A normal working routine, 5-days per week, is what we all experience is our professional career.
Although, getting used to it is what we all experience along with little patches of tiring workload. But, it can affect our output, as shown in an experiment by Microsoft Japan.
Recently, back in August, Microsoft Japan took on interesting experiments, where they introduced a 4-day work week for their entire workforce.
This experiment was called the “Work-Life Choice Challenge Summer 2019”. Microsoft Japan has a huge workforce comprising of almost 2300 employees. All the employees were trialed for 5 weeks to see how a 4-days workweek works.
The results of this experiment were surprising. All employees of Microsoft Japan were given 5 Fridays off with no deduction in salary or in annual leaves. Takuya Hirano, CEO, and president of Microsoft Japan told that this experiment proved to a huge success as they were able to achieve higher productivity and increased employee satisfaction.
According to Takuya Hirano, “Work a short time, rest well and learn a lot. It’s necessary to have an environment that allows you to feel your purpose in life and make a greater impact at work. I want employees to think about and experience how they can achieve the same results with 20 percent less working time.”
The results obtained in the form of statistical data from this experiment were amazing as it revealed the benefits of shorter working days.
Shorter 4-day workweek resulted in a 39.9 percent increase in productivity, and employees were found to be more efficient. Not only this but also electricity expenses were cut down by 23.1 percent. Moreover, employees took 25.4 percent less time off and 58.
7 percent fewer pages were printed.
This experiment showed that fewer working days are better for both employers and employees. At the employer end, many resources are saved along with increased creativity and productivity by employees. It may come as no surprise that the productivity of employees increased almost by 40 percent.
Many past studies have also shown that 5 working days per week are not as efficient as shorter workweeks.
According to International Labour Organization, reducing full-time working hours can lead to numerous positive outcomes for workers, enterprises and for society, leading to reduced health-related costs, a balanced and satisfying life, and more and better jobs.
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