A 34% increase in four-day workweeks boosts productivity, revenue, and employee well-being in Canada
More Canadian workplaces are shifting to a four-day workweek, a concept that was unheard of in North America just a few years ago, as reported by The Financial Post.
According to recently released data by BrightHR, a human resources software provider, there has been a 34 percent increase in the number of Canadian businesses implementing four-day schedules in the past year alone.
“A shift to four-day working weeks is significant and should not be underestimated, particularly when taking into account the expectation that employees and employers alike must increase daily productivity by 25 percent to make up for the lack of an additional working day,” said BrightHR’s chief growth officer Thea Watson.
The concept of a four-day workweek has been gaining prominence over the last few years. In a North American pilot run by the group 4 Day Week Global that started in 2022, 41 organizations tested the shortened week, and all those companies have made the four-day workweek permanent.
Employee retention, recruitment, engagement, and mental health have vastly improved, as previously found by similar studies on the topic.
Now, trials are underway in other countries, such as Germany and Portugal, where 45 companies and 39 companies, respectively, are participating. Watson noted that historically, it was accepted that people work six days per week, and it was only within the last century that a five-day workweek was adopted, thanks to American industrialist Henry Ford.
"This trend is in line with a growing movement towards flexible working arrangements, as companies strive to attract and retain top talent by offering a better work-life balance," she said.
Burnout rates plummet at companies that move to a working schedule of 32 hours or less each week, according to a report released in February. Productivity and performance metrics improve as well.
Companies that adapted to a four-day workweek made more money, with revenue up an average of 15 percent during the trials, 4 Day Week Global said.
BrightHR collected the data for the study from its scheduling software, utilized by 7,000 Canadian businesses and over 50,000 of their employees.
