Four day work week is here but few, very few companies are experimenting with it

Jul 7, 2022

By: Shradha Aneja

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​Work-life balance

The pandemic-affected lockdowns have brought the focus back to work-life balance, and employees have been seeking four-day work weeks.

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​Spain, Scotland and more

While UAE is the first country to opt-in for the 4.5-day work week, Japan is still thinking about it. Spain, Scotland, Iceland, and others are also stepping in to experiment with the 4-day work week set-up.

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​What surveys say

As many as 62percent of full-time employees in India are in favor of a flexible work routine, according to a survey conducted by Qualtrics, a software company.

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​Improving productivity

The four-day work week will create a better work-life balance and improve employees' productivity. Though, according to the survey, remote work can have both negative and positive effects on mental health.

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​Longer working hours, a concern

A large section of the people surveyed, 77 percent, are worried about extended working hours in a 4-day week set-up.

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​A few challenges

Due to positive outcomes, countries have started experimenting with the four-day work week. Though, it can be challenging for client and consumer-facing businesses.

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​Panasonic’s diverse situations

Panasonic has introduced the four-day work week as an option for its employees. The president and group CEO stated that this initiative can help the company to "flexibly accommodate diverse situations of our employees”.

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The future of work

Indian IT company TAC Security is experimenting with a four-day work week programme and calls it the 'Future of Work'.

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​80percent of IT employees are in favor

More than half of the employees of the IT companies prefer working for long durations as per the four-day work week set-up and hope to enjoy a long weekend, as per TAC’s internal survey.

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​New working models might emerge

This new work set-up can be challenging for some sectors, organizations and employees might be given multiple options to opt in and work in shifts or divided schedules.

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