4 day work weeks!?
Elation- bewilderment- deliberation- hesitation- enthusiasm. At least, that’s the chain of emotions that accurately describes how I feel about the concept, as the results of Iceland’s 4-day work-week trial are here. Let me elaborate & enclose a few alarming stats to back my line of thought here.
For starters, 4 day work weeks have two main implications: First, fewer hours defined to jobs and second, more personal time on the weekends. But how could this be effectuating change for us- a positive one? Most might say that effectively managed weekends will lead way to it, and contrary to that, I’ll say both of these consequences can be understood and utilized to bring about said change.
Fewer hours dedicated to jobs- the way I see it, it is only going to increase our productivity- as I mentioned in my previous writeup-
take concrete steps to drive efficiency in your daily tasks. This involves actively finding loopholes in the process, identifying the ways you could be doing a task in a much simpler manner. Critically examining your workday can be overwhelming because when you really get down to it, you might be alarmed by how many gaps you can think of!
When you actually get down to it, if you fill up those gaps and get effective work done by maxing out your efficiency, your 5 days' worth of work, somehow, CAN be accomplished in 4 days! (Again, when I say being your most efficient, I’m not hinting at a burnout) It reminds me of the times I procrastinated prep for evals and somehow always did end up studying the same portion in a shorter timeline. We won’t be shedding light on the quality of learning though- it’s not the perfect analogy. Yet, this could be a plus if you make it one because in all likelihood you’re bound to increase your productivity.
It’s worth mentioning how less time at hand for the same amount of work will compel us to become better planners. We would have to think ahead, value the time expendable for work a lot more to ensure that we utilize all 4 days of the week at the utmost. Efficiently planned schedules will ascertain that a lot of the purposeless unproductive tasks are ruled out owing to the time crunch. Eventually, a zone wherein you start getting work done in lesser time can snowball into a cycle where you constantly achieve more in record time- before you know it, you’re on top of your game.
Some might say working fewer hours but chasing unaltered targets might lead to an increase in work-related stress- it could. But getting to work fewer hours allows a breather to tackle that-
As per an official study, a total of 12.8 million working days were lost because of work-related stress, anxiety and depression in 2018–19, amounting to an average of 21.2 days lost per case.
Losing that amount of days to work-related stress can be countered effectively by giving a weekly day to recharge instead, and avoiding impending burn-outs.
As for more time on the weekends- let’s elucidate a newer concept- entrepreneurship- in this context. The latest talk around millennials is surrounding the digital nomad lifestyle. It’s the sprint for making it on your own- small businesses, freelancing outside full-time jobs, working on personal projects and saving up from full-time roles in order to invest in one’s own side hustle.
The idea of instant gratification has brought about a newer definition of success, and GenZ certainly has newer alternatives to the old ingrained pattern of having to slog to succeed. And while that is a whole other story, there is no denying that personal branding has taken the front seat. Secure corporate jobs are the means to a capital for their side hustle. The new it-goal seems to be ‘Being your own boss’ and guess what! 4 day work weeks will fuel this concept in full swing because while most people are now working on personal branding with at least one side hustle, the additional day outside jobs will boost this very lifestyle. It will make it easier for people to achieve their life goals earlier and result in better life fulfillment and satisfaction.
When it comes to the companies willing to take the concept in stride, researchers in Iceland have found that a four-day workweek, without a pay cut, improved workers’ well-being and productivity. It thus comes as no surprise that a study published by Autonomy (a think tank based in the UK) also reported that “worker wellbeing dramatically increased across a range of indicators, from perceived stress and burnout to health and work-life balance.” As for Japan, in its recent annual economic policy guidelines, the government proposed an option for companies to permit 4 day works to their employees. New Zealand suggested the very idea in May 2020 as well!
There is decidedly a lot to consider in terms of countries actually adopting the notion in full stride, but we do know that ecstatic folks tend to consume and spend more, which is ideally great for an economy. While this does not cover how viable it is for all business models, there are plentiful aspects for consideration from the companies’ and countries’ point of view.
But if I were to get fewer hours at work for more personal time on the weekends, I’m not so sure I’d pass! Would you?
