A groundbreaking international study published in Nature reveals that transitioning to a four-day workweek without cutting pay significantly improves employee well-being, and might even boost productivity.
Global Study Shows Clear Mental Health Benefits of Four-Day Workweeks
Researchers from Boston College tracked nearly 2,900 employees from the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand over six months. These workers, spread across 141 companies, voluntarily cut their workweek down to four days, while a control group of 300 stuck with the traditional five-day schedule.
Before the trial, companies were given two months to streamline operations, cutting out non-essential meetings and reshaping workflows to maintain output in less time. The result shows that after just six months, 67% of participants reported feeling less burned out, 41% said their mental health improved, and 38% enjoyed better sleep.
Productivity Holds Steady as Companies Streamline Workflows
What’s more, over half of the workers felt more productive despite spending fewer hours at work. Those who reduced their workweek by eight or more hours saw the biggest boosts, but even smaller cutbacks yielded noticeable benefits.
Although the study focused on self-reported well-being rather than measured productivity, these positive perceptions mirror findings from other trials, indicating companies can maintain or even improve performance while offering shorter workweeks.
Worldwide Shift Toward Shorter Workweeks Gains Momentum
This study adds fresh momentum to the growing global wave of four-day workweek experiments. From the U.K., where a 2022 trial with 3,300 workers showed stable or rising productivity, to Belgium and Iceland, where governments are rolling out laws and pilot programs supporting shorter workweeks without pay cuts, the movement is gaining serious traction.
Other countries like Lithuania and Dubai are also exploring flexible schedules for specific sectors, aiming to improve work-life balance without sacrificing performance.
