Is It Finally Time To Embrace The Four-Day Work Week?
When the long weekend rolls around, theres a kick in the step of office workers. Those that normally trudged to work suddenly seem more upbeat. Theyre whistling as they come out of the station, smiling at those they pass in the hallway, opening doors for others and generally just exhibiting the behaviours of someone thats a kind and conscientious colleague. The rest of the year though, such feelings tend to go out the window. Instead, trapped in a never-ending barrage of emails, Zoom calls and deadlines, its hard to maintain the same level of enthusiasm for the job the it feels like its eating away at our one precious resource: time. If youre someone thats been advocating for long weekends to be something of a permanent fixture by way of a four-day work week, youre not alone. Now, it seems even scientists agree as researchers are calling for the four-day work week to be tested in the UK following the overwhelming success of the worlds largest ever trial in Iceland. In Iceland, the testing saw more than one per cent of the working population take part, ditching the five-days on/two-days off formula thats become pervasive around the world. In doing so, the working week was slashed to around 35 hours and the best part was their pay didnt decrease at all. With 2,500 people taking part in the trial, it marks the biggest and most significant study of its kind ever undertaken. Employees reported not only feeling happier, but that they were also more efficient when on the clock.