A 4-day Work Week Doesn’t Solve Things
Large numbers of their employees are burning out. Wise organizations are looking for innovative solutions to protect their people. It is definitely in their own best interest to do so. The pandemic caused most organizations to change “where” people work, without changing “how” they work. Organizations realize that this was a mistake, and some are considering implementing fairly radical ideas like a 4-day workweek to help employees reduce the likelihood of experiencing burnout.
But is a 4-day workweek actually a good idea? It is not at all clear to me it is the panacea that many are touting. Let’s explore some articles on the topic.
One thing that really stood out for me in this article is that the company had expected a decline in employee performance by adopting a 4-day workweek — but implemented it despite that belief. This is obviously a company that cares about its employees and will invest in them. Which is amazing. I love the fact that they framed it as an experiment; it was initially small in scale and very time-bound. Smart. They then expanded it after having some apparent success.
It surprised the company to learn that employees felt more productive in a 4-day workweek. But I am curious — were the employees truly more productive? I noticed in the article that it said that employees “felt” more productive. That does not seem to be the best metric. Employees obviously have a vested interest in working a reduced number of hours while retaining the same salary. If someone gave me that choice and then asked how I felt about it, I am pretty confident that I would tell them it was beneficial. It would be in my best interests to do so.
That’s not to say that I don’t think that it can be a solution. But I think that there is likely more to it than meets the eye. Keeping employees happy is definitely a good business practice; happy employees will be more productive, and you will be more likely to retain them. But — the article was also clear that employee engagement dropped during this time period. This was more likely to be related to the shift to remote work rather than adopting a 4-day work week, but it clearly reinforces my assertion that changing “how” we work is even more important than changing “where” we work.
This article makes an interesting claim — that implementing a 4-day work week might actually increase employee stress levels. Many organizations are encouraging people to only work 4-days per week, but are still expecting the same amount of output from them. The workload and pay stay the same, but now employees have less time to accomplish the work. It seems apparent that if that is the approach a company takes, employees will pay the price. It is simply unsustainable, especially in an economy that is more and more based on knowledge work. Producing great work in the knowledge economy requires mental space and clarity.
A concrete example — I had to develop and record a presentation, and I was procrastinating getting moving on it. It was stewing in the back of my mind, and I knew the deadline was rapidly approaching. Yet — I was not sure how to start, and so I kept putting it off. It was stressing me. It was now noon of the day it was due — and I still had not even started working on it, and had no insight into what angle I should take. But rather than force myself to produce something, I took the time to sit and meditate. Right after that, I had a flood of ideas about things to include, and within minutes, I had a clear plan of attack. I built the PowerPoint deck and delivered the recorded presentation within 2 hours, and it was quite successful. All because I made space for mental clarity. Forcing people to do the same amount of work in less time is going to lead to stressed employees, and likely lower quality products, in my view.
From my perspective, I do not believe that the 4-day work week is going to solve the issues that knowledge workers are facing today. Paradoxically, I recommend that people consider what they can add to their work to reduce stress. Being able to work on the type of task that fires you up, something that you really believe in, something that stretches you just beyond the edge of your comfort zone is one of the best ways to provide energy. The best way to reduce the likelihood of burnout is not to do less; it is to do more of the work that provides energy. So many of us (myself included!) use our time away from work consuming social media or streaming Netflix. And that typically is an energy drain, leaving us more susceptible to burnout.
Rather than doing less, avoid burnout by putting more of your time into activities that fire you up. That seems like a better solution than avoiding spending time at work doing things you do not enjoy.
If you feel the need to rediscover joy in your work, check out my FREE GUIDE to transforming your career. Implementing the framework described in this guide will allow you to make your work something that you can love doing again.
And if you want to accelerate your career transformation, I work one-on-one with clients to help them figure out what they want out of their career and how to go about getting it.
Quote that I have been reflecting on
“We don’t trust people to follow the rules. We trust people to know when to break them.” — Simon Sinek
Journal Prompt
“What are the activities that fill me with energy, and which are the ones that leave me feeling drained? And how can I do more of the ones that charge me up, and do less of the ones that drain me?”
Please feel free to reach out to connect with me! I am always looking to explore the modern world of work with others.
