Job Burnout Can't Be Solved by a Four-day Workweek
Part Three
by Joseph R Zingone
Several companies are considering the possibility of four-day work weeks. This new workplace trend is gaining traction in the U.K. and the U.S. While it may seem like an innovative way to recruit and retain knowledge workers, the extra workday is not the root of the problem. Here's why this Band-Aid doesn't fix the problem.
Unsurprisingly, employees are working too many hours and burning out. Businesses had to accommodate their employees' flexible, hybrid schedules during the pandemic. As it turned out, workers liked the flexibility.
Even though flexibility and reduced stress are essential goals for knowledge workers' managers, a four-day workweek may not be the best option.
Burnout won't be solved by a 4-day work week for three reasons:
It doesn't address the core issue of how we work, just how many days we do it.
Eliminating Fridays does not solve the problem of constant interruptions and days full of meetings, emails, messages, pings, and texts. Burnout is the result of our work habits (and distractions that come with them). Although reducing work hours might delay burnout onset, we will remain on the same stressful path if we ignore the fundamental issues with our work culture and daily habits.
Although using the clock to manage a workforce is a convenient option, it ultimately leads to employees being judged solely on the time they spend at work.
Instead, performance should be evaluated based on output rather than time. However, implementing this approach is challenging, and as a result, many companies stick to the traditional method of exchanging time for money.
Unfortunately, this means that companies are often hesitant to give workers the freedom and flexibility needed to complete tasks efficiently - which could actually increase overall job satisfaction.
It's ironic that even with the implementation of a four-day work week, employees are still expected to spend the same amount of time at the office as they would in a regular work week - only to be rewarded with one extra day off. While this may provide individuals with more personal freedom outside of work, they may still feel tied to their desks during working hours. It's clear that relying on time as a measure of work performance is not practical.
Similarly, just as in that disastrous group project from high school where the diligent students carried most of the workload and the lazy ones took advantage by getting an undeserved grade, a four-day workweek may result in similar patterns. The diligent employees will persist in their efficiency while facing the risk of being overburdened with more tasks until they reach burnout. Meanwhile, less productive individuals may briefly celebrate their newfound balance between work and personal life, only to demand even shorter hours for the same pay when a new workplace trend emerges.
Instead of a 4-day work week, try:
Allow employees to do their work when and how they need to by providing flexibility and autonomy to them.
Establish asynchronous workflows to ensure flexibility.
Set expectations for specific hours when everyone must be available and grant autonomy for the rest of their time.
Measuring performance accurately without clarity of deliverables is difficult, so measure performance by deliverables and output, not hours. Focus wise has provided a free tool to clarify deliverables in each role to help measure performance more accurately. Clarify what you expect from each role, define what each person is responsible for, and then measure performance accordingly.
Having long weekends to solve today's workforce's core challenges is not enough. Changing to a four-day workweek is a weak (Band-Aid) solution to a deep problem. Instead, define roles and expectations and meet with team members individually to discuss how, when, and where they work best. It will lead to much better results if employees are given the freedom and flexibility they need.
Please comment: What is you company doing about a 4-day workweek?
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