4-day workweek: 4 reasons we have it
TGIT isn’t a very common expression. Here at wezank, however, it’s been a very popular term for the past 2 years. For those of you who don’t know, our team works 4 days a week (Monday to Thursday) starting at 10:00 a.m. Not your typical workweek we know!
In this article, we decided to talk more about the benefits of a 4-day workweek and why we believe it’s the right way to go.
1- Productivity
Let’s get something straight, working for long hours doesn’t mean being more productive. In fact, according to a study by The Economist, there’s a negative correlation between hours worked and productivity. After all, when there’s less time to work, there’s less time to waste and employees will be less prone to make mistakes.
2- Happiness
Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat. As fun as the work environment might be, true happiness means spending more time with family, friends or even alone. We believe giving employees a 4-day workweek will give them more leisure time (52 extra days per year to be precise) which by default, makes them happier. Even the CEO of Google, Larry Page, implied that a 4-day workweek is the right way to go.
3- Health
Working for long hours is your body’s worst nightmare. According to a study published in the medical journal, The Lancet, workers who put in 55 hours per week or more had a 33 percent greater risk of stroke and a 13 percent greater risk of heart disease than people who worked 35 to 40 hours per week. In Japan, around 400 people die each year from strokes, heart attacks or suicides caused by work. They even have a term for this phenomenon: karoshi.
That’s why, aside from the 3-day weekend, our offices start at 10:00 a.m. giving our employees some extra couple of hours to sleep and rest.
4- Environmentally Friendly
One less day at work means less time spent driving and reduced electricity consumption. When traffic decreases, greenhouse gases and other pollutants diminish too. According to a report by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), a global shift to shorter working hours could reduce carbon emissions enough to halve additional expected global warming between now and 2100.
4-day Workweek
There you have it, that’s why we implement a 4-day workweek and that’s why our workforce is ridiculously successful. As the CEO of Tree Hugger puts it “Just remember, you only have 2,000 weekends, and then you die.”