Better reasons needed to support 4-day week plan

The giddy excitement for the possible introduction to a 4-day workweek model is growing every day. 

However, some of the reasons being promoted to support this proposal are based on shaky, or even no, evidence.

Let’s examine just three of the most popular reasons supporting the reduction of the traditional working week from five days to four.

Less work equals better mental health

The assumption that less work will automatically mean better mental health is just plain wrong, according to the CEO of one of our state’s most prominent mental health organisations.

In fact, work may offer significant benefits to our mental health as it can provide a purpose, a reason to get up in the morning, the opportunity to learn new skills and foster social interactions with work colleagues.

Whilst some workplaces are toxic and negatively impact their employee’s health, it is likely wrong to suggest we will all benefit from working less.

There is a point to support the notion that less work is better, based on the uplift in mood retirees feel when they finally step away from the full-time burden of work. 

However, a successful retirement is a planned retirement, with plenty of activities, jobs around the house, social connections, volunteering, new experiences and even a small amount of paid or unpaid work.

For the non-retirees, it is more the sense of having to work than the work itself. The challenge, sense of achievement, contribution to society and working with others are all powerfully motivating and rewarding.

A 4-day week equals a 3-day weekend

How would you feel if your organisation’s move to a 4-day week meant your extra day off would be on Tuesday?

Unless every organisation that currently operates in a traditional Monday-to-Friday model decides to close their doors on a Friday, then it is likely that their workers will need to either roster the days off or force some people to have their additional day fall mid-week.

Will every Government agency close on Fridays, every law firm, every bank? 

The counterargument here is that many organisations and industries like retail, healthcare and mining accommodate multi-day rosters and deliver services 7 days per week. 

Many FIFO workers are comfortable with their rosters and routines. Equally, many struggle with the shuffling of days and finding themselves back in Perth, having days off when all their family and friends are at work.

It could be a brave assumption that you will be able to snare a 3-day weekend every weekend if your organisation moves to a 4-day work week.

A 4-day week equals no change in productivity

Imagine your boss comes to you one day and says they want you to do the same amount of work you are currently doing, but they are going to give you 20 per cent less time to do it. 

You would be angry, stressed and seeking some redress for this excessively demanding request.

This is precisely the proposition with the move to a 4-day work week – 100 per cent of the work, on 100 per cent of the salary in 80 per cent of the time. 

Employers might reasonably ask, “If you can do the work in 4 days, why aren’t you doing it now and we can then give you something else to do on the fifth day?”

The real test here is sustainability. Whilst some of the trials for a 4-day structure have shown positive results in terms of maintaining productivity, the question remains whether or not this output can be sustained over time.

Will workers eventually crack under the load and insist that their employer ease the pressure and reduce the amount of work? It is hard to imagine under this scenario that the worker would agree to return to a 5-day week model.

We may all slide comfortably into the routine of a 4-day work week and think of it as normal, just like we do now with five days.

However, before we get to that point, some better evidence-based reasons might need to be tested to ensure we are making this change based on logic rather than assumptions.