Pro & Contra
Work less, enjoy a healthier life?
Author Sara Weber believes a four-day week is both sensible and achievable. Occupational scientist Veit Hartmann has his doubts.
Pro
Sara Weber is a German-American author who writes on the future of work.
Contra
Veit Hartmann is a research associate at ifaa, the Institute of Applied Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics in Düsseldorf.
Does a four-day week make people happier?
According to studies, it does. Evidence from various countries shows that employees on a four-day week are less stressed and take fewer sick days, while companies’ productivity and revenues remain the same or even improve. The key is that it must be a genuine four-day week – with a reduction in total weekly hours and full pay. That’s why I prefer the term “reduced full-time”.
She says satisfaction depends on what employees expect from such a model and whether those expectations are met. It’s important to look objectively at the pros and cons of any model and assess how realistic it is. The ideal of a three-day weekend and a Monday–Thursday or Tuesday–Friday working week is frequently impracticable. Often it simply isn’t feasible in organisational terms: while many employees would like such a model, companies are not able to offer it to everyone.
Does a four-day week improve work–life balance?
Yes, it does. A shorter full-time arrangement gives people more time for life beyond work. They have more energy and time for friends, family, hobbies and sports. A four-day week also helps ensure unpaid care work is more equally shared, with men taking on more childcare and household responsibilities.
A four-day week can help improve individual employees’ work–life balance. But does an extra day off really create the hoped-for freedom, and is it actually used for rest and relaxation? Or might longer, more compressed working days over four days have the opposite effect?
Would a four-day week harm productivity?
Not if it is implemented properly. The key is to work with employees to create a new structure: which tasks can be dropped? Which meetings can be scrapped? How can spaces for focused work be created? How can technology be used to cut bureaucracy? How can shifts be reorganised? This type of planning is the first step towards introducing a four-day week that benefits everyone involved.
Arguments in favour of a four-day week – especially when weekly working hours are reduced without any cut in pay – often hinge on increased productivity. This higher productivity is expected to offset the reduced working time and justify maintaining full pay. However, the studies and trials conducted to date include few, if any, robust criteria for measuring productivity. Findings tend instead to be based on the subjective perceptions of employees and managers, which do not provide a reliable basis for evaluation.
Shouldn’t we be working more, not less, to maintain our prosperity?
We need to work more productively – but productivity can’t be measured by time alone. People who are well rested and organise their work sensibly can be more productive. History shows that a broad reduction in working hours is possible: when the five-day week was introduced in the 1960s, there was no drop in economic output.
The question is whether society can afford a situation in which services such as cinemas, theatres and restaurants are unavailable on a Friday because everyone is taking a long weekend, not to mention the police and fire brigade. And what would be the impact of interrupting business and process chains, with potential supply gaps? How would such shortfalls be covered in a shrinking population with a shortage of skilled workers?
Is a four-day week possible in all jobs?
Absolutely! Of course, you can’t simply shut down operations for an extra day everywhere – but that’s not necessary. Many jobs already involve people working different schedules. In healthcare, for example, the workload is very high and shift work is common. This is one reason why many employees work part-time and earn less. A four-day week with full pay would protect their health and could reduce staff shortages, as employees would take fewer sick days or increase their hours to shorter full-time.
In theory, a four-day week is conceivable for many jobs and can be implemented in certain companies. Some sectors are better suited to it than others. Ultimately, the question remains at to whether it’s really about money, since different four-day models are already available under part-time arrangements and enshrined in law. But low uptake suggests this is not the answer.