Why We Should Adapt a 4-Day Work-Week

So, remember how during the beginning of the pandemic when everyone was stuck at home? At first, everyone dreaded the idea of not leaving their house and doing work and school remotely. As time went on though, people found to be more productive and enjoyed staying at home at lot. In fact, some did creative things while being at home such as, making sourdough bread out of a jar. Then when the lockdowns ended, it was time to leave the house and go back to normal. Some people did not like this idea and wanted to remain at home. This is why a lot of places have staffing shortages because no one wants to work anymore. It is causing a decline in their mental health, and making them more unproductive. However, there could be a solution to this: it is called a 4-day work week. Last year, there was a study conducted in the UK where many companies tried a 4-day work week, and it came with a lot of positive results. In California, there was a bill that was reintroduced where the 40-hour workweek would be shortened to 32, thus giving a 4-day workweek. I think the pandemic has started to make the typical 9-5 work extinct, and humans were never made to work that much. Therefore, in my last post for mental health awareness month, I am going to be sharing the reasons why we should adapt to a 4-day work week.

1. Increase in productivity

This reason is a no brainer as having an extra day off gives employees time to recharge because working many hours can lead to burnout. If you recall back to my “getting fired” post, I shared an analogy of how employees are like machines that can only produce so much to keep up with demand. If they are working non-stop, that can lead to the machines breaking down. The same concept can apply for a 4-day workweek. According to the UK trial, 71% of employees had reduced levels of burnout, and their mental health also improved. There was even an increased revenue of an average of 35% which is a result of increased productivity. If you’re the CEO of a company and wondering why employees are tired and not getting a lot of work done, maybe it is time to consider a 4-day workweek or something similar.

2. More flexibility

With an extra day off, people can have more time to do what they want. If you are one of those people who think a 4-day workweek is useless because people are going to be even more lazy, then you’re wrong. In addition to working, people have other tasks and responsibilities to do like taking care of their families, going to appointments, and even catching up on chores. That is why a work-life balance is so crucial to everyone when looking for a job. In that UK trial, many employees found it easier to balance work with their family and social commitments. When employees work a lot of hours, that is time taken away from their social and family life. It is why there isn’t time to do anything when we are working all the time. It also takes the added pressure away of not doing much at work when you are really just taking care of yourself.

3. Less stress

At my last job, I endured so much stress due to working many hours and dealing with rude customers and bad managers. That led me to coming home every day feeling tired and not having any energy. When employees are working so many hours every day, it can cause them to stress out which leads to burnout. That can also lead to a decline in mental health which can have severe issues. In Japan, there is a term called karoshi which is death from overworking, and it is a big issue for all Japanese employees due to working a lot of overtime. Imagine if this same thing happened in the US. If we implement this 4-day work schedule, we can give our minds an extra break and come back to work being more productive. In fact, the Japanese government also started to implement guidelines for companies to allow 4-day workweeks for their employees which reduces acts of karoshi.

4. Better for the environment

This is a less obvious reason, but during the pandemic lockdowns, there were some positive environmental impacts due to less human activity. There was less water and air pollution and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Even traffic was much lighter due to the lack of cars on the road. One of the most frustrating things about working in-person is the commute time going to and from. A majority of our work involves dealing with the traffic in the morning and late afternoon. Using the 4-day workweek, we can return to the early lockdown days where the world was much quieter and cleaner for a moment. Plus, it can ease traffic congestion for everyone, especially those who have to go to school.

5. Reduce turnover and increase employee retention

A big reason why there is a huge worker shortage is that people don’t want to work so many hours at their jobs anymore. This is especially true for those that work in customer service positions. If one of the main factors for someone looking for a job is a good work-life balance, then it should start by using a 4-day work schedule. That would increase job applications, and keep employees longer because of that flexibility. It would also result in increasing productivity because of high employee satisfaction. Companies should make sure employees are satisfied working for them as much as customers are satisfied buying products, goods, and service from that same company.

Those are the reasons why we should adapt to a 4-day workweek. You know, I actually saw a version of this when I was in college. A lot of students would usually have no classes on Fridays for some reason, and that was a great perk. Unfortunately, I had to have some classes on Fridays, and I would feel jealous wishing I was one of those lucky students. Besides, after a few days of spending long hours in classes, I feel like college students need more than a 2-day weekend to recharge. The same could be applied to employees working a lot of hours in jobs. In fact, I read somewhere that the 40-hour work week is outdated and was established assuming there was going to be someone who would stay at home and doing the usual chores. This is the 21st century, and the working class has evolved since then, so I don’t get why the 40-hour work week didn’t. Therefore, it is time to see some change in how much people work.

As I said earlier, this also concludes my Mental Health Awareness Month series. I hope that after reading these posts on mental health-related topics, you have a better understanding of it. At this point, we should work on ending the stigma of mental health in order to function better. Whether it is through work, school, or even on social media, we should all be looking out for each other. Most of the time, someone looks fine on the outside, but not on the inside. Again, make sure you are taking care of yourself and reach out for support if needed. Let me know what mental health topics you would like for me to cover in the future, and please be sure to follow @pressure.shock for updates on this blog. On another note, my current job ended a few weeks ago, so I will be sharing an update on that soon. I am working on looking for a new job, and hopefully it doesn’t take as long like the last time. Please wish me luck!

For information on mental health resources near you, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI at NAMI.org

If you or someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, please call or text the National Suicide Lifeline at 988.