Working 4 days a week, Microsoft Japan increased productivity by 40%, Iceland jumped in and succeeded brilliantly: Doing less, being more effective is a new trend.

Since the proposal to work 4 days a week appeared, many overseas corporations have started testing and implementing it.

Among them, Microsoft Japan is the enterprise that recorded the most brilliant achievements. According to an article on NPR, Microsoft Japan has increased productivity by 40% and reduced electricity bills by 23%.

Thanks to the initial success in Japan, many businesses in other countries have also started experimenting with the new trend.

In Spain, grants of up to 50 million euros ($60 million) were spent to test a 32-hour work week without reducing employees’ wages. The test was conducted with 3,000 – 6,000 employees from 200 companies.

Many businesses experimented with reducing working time to 4 days/week. Photo: ET

Unilever New Zealand also has a few similar experiments around the four-day work week. If positive results are achieved, they are expected to expand the test to other branches globally.

Recently, Iceland and Sweden have also “jumped” in. According to The Guardian, pilot programs here also show very promising results. According to pilot studies, workers report a 25% to 40% increase in productivity when working hours are reduced.

They said life pressure has improved, and morale is also more uplifting. In addition, reducing working time helps them have a more flexible work schedule, a better work-life balance. Sick leave is reduced, time to take care of family and children increases.

After this trial, the Iceland Union negotiated on behalf of workers with various employers. They hope to expand the four-day work week to all workers.

The change on a global scale has made people aware of a new working trend. Can we work less and still increase productivity and efficiency?

As the labor market becomes more competitive, high-quality workers also need to be better facilitated to build corporate engagement.

With the plan to reduce working hours to 4 days/week, the rest of the time they can balance their personal activities. If they work overtime, they will also be paid an extra salary or OT allowance.

On the business side, this proposal can also bring many benefits. According to FlexJobs’ 2019 Annual Survey, 80% of employees say they would be more loyal to their employer if offered a constructive and flexible work schedule.

We know that, when things become routine, a bold change is often difficult to recognize immediately. However, the very habit of working 40 hours a week was also a completely new change a decade ago.

Henry Ford, the head of Ford Motor Company, was one of the first to start the policy of working eight hours a day to attract workers.

It took half a century and a lot of movement in Western industrial society before the standard working week of workers could be reduced from 60 hours in 6 days to 40 hours in 5 days.

Up to now, in the rapidly developing digital environment and complicated epidemics, working from home instead of going to the office has gradually become a new habit. Many employees agree with this adjustment.

According to research by PwC, 83% of employers and 71% of employees prefer to work remotely. 52% of managers see productivity and efficiency spikes.

In an interview with CNBC, Joe Ryle, who is involved with the British 4 Days/Week Campaign, was surprised by this change. “Change can happen and happens very quickly when we want it to,” he commented.

Reducing working time or changing surroundings is a way to bring comfort to employees. They can spend time with their family without the pressure of sacrificing everything for the company.

According to Mark Takano, former US Congressman of California, the standard working week should continue to be reduced to 32 hours, equivalent to working 4 days a week. The reason he made this proposal was because he realized that people were working longer hours while wages stagnated.

Mr. Takano also said that reducing working time can help businesses reduce insurance premiums, health care and operating costs for employees. Implementing the 4-day/week recommendation can substantially reduce burnout and fatigue.