Is the four day week the ‘cure’ for poor mental health among employees?
Is the four day week the ‘cure’ for poor mental health among employees?
Research into the impact of the first major trial of four day working in the UK has concluded that the schemes have been a success: benefiting employee wellbeing and staff retention levels in particular.
The pilots, organised by 4 Day Week Global, ran between June and December 2022, involved 61 employers ranging from a software firm to a fish and chip shop.
Good results
56 of the employers now plan to keep the arrangements for the time being, where staff work four days but continue to receive full pay. 18 said this would now be a permanent change.
“We don’t have a firm handle on exactly what happened to productivity,” said report author Juliet Schor at Boston College. “But we do know that on a variety of other metrics, whether we’re talking about revenue, [workforce] attrition, self-reports of productivity, employee well-being and costs, we had really good results.”
Time out?
EAPA UK chair, Eugene Farrell said: “In our age of anxiety, any steps taken by employers to support employee wellbeing are a positive development. On the surface an extra day off for time at home and relaxation sounds ideal. But the situation is complex.
“One of the assumptions of the UK pilot was that employers expected staff to continue to deliver the same levels of outputs and productivity. When people under pressure and feeling the stress of their role are given more time off, it can only serve to increase negative feelings: they’ve got more to do in less time; a ‘day off’ can be just more time to feel anxious.
“As was evident from the Covid-19 pandemic when so many people were working from home, more time at home doesn’t suit everyone anyhow. For many, the workplace is where they socialise and get their sense of purpose and fulfilment.
“Employers need to be aware of the combination of factors involved in affecting wellbeing — like work design, workplace culture, alongside challenges at home.”