The Major Benefits of a Four-Day Work Week

Being employed can make you feel many different things — fulfillment, happiness, self-validation, and excitement for life. However, working for a whole week can sometimes tire and frustrate a person. An employee usually waits for their shift to end without feeling fulfilled and feels that they just wasted time. It’s normal to feel like that and think that your work could be finished in just four days. Why is there a need to work until the end of the week or go to work during weekends?

Balancing life and work with a setup like that won’t be easy. For this reason, many people have justified the positive changes of a four-day work week. This matter was asked by LanaDelCoochie on AskReddit. Since a lot of employees complain about it, the post garnered 8.8k upvotes and 3.4k comments. Threads of discussion were built from having the same job experience, and commenters listed reasons why a four-day week of work would be effective and even necessary. Here are some of those reasons, which you might find relatable.

Staring at the Clock

The comment was from uglyuglydog. He wrote, “I don’t mind working if I’m busy, but sitting somewhere staring at a clock waiting for the time when I’m ‘allowed’ to leave drives me crazy. If there’s nothing for me to do, let me go home. You’re just wasting my time and your money.” It is indeed a reasonable response. If the given task is finished, it’s only right to let the employee go home. And if they could complete all their work before the week ends, they are entitled to a long weekend.

Reddit users replied to uglyuglydog’s comment and shared their own experiences. WomanofEld’s response was on point: “But it was so maddeningly frustrating to be stuck inside at work with literally nothing to do, waiting for anything to come to my inbox!!” And according to TexasPeony, that’s why people drag out their tasks to log in 8 hours of work.

Preventing Employee Burnout

It’s hard to go to the office when you don’t feel like working because you feel more tired than ever. Being physically tired can be tolerable, but if it comes with mental and emotional exhaustion, it leads to unproductivity. Overworking is the root cause of burnout, and sadly, people working a 9-5 shift (or more) at the office can’t take proper rest.

“Yes, worker burnout is real. So much work in offices is just created to fill time. Make things more efficient; pay people the same, get the same amount done with happier workers,” Lemons_of_doubt explained.

Having a four-day work week can increase the chance of preventing burnout. Two days in a weekend isn’t enough to focus on oneself and handle priorities outside of work.

Work & Life Balance

A comment from oh_cawd_armstrong has earned 1.1k upvotes on how a person’s work and life balance is vital. “Yes. Maintaining a work/life balance is important and often difficult for many people. You’re no good to your friends and family if you are burnt out, tired, and stressed out. Having that third day really allows decompression.” It will help parents spend more time with their families instead of missing out on things about their kids. People can still enjoy life and have fun without worrying that Monday is fast-approaching.

A person needs that extra day off to process things, do household chores, run errands, relax, and more. Oh_cawd_armstrong also explained, “My company does what’s called “9/80 weeks” where employees work 9 hours every day and get every other Friday off. So I have 3-day weekends every other weekend.”

These are three of the most upvoted comments on the discussion. Based on those comments, a four-day work week is possible when specific regulations are changed in a company. It is an excellent idea when payment is based on productivity and quality of work. Employers don’t have to focus on hours, and they can deliver work well before Friday.

Some companies have already implemented a four-day work week, and others are still testing it out, primarily after experiencing a work-from-home setup. Employers must also realize that employees can give better work quality if they are well-rested — mentally, physically, and emotionally. There are a lot of factors that support a four-day work week, especially in corporate offices. Read the whole Reddit thread and join the discussion to share your thoughts as an employee pushing for this work setup as well.