Back in 2019 I wrote about the experiment Microsoft was doing in Japan where they found by giving burned out employees more time off (4 day week) productivity increased by 40%. (https://goxglobal.com/4-day-week-led-to-40-productivity-improvements/)
Yesterday 70 companies across the UK signed up to trial out this new way of working. Four leading Academic institutions will be measuring stress, burnout, health, sleep and many other aspects that contribute to well-being. Since the pandemic there has been a desire for many people to work less hours and spend more time with family and friends. Organisations are now adapting to meet this new goal for employees. Corporations in Scotland, UK, New Zealand, Australia to name a few are now trialling this new way of working.
I am so happy with the evolution of human beings. During the industrial revolution most people worked 6 days a week and then Henry Ford came along and implemented the 5 day week a century ago and saw productivity go up. Most countries have since then implemented 35-40 hour work week to ensure there were more jobs available for the growing population. It will be interesting to see the results and data from those 70 companies, I really hope it becomes a success as happy employees generally lead to improved profits and a better customer experience.
