The research team works four days a week, improving worker productivity and improving health

Jul 22, 2025

The research team works four days a week, improving worker productivity and improving health
Image=Pixabay



While the government is promoting the introduction of '4.5-day week', shortening working hours, such as the introduction of a four-day week system, has recently been spreading in the IT industry.

Labor is in favor of improving long-term labor and working-life balance, while management is concerned about economic deterioration and competitiveness.

In this regard, a study found that the four-day work week without a reduction in wages has the effect of improving workers' productivity and health.




This is the result of a study published in the scientific journal Nature Human Behaviour by a team led by Professor Juliet Shore of Boston University in the U.S.

The research team measured burnout, job satisfaction, and mental and physical health indicators while implementing a six-month four-day week system for 2,896 employees from 141 organizations in six countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland, for six months. It also compared this with 285 employees from 12 companies implementing the existing work system.

The study found that the average weekly working hours of employees decreased by 4.64 hours from 39.12 hours before the implementation of the four-day week system to 34.48 hours. 30.8% of the cases decreased for more than 8 hours, 24.6% of the cases decreased for 5 to 7 hours, 20.3% of the cases decreased for 1 to 4 hours, and 24.3% of the cases did not change. The group with more than eight hours of work per week had the greatest effect of reducing burnout, improving job satisfaction, and improving mental health.




The research team explained that the positive effects of the four-day workweek, such as improving job satisfaction, reducing burnout, and improving mental health, are due to sleep problems, reduced fatigue levels, and improved personal work skills. Improvement of job satisfaction was contributed to improvement of job satisfaction (19.6%), reduced fatigue (8.4%), and reduced sleep problems (7.8%), reduced fatigue (48.1%) and improved work performance (16.6%), and reduced fatigue (24.3%), reduced sleep problems (10.9%), and improved work performance (10.5%).

The research team stressed that these results suggest that reducing working hours without wage reductions can have a wide positive impact on many workers, which could be a realistic way to improve worker welfare and productivity at the same time.

Earlier, it was reported that companies increased sales and employees decreased burnout symptoms as a result of a four-day weekly pilot operation conducted by the UK's 'Four-Day Work Foundation' at 17 companies and organizations over the past six months. In Korea, there have been reports of cases in which nurses' satisfaction has improved significantly due to shorter working hours at large hospitals, and the willingness to turnover and resign has also decreased, thereby strengthening organizational stability.






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.