Microsoft is not the first, over the past 80 years it has been proven to work 4 days a week much more effectively

Tram Ho

The 40-hour, 5-day workweek from Monday to Friday has always been the standard calendar in the US since at least after the Great Recession, though nearly a third of US workers today are no longer working. in the same way.

Throughout the 20th century, scholars and activists predicted that as productivity increased, workers’ average working hours would decrease. In 1928, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that in the next century, the working week would be only 15 hours. In 1965, a state MP even predicted that by 2000, the working week would be shorter, only 14 hours, and each year the workers would have 7 weeks of vacation.

Some senior tech executives, like Google co-founder Larry Page, also support the 4-day workweek, and studies have shown that such a schedule will bring many benefits, such as helping reduce the situation. exhaustion and reducing gender inequality.

However, the 4-day workweek cannot be implemented on a large scale yet.

Microsoft is the most recent company to test this idea. Seattle-based technology giant recently launched a 4-day workweek in Japan, helping productivity increase by 40%. The company closed its offices on Fridays in August, and limited meetings – as a result, its employees became more productive than last August, albeit with less time.

Below is the development history of the 4-day week calendar.

In the 1920s and 1930s, entrepreneurs like Henry Ford discovered that reducing the working time of the week from more than 60 hours to 40 hours can help increase productivity.

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In 1933, Congress nearly passed a 30-hour workweek law to reduce the number of hours worked to deal with unemployment during the economic downturn, but then things didn’t work out when strongly opposed by the opposition. In return, the United States introduced the Federal Labor Standards Act, which requires companies to pay overtime for their employees if they work more than 40 hours a week.

Microsoft không phải là đầu tiên, suốt 80 năm qua người ta đã chứng minh làm việc 4 ngày/tuần hiệu quả hơn nhiều - Ảnh 2.

After the Recession ended, working hours increased and ranged an average of about 40 hours. Campaigns for shorter working hours have also been reduced.

Microsoft không phải là đầu tiên, suốt 80 năm qua người ta đã chứng minh làm việc 4 ngày/tuần hiệu quả hơn nhiều - Ảnh 3.

Kellogg’s is an exception: employees here since 1946 have been working 6 hours a day, but the company has gradually shifted to 8 hours a day, and in 1985, the last part of the company has changed completely to the regime. do this job.

Microsoft không phải là đầu tiên, suốt 80 năm qua người ta đã chứng minh làm việc 4 ngày/tuần hiệu quả hơn nhiều - Ảnh 4.

Some environmental activists say reducing working hours can bring about positive effects to curb climate change, because workers will consume fewer resources during the commute. In the case of Microsoft, power usage has dropped by nearly 25%.

In the 21st century, work schedules between 9am and 5pm (9-to-5), Monday through Friday, become popular as technology companies seek to penetrate every aspect of the life. living.

Microsoft không phải là đầu tiên, suốt 80 năm qua người ta đã chứng minh làm việc 4 ngày/tuần hiệu quả hơn nhiều - Ảnh 5.

Many organizations also turn to such work schedules to cut costs. From 2008 to 2011, the state of Utah (USA) only worked 4 days / week, 10 hours a day.

In 2018, New Zealand company Perpetual Guardian tested a 4-day working week, the results were so successful that they decided to make this schedule official.

Microsoft không phải là đầu tiên, suốt 80 năm qua người ta đã chứng minh làm việc 4 ngày/tuần hiệu quả hơn nhiều - Ảnh 6.

According to a study in 2019, 40% of US workers prefer to work four days a week, and a development firm that analyzes the results shows that every day, workers only complete the workload. lasts 4 hours only.

This year, the number of ZipRecruiter recruiting newsletters requiring 4-day work a week increased by 67%, and in the past few years there was a similar increase, as companies sought to compete to attract talented people come to work.

Microsoft không phải là đầu tiên, suốt 80 năm qua người ta đã chứng minh làm việc 4 ngày/tuần hiệu quả hơn nhiều - Ảnh 7.

The US is still out of trend compared to other countries. The average American worker works 1,789 hours / year, compared to 1,300 hours / year in Germany.

Microsoft không phải là đầu tiên, suốt 80 năm qua người ta đã chứng minh làm việc 4 ngày/tuần hiệu quả hơn nhiều - Ảnh 8.

Although some companies test the idea of ​​a shorter working week, people often work longer hours and also work overtime. The Wall Street Journal said that the ” 9-to-5 concept is now becoming obsolete”.

With the positive results from Microsoft in the past test, many companies will probably follow this software giant in the near future.

Microsoft không phải là đầu tiên, suốt 80 năm qua người ta đã chứng minh làm việc 4 ngày/tuần hiệu quả hơn nhiều - Ảnh 9.

Reference: BusinessInsider

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Source : Trí Thức Trẻ