A study reveals that the best of the four -day work week is not what it achieves: it is what eliminates

There are discrepant voices among those who argue that it is impossible to reduce working hours Without bringing the economy to bankruptcy of the country, while others argue that applying the work week to four days without reducing salary is demonstrating to be beneficial Not only for employees but also for companies.

International investigation published in the magazine Nature Human Behaviour It reveals that the reduction from working hours to a four -day work week model produces Clear improvements in well -beingphysical and mental health, and labor satisfaction of workers, without the change having any effect About productivity.

A two -year study. The study ‘The reduction of working time through a 4 -day work week improves the well -being of workers‘, conducted by researchers from the University of Boston and Dublin, was carried out between 2022 and 2024. 2,896 employees of 141 companies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States participated.

The researchers divided participants into three groups according to the amount of weekly reduction hours: one with a reduction of eight hours or more (32 hours per week), another with reductions of five to seven hours and another with reductions from one to four hours in their weekly day.

In addition, they formed a control group of 285 workers from 12 companies that were initially interested in reducing the day, but Finally they did not apply it. According to the authors of the study, these countries were chosen “partly by linguistic convenience, but also because their neoliberal labor systems are known and the stress levels among employees are high.”

Before starting, some tips. As indicated in the study, on average, companies reduced the weekly work hours of 39.12 to 34.48 hours, which is equivalent to 80% of the usual schedule, but maintaining 100% of the salary. 30.8% of employees managed to reduce his day In eight hours or more per week, while 24.3% maintained the same amount of hours.

As already demonstrated in the pilot tests of the four -day week, it is impossible to reduce the working day Without applying some changes in the way of working in companies. Therefore, the researchers had mentoring of the non -profit organization 4 Day Week Global, which has supervised the tests of the work week of tests such as the one that It was carried out In Valencia. However, as investigations point out, their role was limited to consulting to advise companies, but did not participate directly in the study of the study or in the interpretation of the data.

The results soon arrived. Such and as indicated in Popular Sciencethe biggest surprise was that there was no surprise. The studies of the study coincide largely with the results obtained from the analysis of the different four -day work week pilot programs that have been carried out around the world.

The more visible results indicate that the feeling of work exhaustion (Burnout) decreased by 16% in those who participated in the four -day work week, while in the control group it increased its exhaustion by 1.4%. General fatigue was reduced by 14%, and improvement in physical and mental health resulted in better self -perception by employees. In addition, sleep problems also descended 16%, showing the direct connection among less work hours and better capacity for rest.

Better results are more reduced. The group of employees that reduced their working hours in eight hours or more recorded the highest percentages of improvement, including a reduction in exhaustion, increased job satisfaction and improvements in mental and physical health.

For their part, groups with a minor day reduction Between one and four hours and between five and seven hours, they also experienced similar benefits, although in these cases the improvement percentages were lower.

Improve because they are committed. Although the results confirm the positive effects of the four -day work week for the health and productivity of the workers, the researchers warn about some conditions.

All participating companies were predisposed to apply the reduction of working hours, which can influence the positive motivation of the results. In addition, the information comes mainly from employee self -reports, so future research should include more varied methods and broader samples to consolidate these conclusions, at least to the same extent as this study consolidated the Results obtained by other researchers that have been collecting the data in the different pilot projects around the world.

However, its authors consider that “despite their limitations, this study has important implications to understand the future of work, in which probably 4 -day work week will be a key component.”

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