A lot of studies across Europe have been testing out the idea of a four day work week. For a number of years it’s been in place including a lot of companies in the UK and the only major point of criteria to keep it is that productivity can’t go down. Not only that but it’s not like employees are working four 10 hour days, its a 32 hour work week. So far it’s been a roaring success with productivity never faltering and employee well being drastically increasing.
Now I know that the 32 hour/4 day work week wouldn’t logically apply to every single industry like first responders or the health care system just to name a few but it’s definitely something worth thinking about. We have this idea that an employee needs to be in his or her chair for exactly 40 hours a week and if they’re not then they’re not doing a good job or lazy. It’s so engrained into our way of thinking and our friends across the pond seem to be breaking away from the norm and it seems to be paying off.
I think it’s something definitely worth thinking about especially as we come out of Covid as the normal workplace and home life balance has been turned on its head.
What do you think? Is the four day work week a possibility here in Canada or do you think we’re a little to engrained in our traditional mind set about the Monday to Friday 9-5?
– Jeremy