Is a four-day work week the answer?

Researchers from Boston College have carried out a landmark trial across six countries, to assess whether moving to a four-day working week would improve employees’ physical and mental health.

The trial included nearly 3,000 workers across 141 companies, in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the US, who shortened their work week to four days instead of five, without reducing pay. This reduced work schedule lasted for six months, preceded by two months of training to help them adjust to changes in workflow and improve efficiency.

The results were unanimous across the board, showing that employees working a four-day week reported less burnout, greater job satisfaction and improved mental and physical health.

“A patient’s company recently trialled the four-day week and it was so successful, they’ve retained an early finish on a Friday for the long term,” comments Dr Justine Setchell. “Employee satisfaction is much higher, and productivity has stayed the same.”

Can we expect to see a four-day week implemented soon?

Sadly, one of the limitations of the study was that participants were self-selecting, meaning that those companies taking part were likely to already have an interest in flexible working and improved work-life balance. So, while it would be great to see this reduced working week rolled out across the UK, the likelihood is that more traditional organisations will be slow to take it up.

Why was there a need for this study in the first place?

Employee burnout is at an all-time high in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the line between work and home became blurred, and many of us are struggling to re-establish that separation.

Symptoms of burnout can include:

• Physical and mental fatigue
• A negative attitude to work
• Reduced efficacy at work

We can see from that list that employees are not the only ones who suffer when burnout becomes a problem – work-related stress has an impact on your performance, which means that employers need to act, not just to improve their employees physical and mental wellbeing, but also to improve productivity.

What can be done about employee burnout without reducing the working week?

Occupational health is one of the key services we offer here at GP London W1, which means that we work together with employers to ensure that their employees needs are met, to reduce burnout, improve employees’ sense of work-life balance and satisfaction at work, and increase productivity and employee retention.

Some of the key steps employers can take to reduce burnout include:

• Talk to your employees – find out who feels their workload is too much for them, who has things going on at home that might be affecting their performance at work, and who might benefit from a more flexible work schedule, for example due to caring responsibilities.
• Look at your practices, to ensure workloads are evenly spread and that employees are provided with the resources they need to manage stress.
• Bring in an outside organisation to check in with employees’ physical and mental health regularly and suggest ways this can be improved.

It would be fantastic to see a four-day working week implemented across the UK, as this trial has shown the benefits to far outweigh any perceived negatives – and in fact, productivity improved alongside employee wellbeing. In the meantime, however, an increased focus on occupational health will help to reduce workplace burnout.

For more information about our occupational health services, or to arrange a discussion, please contact us.