The recent announcement that Spain will trial a four-day work week is a sign of our changing work world. The standard nine-to-five, office-bound routine was already under threat, before Covid-19 caused individuals, corporations and governments to question both the viability and desirability of the rigid model.
According to global research by Atlassian, longer working hours are encroaching on personal time, yet, as a UK study shows, productivity increases have been close to zero since the 2008 financial crash. In Spain itself, employees work more than the European average but with lower productivity to show for their efforts. Working harder does not necessarily guarantee better results.
Various organisations have experimented with the four-day approach to overcome this problem. A trial in 2019 by Microsoft Japan resulted in a 40 percent rise in productivity. A year earlier in New Zealand, Perpetual Guardian noted a 20 percent rise in productivity after a similar test run, and subsequently made the policy permanent.
Then there is the matter of employee satisfaction. In many countries, extended working hours have not translated into higher wages. For example, in the US between 1987 to 2015, productivity rose by as much as five percent annually, but wages never grew by more than two percent per year during that time.
The pressures on employees – both mentally and financially – have only increased during Covid-19, leading some companies to seek solutions. That Perpetual Guardian trial led to a 45 percent increase in employee work-life balance – a huge jump by any standard.
Governments around the world are also watching with interest. According to OECD estimates, more than 1 billion jobs, almost one-third of all jobs worldwide, will probably be transformed by technology in the next decade. While the World Economic Forum predicts that we need to reskill more than 1 billion people by 2030 because of the fourth industrial revolution.
Fewer hours per worker, with the same five-day salary, theoretically means job opportunities for more people to help address this. For many governments, that is a much more preferable solution to universal basic income, which is being trialled in various countries as a response to the threat of a jobless future due to automation trends.
The (long) MENA weekend?
Could it happen here in the Middle East? Firstly, it should be noted that Spain’s trial is state-sponsored and that any serious attempts to reshape the working week will have to be accompanied by government support in one form or another. And the four-day work week is just one option of many to help address automation of pattern-based work.
In the MENA region, many nations delivered emergency versions of this approach during Covid-19. Measures such as paid leave, loans to companies to pay salaries, exemption from utility bills and suspended rental payments, were taken to protect workers against the health and economic consequences of the pandemic.
As a result, the mechanisms are now in place to continue to support those at risk of job losses, retain and create more jobs where necessary and to protect the rights of employees in an increasingly automated labour market. Should this be the path chosen, the financial and legal infrastructure is now in place because of Covid-19.
In a region where a long working week is common, the work from home measures of 2020 have also led to a permanent sea change in corporate practises. Flexible working trends in the UAE will outlast the coronavirus era, according to real estate consultants CBRE.
As a further bonus, a four-day week could be a key selling point in the global recruitment wars. For example, putting the UAE ahead of other countries by offering a greater quality of life for talented workers relative to key competitors such as Singapore and Hong Kong.
One final thought on the regional benefits of a four-day week, that I haven’t seen discussed elsewhere, is the homogenisation of weekends across the globe. If western nations cease to work on Fridays and regions such as the Middle East and parts of Asia have Sundays off, then a new global working week of Monday-Thursday would emerge – which would surely improve efficiencies across time zones and benefit employees everywhere.
Nice to dream?
If the idea of greater flexibility and shorter hours is to truly take hold, companies will have to rethink their KPIs, finally abandoning the outdated notion that longer hours equal better results, and that attendance equals working. This is a significant mindset shift that is challenging to put into place.
Governments will also have to decide whether it is worth backing a social benefit that only applies to people who are already employed. Though it may or may not be the perfect solution, what is exciting is that we are having the conversation about wealth redistribution, dealing with stress, creating jobs, addressing automation, and mitigating climate change. The four-day work week is one piece of that puzzle.
Could it be that the ‘fifth day’ will be an opportunity for lifelong learning; a chance for people to participate in the economy and society, to upskill, or just take better care of themselves?
What we do know is that the long working hours to which we have become accustomed are not just unproductive, but unhealthy. A recent global study by the World Health Organization found that 745,000 people died in 2016 alone from stroke and heart disease due to working more than 55 hours per week. We know there are significant wellness issues to address.
So perhaps it will ultimately boil down to a simple choice: Governments and corporations can pay, via healthcare, for the consequences of overwork, or they can invest in the happiness, productivity and wellbeing of their labour force with schemes such as the four-day work week.
Nancy W. Gleason, PhD, Associate Professor of Practice, NYU Abu Dhabi; Director, Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning
Follow us on
