The results of the experiment with a four-day work week for office workers in New Zealand

In November 2018, the New Zealand company Perpetual Guardian became one of the first in the world to switch to a four-day working week, in which the number of working hours was reduced from 37.5 to 30. This was done according to the results of a preliminary experiment that scientists from the Technological University helped to conduct and evaluate. University of Auckland.

An analysis of one of the most extensive tests of the four-day working week did not reveal a decrease in the volume of production, if for office workers we can talk about "production". But the bottom line is that the company’s business continued unchanged. The scope of work that was carried out during the five-day period was preserved even during the four-day week, while a decrease in stress and an increase in staff involvement were recorded.

The balance between work and personal life is a serious problem for many office workers of our time, especially in countries prone to workaholism. For example, in the USA, the right to leave is not even enshrined in law, as a result of which conscious people work two jobs year-round, 80-90 hours a week. People suffer from depression, and life quickly flies in a career cycle. The New Zealand experiment gives hope that the problem can still be fixed.

In November 2018, the financial company Perpetual Guardian transferred 240 employees from a five-day to a four-day week, while maintaining full salary. As in the course of a small experiment earlier, employee productivity increased in proportion to a decrease in the number of working hours, that is, there was no drop in the total amount of work done.

Recall that last time the level of staff stress decreased from 45% to 38%, and the indicators of a harmonious balance of work and personal life increased from 54% to 78%. Scientists have recorded an increase in engagement and other indicators (pictured).



After this experiment, the Perpetual Guardian released a brochure.with recommendations for other companies who want to repeat the experiment and move on to a four-day workweek: “This is an idea whose time has come,” says Andrew Barnes, founder and CEO of Perpetual Guardian. - We need to interest more companies in order for the idea to spread. They will be surprised at the improvements in their company, among employees and in the wider society. ”

The eight-week Perpetual Guardian experiment has been closely watched by employers and politicians around the world. His success can now push other employers to change attitudes towards staff. Instead of squeezing all the juices out of it, it may be more profitable to make people happier. Business benefits from improved employee quality of life.

Now, the British research funding organization, the Wellcome Trust, is also considering transferring 800 head office employees to a four-day week, and the initiator of this socialist revolution, the Perpetual Guardian, has received more than 350 requests for information from 28 countries. Everyone is asked to share their experiences and instruct how best to make such a transition. Most inquiries were received from organizations in the UK, followed by Australia, the USA and Germany.

In the UK, four-day preliminary studies of the effectiveness of four-day studies have been conducted at the state level. These preliminary results indicate that productivity growth is difficult to achieve in positions that are associated with a permanent presence, such as retail trade (for example, a sales clerk), etc. But for office workers of various professions, the effect can really be positive.

The effect is maximum at the first time when people have euphoria. But in the future, positive signs were noted: people began to sleep better, concentration of attention and other cognitive indicators increased at work. Due to this, productivity also increases. Managers say that people have become more creative in resolving issues, and not just do tasks on a routine basis, as before.

Employees used an additional day off for ordinary leisure, but there were also new activities that people could not afford before due to lack of time. Among them, the polls called these: "spending time with parents," "spending much needed time on school," "cleaning the house on Wednesday, and then free weekends."

It is interesting that if such significant effects are noted within the framework of one organization, is it possible to change the psychological climate in a wider society when more companies move to a four-day period? After all, if people change their personal lives, then the environment changes with them.