Could the 4-day work week remedy employee burnout?

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Amid a choky labour market, companies are having occupation filling unfastened positions and retaining apical endowment arsenic a long-speculated Great Resignation comes to fruition. At a clip erstwhile conversations astir workforce burnout are beforehand and center, a condensed workweek could assistance remedy the situation, but what's holding backmost much companies from offering this non-traditional arrangement?

SEE: IT disbursal reimbursement policy (TechRepublic Premium)

Employee burnout: Factors and remedies

Last month, Visier published the results of a survey highlighting the myriad factors down worker burnout and assorted benefits that could perchance mitigate this fatigue. In order, the main components contributing to worker burnout see "being asked to instrumentality connected much work" (52%), toxic enactment civilization (33%), "being asked to implicit enactment faster" (30%) and micromanagement/being observed connected the occupation (24%), according to the report. While immoderate of these complaints whitethorn not beryllium needfully new, determination could beryllium different confounding circumstances astatine play.

"Many of the aforesaid issues that are driving worker burnout existed earlier the pandemic, but uncertain times and pandemic-related accent makes things worse," said Paul Rubenstein, main radical officer, Visier.

A information of the survey asked respondents to place imaginable employer-offered benefits that could assistance "alleviate burnout" with flexible enactment hours (39%) intelligence wellness enactment (31%) topping the list. An employer-provided four-day workweek (24%) besides made the database and was connected par with wellness programs (24%) and paid sick days (25%) for galore respondents.

Work-life equilibrium and WFH drawbacks

Remote enactment presents caller logistical and much abstract challenges for telecommuters. Over the past year, the location has pulled double-duty arsenic a distant bureau and backstage residence for galore families, blurring the lines betwixt enactment and one's idiosyncratic beingness astatine the aforesaid time. Interestingly, the popularity of nontraditional enactment schedules could beryllium a byproduct of the ongoing power to downsides of distant and hybrid work.

"Four-day workweeks are different mode of mounting boundaries that look to person disappeared during the wide displacement to moving remotely (for those jobs that tin beryllium remote)," Rubenstein said.

"There are 'extra' demands connected definite segments of the workforce — particularly radical who attraction for children oregon adults," Rubenstein said. "With a shorter workweek, they tin person immoderate much prime uninterrupted time, oregon adjacent immoderate clip for themselves, alternatively than fitting successful each the other household duties."

For distant caregivers, increased flexibility whitethorn beryllium nonnegotiable moving guardant aft a twelvemonth of distant work. According to a Blind canvass published successful April, 54% of respondents who had dependents astatine location said they needed "a flexible hybrid schedule" and astir one-third (37%) said they needed this flexible hybrid enactment arsenic good arsenic regular flexible hours.

Changing standards: Four-day workweek roadblocks

Until the onset of COVID-19, companies had been reluctant to power to afloat distant operations, alternatively opting to connection the enactment exemplary arsenic an worker perk intermittently passim the month. Historically, the four-day workweek has been adjacent little accepted than the distant enactment exemplary was considered pre-pandemic. It's important to enactment that determination whitethorn beryllium organization and managerial roadblocks hindering the rollout of the three-weekend standard.

SEE: Juggling distant enactment with kids' acquisition is simply a mammoth task. Here's however employers tin assistance (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

A caller Bizagi study entitled the "State of Process Innovation" focused connected employee attitudes astir a four-day enactment exemplary and challenges thwarting implementation of specified an arrangement. About fractional of respondents (44%) cited the "demands" of their company's manufacture that cannot "accommodate 1 little time of enactment per week" arsenic the crushed they could decorativeness their jobs successful a four-day model, according to the report.

The Bizagi survey posed a hypothetical absorption question, asking employees what would apt hap if they were to automate portions of their occupation truthful they could execute these tasks successful 4 days and told their brag astir it. Situationally, 46% said their brag would delegate them "more enactment to capable the 5th time of the workweek" and astir one-quarter (26%) said their brag would not allocate further work, but would "still expect [them] to amusement up for enactment 5 days a week" and 25% said their brag would fto them follow a four-day workweek, according to the report.

But, wherefore person employers historically preferred the five-day workweek to a condensed model?

"Many jobs are inactive astir hours and effort alternatively than outcomes, and not everyone is enlightened connected however to negociate workers wherever outcomes are much important than hours," Rubenstein said. "9-5, Monday-Friday is simply a ritual, but immoderate radical presumption it arsenic a right."

Additionally, helium said companies person myriad reasons to "resist change" connected this front, (including contractual and operational considerations), portion cautioning that the four-day workweek isn't "guaranteed to lick the burnout challenge."

"They mightiness beryllium a retention solution for immoderate workers, but mightiness origin much problems for others," Rubenstein said. Employers similar 'sameness' due to the fact that it's easier to pass and makes things look fair. Sameness does not ever effect successful greatness erstwhile it comes to however we negociate talent."

The ongoing hybrid enactment experimentation astatine standard is thing but "sameness" oregon the accepted presumption quo for companies and workers alike. Over the past year, galore companies adopted hybrid models and immoderate person made semipermanent commitments to distant work. Situationally, employers could beryllium receptive to implementing non-traditional enactment arrangements.

"I deliberation we are moving to an property wherever employees expect flexibility, but person not afloat realized what the outgo of that flexibility means," Rubenstein said. "For some, the four-day workweek mightiness mean a time to "catch up connected work" the mode they utilized to usage the weekends. For others, it's a acquisition of clip for activities extracurricular of enactment — and they volition usage it wisely."

This viewpoint, Rubenstein explained, is each babelike connected a person's preferred enactment style, the quality of their enactment arsenic good arsenic their level of self-discipline.

Aside from burnout mitigation and endowment retention, a four-day workweek could besides enactment arsenic an accidental to pull caller talent; a timely information amid idiosyncratic shortages and a choky labour market. Could employers offering a four-day workweek assistance them pull apical endowment successful the months ahead?

Whether employers volition present a four-day workweek successful the months up remains anyone's guess, but successful the short-term, Rubenstein said companies should "embrace flexibility" successful "many forms."

"Four-day workweeks are a large start. Many employers person already had a contented of giving employees fractional oregon afloat Fridays disconnected successful the summer," helium continued. "Try retired these "summer Fridays" archetypal and spot what really happens to productivity."

Also see

• WFH is simply a cybersecurity "ticking clip bomb," according to a caller report (TechRepublic)
• Working from home: How to get distant close (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
• Contract enactment policy (TechRepublic Premium)
• CXO: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic connected Flipboard)