In recent years, some countries have begun to put forward the voice of “working four days a week and three days off.” According to YouGov’s survey data, Americans prefer four-day, ten-hour workweek.
San Francisco, CA (Merxwire) – When it comes to work-life balance, the first thing everyone thinks of is working hours and salary. The more hours we work, the better our products, so that we can get more salaries? A large-scale experiment conducted in Iceland found that people who work four days a week are not only happier but also more productive.
According to a CBC report, from 2015 to 2019, the Icelandic government and labor unions worked together to conduct experiments that worked four days a week. In the experiment, about 2500 employees (more than 1% of the working population in Iceland) only worked 35 to 36 hours a week, not the standard 40 hours, and the salary did not decrease.
Researchers found that employees showed a level of maintenance or improvement in productivity and service delivery, and workers’ well-being also increased significantly. Their stress and burnout have been reduced, and their health and work-life balance have also improved.
Is Will working four days a week become a global trend? The latest data from YouGov shows that most Americans also welcome four-day workweek, and many employees believe that this change will lead to increased productivity.
In the survey, about 67% of respondents said that if they are working full-time, they would rather vote to implement a four-day, ten-hour workweek. This means that even if they increase their daily working hours, they also want more days off. However, about 21% of respondents would rather insist on working five days a week and eight hours a day.
41% of respondents said that working four days a week would increase their productivity. 37% of respondents believe that this will not increase or decrease their productivity, while 9% of respondents believe that shortening the number of working days per week will have a negative impact on their productivity levels.
Back to the Iceland experiment, participants came from a variety of workplaces, including offices, hospitals, and social service units. Researchers also found that employees face less stress, anxiety, and depression, so they work harder and ask for less leave. Employees have more leisure time and are therefore more dedicated to their work.
In the past few years, without lowering wages, the voice of shortening working hours has become more and more concerned. During the pandemic, many people are also looking for a new mode of working from home. People’s views on work are changing. How to achieve a balance between work and life is an issue that everyone must think about.