The Benefits of Redefining Your Office’s Workweek
Up until the mid-19th century, the average worker in America toiled from dawn to dusk. As the Industrial Revolution rolled in and more people began to work in factories and mines, the movement toward a shorter workday began. With President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, the move to a 40-hour workweek became closer to reality for about 20 percent of the workforce.
Even with these changes, employees in the United States today still spend more time on the job than workers in other nations. Almost 40 percent work more than 50 hours a week according to a recent Gallop Poll. The problem is that working all these hours is taking a toll on workers in the form of diminished productivity, stress issues, and health problems. While European countries have recognized the benefits of redefining the workweek for decades now, the United States has not yet embraced the concept. Companies that offer options for alternative workweek scheduling are more the exception than the norm in the United States.
Four Days vs. Five Days
Almost 43 percent of larger companies in the United States offer their employees the option to work four longer days versus five eight-hour days. The term for this type of workweek has been dubbed as a “compressed workweek” by human resource professionals. Lisa Horn, a co-leader of the partnership between the Society for Human Resource Management Workplace Flexibility Initiative and the Families and Work Institute, views the shorter workweek as “a great way to provide employees the flexibility to meet the demands of work and life outside of work.”
Companies, including Ryan, KPMG, and Basecamp have adopted a four-day workweek and have found that there has been little to no decrease in the productivity in their employees. In fact, employee productivity has increased. SchooLinks, a software company, has found that the four-day workweek has benefited them and report that their workers “come back to work refreshed and ready to concentrate” after a three-day break.
Employees who work an abbreviated workweek often show a significant improvement in their physical and mental health. They are able to achieve a healthy work-life balance while still producing at a level that allows businesses to continue to thrive.
Beneficial to Your Company’s Bottom Line
A shorter workweek can help your company reduce costs for keeping your office open for an additional day. The state of Utah experienced savings during a trial period where the majority of their state employees were switched to a four-day schedule during 2008 to 2011. But there are additional benefits you could experience, such as:
• Almost a 66 percent reduction in employee turnover
• Doubling of revenue and profits
• All-time high client satisfaction scores
• Earning multiple “best place to work” accolades
Research has shown that a reduction of 10 percent in working hours can reduce individual carbon footprints by up to 15 percent because of a decrease in consumption of energy and goods. This frees up income that can be used in other areas, which benefits the economy.
Switching to a shorter workweek is not a new concept. British economist John Maynard Keynes predicted back in the 1930s that everyone would be working 15 hours a week around the beginning of the 21st century. It may be time to pay attention to what European countries have been doing for years and try a shorter workweek.
