Some time ago, a piece of news hit the hot search trend all the way.
caused a huge wave among office workers around the world.
Starting last week, 70 companies across the UK began to trial a four-day work week without reducing wages. The trial period is 6 months.
This is the world's largest attempt at a four-day work week. As soon as the news about
came out, it instantly made headlines in major media around the world.
Various analyzes of the pros and cons come one after another online. (Australia’s largest Internet celebrity Douyin account "Micro Sydney" will show you all the interesting things about life in Australia! A must for studying abroad, traveling and immigrating! Please join the Douyin account Search "Micro Sydney", we are waiting for you here!)
At the same time, many netizens shouted: "When will it be our turn!"
And just recently, our friends in Australia also welcomed us. News like this:
Starting from August, many companies and industries in Australia will participate in the trial implementation of the four-day work system ,
reduced working hours without reducing wages,
Come and see if there is one in your industry!
At the same time, many places around the world have also started this trial.
The days of three-day holiday a week may not be a dream anymore!
Picture source: the guardian
. The world’s largest attempt!
Every Friday is the best day for many office workers.
This means that after a busy week, they finally have time to rest for two days and one night.
Have a big meal, get together with friends, and family. I got up for a short trip,
However, good times are always short-lived.
slept until noon, tidied up the house, and then realized that I would have to go to work tomorrow.
As a result, the four-day work system came into being.
Picture source: Baidu Encyclopedia
From 2015 to 2019, the Icelandic government implemented a four-day work system experiment,
,500 public sector staff (equivalent to 1% of the country’s working population) participated,
will be implemented every week Working hours were reduced from 40 hours to 35 or 36 hours, while wages remained the same.
In other words, working hours are "reduced" but work remuneration is "not reduced."
Surprisingly, the result was unexpected!
Source: bbc
The trial results show that:
Not only did the productivity of participants in Iceland not decrease, but the happiness of
employees increased significantly.
Employees reportedly feel less stressed and their health and work-life balance have improved.
They also expressed having more time with their families, doing their hobbies and doing housework. Will Stronge, head of research at
Autonomy, said: “This research shows that the world’s largest-ever public sector trial to shorten the working week has been a huge success by any measure.
“This shows that the public sector is taking the lead in shortening the working week. The time is ripe - other governments can also learn from this experience."
Source: cnbeta
Following Iceland, "one of the happiest countries in the world", more and more countries support a four-day work week.
According to reports, on June 6, the world's largest "four-day work system" trial kicked off in the UK.
It lasted for six months, with more than 70 companies and more than 3,300 employees participating.
The experiment is carried out in the "100:80:100" mode,
that is, participants receive 100% of their salary,
working time is shortened to 80%,
but the work output is still 100%.
Companies participating in the trial include a wide range of industries:
software developers, financial companies, consultancies, recruitment companies, charities, educational institutions, retailers, restaurants, and even the Royal Society of Biology.
Picture source of some pilot companies: Quartz
Participating companies said that the new crown epidemic has prompted corporate managers to reflect on their working methods.
hopes to test whether working hours can be shortened without causing a loss of productivity through this trial,
while improving employees' Mental health and wellbeing.
Charity Bank CEO Ed Siegel, who participated in the pilot, said: "The concept of a five-day work week in the 20th century is no longer the best choice for enterprises in the 21st century.
We firmly believe that with wages and benefits remaining unchanged, a four-day workday Working will create a happier workforce and will have an equally positive impact on business productivity, customer experience and our social mission."
Image source: abc
The trial will be led by University of Oxford,University of Cambridgeand Boston. Researchers at the college monitor the trial results.
Researchers will record employees' responses to an extra day off,
including factors such as stress, job and life satisfaction, health, sleep, energy use and travel.
The results of the trial will be announced in 2023,
and will then be submitted to the British government for formal review by the research institution to establish a 32-hour work week system.
Source: bbc
It is reported that the initiator of this world's largest trial is "4 Day Week Global",
The founder of the organization is New Zealand entrepreneur and philanthropist Andrew Barnes.
Source: bbc
In February 2018,
Andrew Barnes, the boss of New Zealand trust company Perpetual Guardian, began to trial a four-day work week in the company.
240 employees of the company participated in the 2-month trial.
Source: bbc
After the experiment, Andrew Barnes was pleasantly surprised to find that the four-day working system allowed employees to "slightly increase their work efficiency and reduce their stress levels."
Barnes said: "We have seen an increase in employees' work enthusiasm, everyone's willingness to work hard for the company has increased significantly, and there has been no decrease in productivity...
They know that their vacations have become longer and their work efficiency has become higher."
Researcher Said that the 3-day rest period gives employees a positive signal: "You have rested enough, now you need to concentrate on work."
In this way, employees will not be distracted and do irrelevant things while working. Delay time.
Andrew Barnes
Before the trial, 54% of the company's employees expressed satisfaction with their work-life balance situation;
After the implementation of the four-day work week,
satisfaction rose to 78%.
Due to the remarkable results of the experiment, Andrew Barnes decided to officially implement a four-day work week from November of that year.
This incident became a global focus at the time, and even attracted the attention of the World Economic Forum.
Since then, Andrew Barnes also took the opportunity to launch a non-profit organization: 4 Day Week Global to promote the 4-day work week around the world.
Day Week Global
, Australia will soon have a trial!
As more and more countries participate in this trial,
of course we, Tu'ao, are also indispensable.
Dear friends, please pay attention!
Many companies in Australia are now officially preparing to trial the "four-day work system".
Maybe you will also have three days of vacation per week in the future!
Source: news
Workers from more than 20 organizations across Australia and New Zealand,
are preparing to trial a four-day work week with no reduction in pay.
The organizations registered in Australia cover a variety of industries,
ranging from finance and retail to health, technology and construction.
This is part of a global pilot project run by New Zealand non-profit advocacy group 4 Day Week Global,
involving 70 organizations in the UK and 38 organizations in North America.
Source: the guardian
It is reported that the four-day working system pilot project will be tried out in Australia from August,
lasting for 6 months.
If employees commit to maintaining 100% productivity (i.e. the 100:80:100 model),
they will be able to retain 100% of their salary while reducing their working hours to 80%.
Source: news
Mortgage brokerage More Than Mortgages, social enterprise Our Community,
marketing agency The Walk and mental health organization Momentum Mental Health,
are all involved in the Australian trial.
"4 Day week global" said on its website: "100 years ago, we changed from a 6-day work week to a 5-day work week, and now we are long overdue for an update."
"4 Day week global" is responsible for Joe Ryle said that the epidemic has made people want a better work-life balance. "
Source: news
Juliet Schor, professor of sociology at Boston College and lead researcher on the project, said:
The purpose is to "analyze employee responses to an extra day off, including stress and burnout, work and life satisfaction, health, sleep, energy use, travel and many other aspects of life."
Joe O'Connor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global, said employees have proven they can work "faster and more efficiently."
He said in a statement : “As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are recognizing that the new area of competition is quality of life, and that shorter, output-focused work is the tool that will give them a competitive advantage. "
"They want to shorten their working hours," he said. "
Picture source: news
. "4-day system" has become a global pilot target
If you were given such an opportunity,
would you consider a four-day work week operating model?
In fact, it is not just Australia,
is currently the global Some countries are considering this system,
and have started this trial.
Source: bbc
In August 2019, Microsoft Japan conducted a one-month "Work Life Choice Challenge",
was set on Friday. It is a "paid special leave", which means working for 4 days with the same salary.
It was found that sales increased by nearly 40%,
employee happiness increased, and
electricity consumption and paper printing were also reduced.
However, in the "Work Life Choice Challenge" in the winter of 2019, Microsoft no longer took the initiative to set up paid special leave.
instead called on employees to continue to use internal tools to improve their working methods and combine it with paid leave to "choose breaks smarter" ".
Source: bbc
In June 2021, the Japanese government included the "four-day work system" in its annual economic policy guidelines, which will serve as a recommendation to enterprises.
The government says that by working a four-day week, companies will retain capable and experienced staff, and more people will have the opportunity to gain additional education or work part-time.
More importantly, having one more day off per week can encourage consumption and boost the economy.
Young people may have more time to get to know each other, get married and have children, alleviating increasingly serious problems such as declining birth rates and an aging population.
Picture source: bbc
Many companies in Japan have taken different measures, such as:
· Uniqlo parent company Fast Retailing Group, working 40 hours in 4 days, working hours and wages remain unchanged;
· Mizuho Bank At the same time Reduce working hours and wages, work 32 hours in 4 days, and reduce wages to 80%.
Source: bbc
Canada, the United States and Ireland are currently conducting the same pilot.
Source: abc
In March 2021, Spain approved the "four-day work system" experiment,
works 4 days a week for a total of 32 hours, and the salary remains unchanged.
The purpose is to save the rising unemployment rate and economic recession caused by the epidemic, and promote Consumption of goods and services.
Source: Tencent News
In February this year, Belgium launched a 4-day 40-hour work plan with a similar purpose to Spain;
Germany, Sweden , Scotland and other countries also have related attempts or proposals.
Picture source: DailyMail
It is reported that there are currently three modes of the four-day work system:
· Daily working hours are extended, weekly working hours remain unchanged, and wages remain unchanged;
· Daily working hours remain unchanged, weekly working hours are shortened, and wages are reduced accordingly;
· Daily working hours remain unchanged, weekly working hours are shortened, and wages remain unchanged.
Of course, if you want to shorten working hours and keep wages unchanged, then efficiency must be improved.
Source: News Express
Labor rights activists and experts who support the four-day work system believe that
The benefits of the four-day work week can be summarized as:
· Improved productivity: Balancing employee work and leisure time can achieve twice the result with half the effort;
· Promote equality between men and women: Men have more time to take care of the family and share responsibilities, which helps women free themselves from childcare and housework for equal employment;
· Promote work enthusiasm: combining work and rest is the best working method;
· Reduce carbon emissions: Reducing the number of working days will help reduce traffic emissions caused by employees commuting, reduce the energy required when using office buildings, and help protect the environment.
Source: acb news
However, there are also many objections to the four-day work system.
For example, the famous Adam Smith Institute of Economics in the UK warned that “if people are forced to reduce their working hours, their income will definitely decrease in the end.”
Matthew Lesh of the institute once said that if the UK implements the Four With the day-work system, "the British economy will lose its appeal to investment and entrepreneurs."
“We should also reward and appreciate workers who work hard to provide for their families, rather than depriving them of the freedom to work if they wish.”
Picture source: bbc
Faced with the current global challenges, (Australia’s largest Internet celebrity Douyin account “Micro Sydney” will show you all the interesting things about life in Australia! A must-have for studying abroad, traveling and immigrating! Please use Douyin on Douyin Search for "Micro Sydney", we are here waiting for you!)
Will the "four-day work system" come into being during the crisis like the "five-day work system" of the last century?
Will it be of great benefit to many working people? Generally speaking, in today's 996 era, will the "four-day work system" really continue to exist?
Will the "four-day work system" outweigh the disadvantages, or will the disadvantages outweigh the advantages?
What do you think?
