Is the five-day workweek outdated? Here's what's next

For many people around the world, the five-day workweek seems to be how life has always functioned, and, for some, five days has even been the minimum. But as our societies develop and issues like burnout become more prevalent, we’re starting to take a closer look at the system we took for granted, and perhaps noticing some great disparities between our work hours and productivity.

In one of the largest trials of a four-day week yet, 61 British businesses—including banks, fast-food restaurants, and marketing agencies—gave their workers one paid day off a week to see if they could do the same work more effectively in less time. After logging sharp drops in worker turnover and sick days while maintaining productivity throughout the six-month trial, more than 90% of the companies said they would continue testing the shorter week, while 18 already planned to make it permanent, reports the Wall Street Journal. 

The idea of the four-day workweek seems quite radical to many, especially with the 100/80/100 principle, but it’s actually been proven by big companies to have various benefits, which both you and your company, and hopefully your government, will want to pay attention to. Click through to learn more, and start making your case!

Where did the five-day, 40-hour workweek start?

According to How Stuff Works, it became the standard in the US with the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, which was meant to improve conditions and pay for manufacturing workers. While it accomplished its goal, 40-hour workweeks became the default for most other jobs.

Increasingly important in work-centric cultures

The US and South Korea, for example, spend far more hours at the office than other economically competitive countries, and, according to the OECD, Americans average 1,786 work hours a year, which is 423 more than Germans and over 100 more than Japanese.

Long hours are taking their toll

It’s gotten to a point where people in South Korea are paying to go to a mock prison just to escape their work lives.

The truth about working eight hours a day

According to various studies, the average number of hours in an eight-hour day that are actually productive is just under three!

What is happening in those other five hours?

Pointless meetings, unproductive emails and phone calls, co-worker discussions and disruptions, preparing and eating food, getting coffee, reading news websites, and social media are all culpable.

Many people don’t believe they need eight hours

A 2018 survey by The Workforce Institute found that 45% of global workers across eight countries think it should only take five hours a day to do their job, if they’re uninterrupted.

The Microsoft study getting attention

At the end of 2019, Microsoft released a study showing that productivity at its Japan offices increased by 40% after the company required workers to take every Friday off, while still paying their full salaries.

Microsoft wasn't the first

In 2018, a New Zealand trustee services firm called Perpetual Guardian tried a similar approach for two months, allowing its 250 employees to work four days but get paid for five.

One surprise

Andrew Barnes, founder of Perpetual Guardian, had guessed that less work hours would mean more efficiency, but what he was surprised to hear was that people said working four days instead of five helped them better handle their workload.

They cemented the 100/80/100 system

The two-month trial was such a success that Perpetual Guardian permanently switched to what Barnes calls a "100/80/100" system: 100% pay, 80% hours, 100% productivity.

Employees even get to choose how to divvy it up

Unlike Microsoft Japan, which dictated when its workers could take their day off (Fridays), Perpetual Guardian lets its workers decide which day to drop, or they can just work fewer hours every day.

The four-day, 32-hour week is much more beneficial

It may sound absurd at first to pay for 40 hours but have people work for only 32, but it repeatedly boasts material improvements in productivity, lower turnover rates, lower sickness rates, and more.

Other benefits of the four-day workweek

It could also re-distribute the available secure work to those who desperately need more work, reducing unemployment and underemployment.

Four-day workweeks would also provide time to balance out the gender disparity in unpaid work, as studies show that women do 60% more than men when it comes to crucial unpaid work like taking care of children, relatives, and everyday domestic chores.

So how do you get it started?

Andrew Barnes’s 2020 book, ‘The 4 Day Week: How the Flexible Work Revolution Can Increase Productivity, Profitability and Wellbeing, and Create a Sustainable Future,' says the changes can’t be top-down.

Put the change in the staff's hands

At Perpetual Guardian, because the employees were incentivized to find a solution for themselves, to ensure the company still functions while allowing people time off, their business model and job satisfaction was strengthened.

Caveats!

Critics of the four-day week say that it only applies to white-collar office jobs stuck in an outdated nine-to-five, Monday through Friday mindset, which leaves out many other jobs.

Can less hours really mean more productivity across the board?

Obviously it’s a generalized statement, but Thompson rejects the four-day workweek’s theory in favor of the ROWE system.

The ROWE system

This system lets workers decide when, where, and how they work, and they are only paid for achieving defined results or output rather than how many hours they worked.

A balance of autonomy and accountability

The theory with the ROWE system is that when people are working on their own time, they’ll be less likely to waste it. In addition to increasing productivity, people will be healthier, and they’ll be more incentivized to develop better ways of working.

It sounds great, but requires more work to implement

ROWE has to be specifically designed for the company’s individual needs with clearly defined goals, and it also means giving up the old notion that the best employees are the ones who are always at their desks.

Spain plans 37.5-hour workweek by the end of 2025

Recently, the Spanish government has made strides toward implementing a historic labor reform by reducing the standard workweek from 40 to 37.5 hours, while keeping salaries unchanged. Labor and Social Economy Minister Yolanda Díaz is spearheading this initiative to enhance employee well-being and increase productivity.

Iceland felt the same way

Iceland ran trials of a four-day workweek from 2015 to 2019, during which workers were paid the same amount for shorter hours. The results showed "overwhelming success," the BBC reports. According to researchers, productivity remained the same or improved in the majority of workplaces, and now 86% of Iceland's workforce have either moved to shorter hours for the same pay, or they will gain the right to do so.