The research by 4 Day Week Global, in collaboration with over 60 companies, states that we all work for four days even though we go to the office for five. There’s one day of zero productivity.
A recent study by the nonprofit group 4 Day Week Global has revealed that workers with a five-day workweek spend, on average, one day doing nothing. Earlier this year, this organization completed the world’s largest trial of the four-day workweek in Britain. The program, which included over 60 companies worldwide, evaluated employees using the 100:80:100 model. This model consists of reducing the workweek by one day, to 80%, while maintaining 100% of salary and productivity.
The research highlights that people can complete the same amount of work in a 33-hour week as in a 38-hour week by eliminating unnecessary tasks and procrastination that often occur during a five-day week. This reduction in work hours is mainly due to the elimination of time-wasting activities, such as unnecessary meetings, allowing workers to focus more on important tasks. Employees who continued the four-day week for a year were able to further reduce their hours, shaving off an additional hour from their workweek.
Physical and mental health
In addition to improving efficiency, the study showed significant benefits for workers’ physical and mental health. After six months of working four days a week, burnout levels decreased, and job satisfaction and overall health improved. There was also a 65% drop in sick days and a 57% reduction in the likelihood of employees quitting their jobs.
At the business level, the results were also positive. Companies participating in the study saw an average 15% increase in revenue during the trial period. For this reason, none of the organizations involved expressed a desire to return to the five-day workweek, and 89% of employees also did not want to go back to the old model.
The president of the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi, stated that the reduction of the workweek proposed by the government is “a total disregard for social dialogue,” although the employers’ association is “willing to discuss the workweek, but not because someone comes and imposes their criteria just because it’s their flagship initiative,” referring to the reduction to 37.5 hours championed by Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz. He believes this would generate “more distrust in the country”: “I’m not saying it’s illegal, but it creates such significant uncertainty that we are warning various organizations that it will block collective bargaining.”
Currently, the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, continues negotiating with employers and unions to reduce the weekly work hours to 37.5. Although no significant progress has been made, the deadline for achieving this is December 31, 2024, with the goal of implementing the measure at the beginning of the following year. Over the past two years, there has been intense debate over the idea of working four days a week and resting for three, which would involve working between 32 and 36 hours depending on the company’s needs. However, some have already tested it, and it’s not necessary to look far. This model has been implemented by several companies in Spain, proving that shorter workweeks are viable in some sectors.
The Jaén-based company Software DelSol, which specializes in software solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), became the first company in Spain to implement the four-day workweek in 2020. Three years later, it had increased its revenue by 80.8%, from €9.4 million in 2019 to €17 million in 2022, while also reducing employee absenteeism and boosting productivity. Another pioneer was the marketing consultancy Good Rebels, which began a pilot project in July 2021 that eventually became a permanent feature of the company. According to the company, salaries were maintained from the start, and Fridays were designated as free days, resulting in a 7% increase in productivity within a year.