With more and more countries piloting the "four day work week", the length of the work week has begun a new round of changes. The "5-day work week" we often say now is not the case at the beginning. At first, many countries adopted the working model of "working six days off and one day off". From 1900 to 1920, early trade unions advocated reducing the six-day work week, and the weekly working hours of countries worldwide began to decrease to varying degrees and generally declined—8%.
What Is Four Day Work Week?
As opposed to the traditional workweek of five days, the four-day workweek consists of four days instead of five, and it consists of a three-day weekend rather than two. Employees work fewer hours and days when they work a four-day workweek. Rather than working 40 hours a week, workers work 32 hours a week during a four-day week. There is no change in benefits or pay. COVID-19 triggered a heightened conversation about and adoption of the four-day workweek before the pandemic.
The 4 Day Work Week In Company Practice
A four-day workweek can be structured in various ways by companies. Instead of the traditional five days per week, workers usually log four days a week for their employers. It is traditionally expected that people will work 40 hours a week on a five-day schedule, but the number of hours they should work on a four-day schedule can vary.
The employee may still be required to work a 40-hour week, but they can do so in four days, working a 10-hour day. Rather than a standard two-day weekend, this approach provides three days off. The work hours required by other organizations can be reduced from 40 to 32 per week. People usually work four days instead of five, in this case by working eight hours daily.
Test Trial In Real Businesses
From June 6th, more than 3,300 employees of more than 70 British companies began to trial a new working model: working four days a week, but a penny will not reduce the salary. This is the "four-day work week" pilot's most extensive ever.
It is reported that the pilot event is jointly run by the non-profit organization "Global 4 Day Week", think tank Autonomy and the "UK 4 Day Week Movement", which has collaborated with researchers from Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College. The pilot will last six months and involve 3,300 employees across 70 companies, ranging from financial service providers to restaurants. Pilot employees only need to work 80% of the time for a week to get 100% of their wages, but in exchange, employees promise to remain 100% productive.
Conclusion
The four-day workweek system was proposed in the 1970s but was never implemented. After the outbreak, a large number of companies chose to work remotely. As millions of employees have turned to remote work during the pandemic, reducing the time and cost of onerous commutes, calls for greater flexibility have grown louder.
