individual pollution caused by transportation. It is therefore easy to think that one less working day each week would drastically reduce each individual's carbon footprint. Moreover, a study conducted in England showed that reducing the workweek by one day could decrease the annual carbon footprint of the entire country by 21.3%. That’s no small feat!‍

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If you want to implement the 4-day workweek, what’s next?

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Step 01: Send out a survey to your employees to know their thoughts

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Implementing a large-scale initiative like the 4-day workweek obviously requires the participation and mobilization of your team. The survey is therefore an excellent way to learn more about their impressions, their anxieties, and their special requests regarding the modification of their working hours. This way, you will be able to gather relevant data that will allow you to roll out the initiative on solid foundations.‍

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Step 02: Present methods to the team to improve their efficiency

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Working 4 days means having about 8 fewer hours in a week to accomplish tasks. Some employees will be able to modify their working methods to improve their efficiency, while others will find the task more challenging. For this reason, don’t hesitate to propose such initiatives:

1- Halve the time of meetings 

2- Define specific “concentration” times during a day when employees cannot be disturbed by their colleagues.

3- Provide equipment to enhance productivity (stand-up desk, noise-canceling headphones, etc.). Also, let them create their own workspace!‍

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Step 03: Try it out before cementing it

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Do not try to find the winning recipe before even trying out different formulas. In other words, test various models with your team and measure the results to find out which version of the 4-day workweek is most suitable for your company and your team. For example, for one month, you could offer Fridays off to everyone and see the results that ensue. By results, I mean everything related to employee productivity, satisfaction rates, etc. After the month, send a short survey to the team to gauge their impressions. Then, try another formula for the next month (offering Mondays off, for example) while continuing to collect data to understand employee opinions.

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I hope you now have a clearer understanding when we talk about the 4-day workweek and that you are as excited as we are about this topic. If you are curious to learn more or if you want to switch to a 4-day workweek, contact us to find out more about our 4-day support service!

Article written by Alexandra, B Corp Consultant (she/her)