Burnout, stress lead more companies to try a four-day
work week
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[December 17, 2018]
By Emma Thomasson
BERLIN (Reuters) - Work four days a week,
but get paid for five?
It sounds too good to be true, but companies around the world that have
cut their work week have found that it leads to higher productivity,
more motivated staff and less burnout.
"It is much healthier and we do a better job if we're not working crazy
hours," said Jan Schulz-Hofen, founder of Berlin-based project
management software company Planio, who introduced a four-day week to
the company's 10-member staff earlier this year.
In New Zealand, insurance company Perpetual Guardian reported a fall in
stress and a jump in staff engagement after it tested a 32-hour week
earlier this year.
Even in Japan, the government is encouraging companies to allow Monday
mornings off, although other schemes in the workaholic country to
persuade employees to take it easy have had little effect.
Britain's Trades Union Congress (TUC) is pushing for the whole country
to move to a four-day week by the end of the century, a drive supported
by the opposition Labour party.
The TUC argues that a shorter week is a way for workers to share in the
wealth generated by new technologies like machine learning and robotics,
just as they won the right to the weekend off during the industrial
revolution.
"It would reduce the stress of juggling working and family life and
could improve gender equality. Companies that have already tried it say
it's better for productivity and staff wellbeing," said TUC economic
head Kate Bell.
OVERWORKED
Lucie Greene, trends expert at consultancy J. Walter Thompson, said
there was a growing backlash against overwork, underlined by a wave of
criticism after Tesla <TSLA.O> boss Elon Musk tweeted that "nobody ever
changed the world on 40 hours a week."
"People are starting to take a step back from the 24-hour digital life
we have now and realize the mental health issues from being constantly
connected to work," Greene said.
A recent survey of 3,000 employees in eight countries including the
United States, Britain and Germany found that nearly half thought they
could easily finish their tasks in five hours a day if they did not have
interruptions, but many are exceeding 40 hours a week anyway - with the
United States leading the way, where 49 percent said they worked
overtime.
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Office workers take their lunch at a food court in Sydney,
Australia, May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
"There has been work creep. Because you always have the technology, you are
always working, so people are getting burned out," said Dan Schawbel, director
of executive development firm Future Workplace, which conducted the survey.
Schulz-Hofen, a 36-year-old software engineer, tested the four-day week on
himself after realizing he needed to slow down following a decade of intense
work launching Planio, whose tools allowed him to track his time in detail.
"I didn't get less work done in four days than in five because in five days, you
think you have more time, you take longer, you allow yourself to have more
interruptions, you have your coffee a bit longer or chat with colleagues,"
Schulz-Hofen said.
"I realized with four days, I have to be quick, I have to be focused if I want
to have my free Friday."
Schulz-Hofen and his team discussed various options before settling on everybody
working Monday to Thursday. They rejected the idea of flexible hours because it
adds administrative complexity, and were against a five-day week with shorter
hours as it is too easy for overwork to creep back in.
Clients who call on a Friday hear a recorded message explaining why nobody is at
the office.
"We got an unexpected reaction from customers. Most of our clients did not
complain. They were just jealous," Schulz-Hofen said.
Grey New York, an ad agency owned by WPP <WPP.L>, launched a program in April to
allow staff to work a four-day week for 85 percent of their full-time salary.
Schawbel expects the idea to catch on in more companies and countries, but
probably not his own: "I think America will be the last country to give us
Monday mornings off because we're so used to this way of working."
(Reporting by Emma Thomasson, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Lauren Young)
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