Many countries and companies around the world are studying the possibility of making working days 4 days a week instead of 5, realizing that people do not need to be forced to work from their offices 5 days a week in order to be effective and productive.

These flexible work options that once seemed impractical are gaining acceptance in many countries.

Could this be the end of the working week as we have known it for decades?

Does working 4 days a week weaken or increase productivity?

How will this affect the health and well-being of employees, achieving work-life balance, giving them more time to take care of their children and families, pursue their hobby, and spend more time with their family and friends?

Will all this have a negative or positive effect?

The Netherlands and Germany have the shortest working weeks in Europe, yet they are among the most productive countries.

When Microsoft Japan experimented with a 4-day work week, productivity increased by 40%, and everyone was happier, too.

British writer Richard Goodwin deals with this issue extensively in a report he published in the British newspaper "The Guardian" a few days ago, enumerating the benefits of working 4 days a week, considering that this is the solution to everything from chronic productivity problems in Britain to health diseases. mentality spread in the country, down to the crippled health care sector, provided that the wages are not reduced.

And the writer believes that this system is better for the planet as well, "when we are tired, we drive our cars more, and then we increase environmental pollution, we eat more processed foods, and we buy more disposable items and things, and all this affects our health and the health of our planet." .

70 British companies reduced working hours by 20% without cutting wages, and most of them maintained productivity (Pixels)

Less work more productive

Goodwin refers to a recent experiment, in which 70 British companies reduced working hours by 20% without any reduction in wages, and the results of this experiment will be published next month.

But at mid-stage, 95% of companies said they had maintained or improved productivity, and 88% said they would continue after the trial ended.

"We definitely love an extra day out of the office to come back fresh... It's been great for our well-being, and we're definitely more productive now," said one managing director.

Similar experiences are happening now in Scotland and Wales.

Last October, a British Labor MP put forward a proposal to reduce the maximum working week from 48 to 32 hours.

“All the evidence shows you are more productive in 4 days, rather than 5,” says Joe Ryle, a 4-day-week activist. “People are naturally more efficient, and we have a lot of evidence now. We hope that 2023 will be the year in which we pass the experimental stages, and generalize the application of this matter throughout the country,” according to the Guardian newspaper.

As for the American economic magazine "Forbes", it refers in a report to the first study of its kind in Iceland, where two experiments were conducted that included more than 2,500 government employees, representing more than 1% of the total working population in the country, who moved from a 40-hour work week to 35 hours a week, and what the study found was that working fewer hours didn't hurt productivity, and in fact people were more productive.

Employees reported feeling less stressed, and said their health, well-being and work-life balance had improved significantly.

They also reported having more time and energy for other activities such as playing sports and hobbies that they had long neglected due to exhaustion, meeting friends, and being able to spend more time with their families and children.

Similar experiments are being conducted by companies and employers in various parts of the world, including companies in New Zealand and the United States, and in-depth experiments are being conducted in Spain, Ireland, Scotland, Canada and Sweden, and politicians in Japan and New Zealand have expressed their support for this approach.

The hybrid business model is now widely applied in the United States and other countries of the world (Shutterstock)

3 days a week

The MSN platform has dealt with the same issue from another angle, which is the hybrid business model that is now widely applied in the United States and other countries in the world.

According to this system, employees work only 3 days in the office, from Tuesday to Thursday, while they have 4 free days in some of which they may practice work if necessary, but they are generally outside the offices, and they have wide freedom of movement, travel and other activities of their lives.

"This Friday-to-Monday out-of-office model is very attractive to new hires and has become a major weapon for companies," said Nick Bloom, professor of economics at Stanford University. "It's not that everyone gets a 4-day weekend, but it gives them Flexibility to travel while still working if required.

“Mondays and Tuesdays are the fastest growing travel days of the week, with many people treating regular weekends like long weekends,” says Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb.

In short, the usual 5-day work week may turn into something strange, and it will eventually be replaced by a 3-day work week only, according to MSN in its report.