The 4-Day Week is a new working style that is changing the working hours of workers because the old style and old working methods may not be suitable anymore.
When we enter the working age, there will be rules about working hours that we understand together that if it is not a freelance job or a personal business that allows us to be our own boss, working 5 days a week is normal. Which may even be a blessing because there are still many people who work 6 days a week or some people may work almost every day. For these working hours, we adhere to them until it becomes a tradition. Working 5 days a week and 8 hours a day, what we are doing, does it really help us work most efficiently?
“When working time is still used as a tool to evaluate employee performance”
There are still many organizations that use the working time, such as punctuality, no absences, no leave, no lateness of employees, as a factor in measuring and evaluating the annual performance of employees. However, doing this may not be accurate because this type of measurement does not correspond to the actual performance that each employee delivers through their work to the organization.
For example, in a general organization, we have probably seen people who come to work on time, are never absent, and are never late. But it turns out that their work performance may be ordinary, nothing outstanding. When employees know that the organization measures them on this, they just come to work and go home on time, that’s all. Because the organization places importance on working hours instead of giving weight to work performance. That is the reason why these organizations have a lot of employees who work from morning to night.
“The era of time-based is over. Now it should be more productive-based.”
Because in this era of competition in the working world, time does not always directly vary with the quality of the work. The quality of the work depends more on the intention and attention to the time given to that piece of work. Therefore, whoever uses the same amount but can create better or more value through the work will be considered the winner of this change.
Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) or flexible working patterns have become a working concept that has been talked about and received a lot of attention, especially in the past decade, including the period when we are facing COVID-19. The form of FWA work that we can clearly see in this era is Remote Work or Work From Anywhere, which means working anywhere, etc.
“ The 4-Day Week : How the flexible work revolution can increase productivity, profitability and well-being, and help create a sustainable future”
This book is written by Andrew Barnes and Stephanie Jones. They talk about Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) for the concept of 4-day work week which is going to revolutionize the working world in the near future.
When working today is becoming a problem for employees and organizations
If the current workplace continues, we will increasingly see an increase in the number of employees experiencing mental health issues, leading to higher costs for organizations to manage employees’ stress and work-related mental health issues. For example, most employees who work hard are not being paid the same. For organizations, it is no use spending a lot of money when employees are not performing well due to stress and mental health issues at work. In addition, a 2020 study of American employees by Healthcareers.co revealed that employees with higher salaries have higher experiences of work-related stress.
“Working time is almost the only time when working people are social.”
In a 2017 survey of more than 2,000 full-time employees, it was found that 79% of all employees do not feel fully engaged during the 37-40 hours they work per week. Of those, 54% of employees look forward to seeing their coworkers, to catch up on work, to chat with them, or to catch up on the news. Although coming to work can be a stressful and tiring process, the workplace is the only place where they feel social, as they don’t have the time or energy to socialize elsewhere.
“Office workers are only productive for 1.5 to 2.5 hours out of the total 8 hours of work.”
Andrew Barnes got the idea for the 4-day work week while he was on a plane. While traveling, he read some American and Canadian research on how long employees were productive in a given day. He started to hypothesize, in line with the research, that giving employees a day off every week might make them more engaged and might even improve the quality of their work output. But it was just a hypothesis, so he wanted to find a way to test it to confirm his idea.
“Perpetual Guardian has already implemented a four-day work week for its employees.”
Andrew wanted to test his hypothesis and see what the results would be. He got permission from the management of Perpetual Guardian, the organization he works for, to conduct the experiment with people in the organization. They worked on the research for 2 months, and the results were so amazing that a 4-day work week became Perpetual Guardian policy.
The 4 Day Week is not a Gig Economy
When employers start approaching the 4-day workweek model, they often say that it has been around for a long time. It is the gig economy , or temporary employment model. For example, part-time work or freelance work.
The gig economy is a term coined by former New Yorker editor Tina Brown. The gig economy originated in the United States. Before the late 2000s, it was used by independent bands and musicians. For example, jazz bands often used the term “gotten a gig” when they were hired to sing in entertainment venues. Over time, gigs have also come to mean freelance work, such as driving for Uber or hosting a hostel.
Because working 4 days a week and gig economy are not the same, it is necessary to clearly differentiate between the two. For those who work in gig economy, they will not receive any benefits from the organization. But for working 4 days a week, they still receive all the same benefits.
Both work styles offer flexible working hours, which is why most people get confused about the similarities and differences between the two. The obvious difference is that gig economy workers will lose all the benefits they are entitled to from work, such as benefits, social security, and hospitalization. On the other hand, employees who work a 4-day work week will still have all of those benefits, or maybe even more.
“The gig economy is a form of work that depends on us.”
Employees who work in the gig economy get paid only when they work. They can quit when they want. It’s over. In addition, throughout their work, they have to take care of themselves, access their own healthcare, and pay for everything themselves. They don’t receive much support for upskilling. Especially if we work as freelancers, upskilling is something we have to strive for, pay for, and try ourselves. All education depends on us. No one cares whether we are professional or not. Because the people who hire us only care about the work that they will get.
“Working 4 days a week is a full-time job with fewer working hours.”
The 4-Day Week is a regular work week with reduced hours. This means that employers are still required to comply with employment laws regarding minimum wage, holidays, retirement benefits, pensions and other benefits. Employers are still required to pay the taxes required by law, unlike in the gig economy where some employers find ways to avoid paying taxes.
The 4-Day Week Policy – Make the 4-day work week a core corporate policy.
This book presents a method to change an organization from a 5 or 6-day work week to a 4-day work week as follows:
1. Present The 4-Day Week Policy to the organization : Try to convince with hard facts. Present qualitative data that shows that it is beneficial to the organization, such as research and reliable surveys. Show employers how much “quality development” means to employees and the organization.
2. It’s time to consult a lawyer : Because when it comes to changing working hours, if we are going to experiment, we need to make sure that the experiment or full implementation of The 4-Day Week Policy is within the employment law.
3. Employee Involvement : Policies related to work must be designed with employee participation in mind. Employers like to think that they are smart in making decisions. But without employee participation, the 4-day work week cannot continue.
“Employees want to know that their day off is a gift, with the expectation that they will produce 100% of their results in only 80% of their time.”
4. Clearly communicate and communicate policy changes : This applies to all employees, so they should be clearly informed about the policy changes. They may not necessarily work 4 days a week, but they can choose to work 5 days a week by cutting back on their work hours.
5. Listen to employees’ opinions and results : What organizations should do is to give employees the freedom to point out factors that may hinder their performance. Listen to their perspectives and make improvements.
6. Test before implementing : The last important thing is to conduct a trial of the 4-day work week model and analyze the results before implementing it. It is advisable to get help from external researchers to analyze the efficiency level objectively.
Working 4 days a week produces better results than most people think.
Imagine a couple in an organization where they are allowed flexible working hours. They have time for so many other things. They can decide to have a child without even having to take time off work. This solves the problem of inequality and fertility that keeps people from having children. And can you imagine the benefits that this could have on society if it were solved?
“Working 4 days a week can help the environment and society.”
Employees no longer have to work five days a week, which means fewer cars on the road, less emissions from vehicle tailpipes, and clearer roads when traffic is usually heavy. It also increases employee engagement. Organizations can ask their employees about using their free time off to volunteer for good causes. Perpetual Guardian has done this with their employees, such as offering them extra time off to volunteer for a cause.
“A four-day work week makes employees feel like they want to give back to the organization and society without being forced to.”
Having time to relax or do something you love away from work also reduces work stress. They feel more in control of the stress they have at work and this helps them to be more productive. When employees feel more comfortable and happier at work, they will give back to the organization without the organization asking them to work hard, produce good results or produce quality results because they will give it to the organization themselves in return.
“The biggest obstacle to implementing a 4-day work week is the unreasonable resistance of the boss or organization leader.”
In any change, we are often slow to adapt. Skeptics reject it and believe in what they have always done until they see that many people are already doing it. But by that point, it is too late.
So if you are not sure, at least try this 4-day work week model. Try it with some teams in your organization first. Try it in a small group first to see the results before deciding whether it is suitable for your organization or not. Because every organization is different, we may have to adjust the work model according to our business requirements and our employees so that it is suitable to be used as our organization’s working policy. We just reduce the working hours but still pay our employees 100% of the salary as before to get 100% quality work. Isn’t this better?
Conclusion
“Employee performance affects the organization’s performance because everyone is part of the organization.”
The 4-day workweek is another important move in the world of work. The main thing is to get to the 100-80-100 equation, which is that organizations pay 100% of the money, work 80% of the time, and produce 100% of the work. Organizations must prioritize flexibility in work, allowing employees to choose whether they want to take a day off to work 4 days a week or continue working 5 days but work fewer hours. This choice is open to all employees. So don’t let the old work patterns destroy the efficiency of your employees, even though you already know how to fix it.หยุ่นในการทำงาน โดยพนักงานสามารถเลือกได้ว่าพวกเขาจะหยุด 1 วันเพื่อทำงาน 4 วันต่อสัปดาห์ หรือทำงาน 5 วัน เช่นเดิมแต่ชั่วโมงในการทำงานน้อยลงก็ได้ โดยตัวเลือกนี้จะเป็นของพนักงานทุกคน ดังนั้น อย่าปล่อยให้รูปแบบการทำงานเดิมๆ ทำลายประสิทธิภาพของพนักงานในองค์กร ทั้งๆ ที่ เราเองก็รู้วิธีแก้ไขอยู่แล้ว
