Would an Irish four-day working week really be better than five?

There's been talk of it, reports on it, and some companies implementing it - but does it work?

Does it work?

One University College Dublin study found 3,500 employees involved in the trial report a "significant increase in physical and mental health, life and relationship satisfaction, and work-family balance".

While stress, burnout, fatigue and work-family conflict significantly declined. Levels of sleep deprivation also fell dramatically.

In Ireland, women participants reported feeling more satisfied and secure in their jobs and experienced larger gains in sleep time and wellbeing, relative to male participants.

Economic impact

The research showed that worktime reduction not only benefits employees, but the companies as well.

90% of those involved in the international trial stated that they planned to continue after the initial 6-month trial. In Ireland, all 12 participating companies planned to continue with the four-day week schedule after the trial.

"In terms of productivity, we're beating every target from the previous year, hands down. So if anything, reducing our working week has improved priority productivity to a level that it would be a very foolish decision to go back to 5 days," said Ann, a manager.

During the trial, the research team observed a decrease in commuting among employees and an increase across three forms of pro-environmental behaviour. In addition, many organisations decrease energy use by closing on a Friday.

Where has it worked?

The Tokyo Metropolitan government, one of the country’s largest employers, last year started to allow its employees to work four days a week.

The goal is to help employees who are parents balance childcare and work, said Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.

The decision came after in 2019, Microsoft Japan implemented a pilot project – the Work-Life Choice Challenge – providing its 2,300 employees with the opportunity to work a four-day week.

The changes included giving employees paid leave on Fridays, encouraging shorter meetings (30 minutes or less), and promoting remote communication instead of face-to-face meetings.

The pilot project lasted a month. Despite a reduction in workdays, the company reported a 40% boost in productivity. They were also able to conserve resources, like electricity consumption, which dropped by 23%. Based on the results of the pilot, Microsoft Japan has continued to offer a four-day week.