- Several countries are trying out shorter workweeks in hopes of improving employee well-being while maintaining productivity.
- Belgium now allows employees to work 10 hours per day to get a 3-day weekend.
- Experts say a shorter workweek may help employees avoid burnout.
比利时立法者引入a measurethat would allow employees to work longer days to get a 3-day weekend.
Proponents say this change will provide workers with greater flexibility, allowing them to find more work-life balance and better manage their child care or elder care arrangements.
However, unlike other countries that have trialed shorter workweeks, employees in Belgium will still be required to work 38 hours a week.
因此，为期4天的工作周将意味着每天最多工作10个小时。即使在工作隧道结束时有一个为期3天的周末，并不是每个人都会发现这一吸引力。
“Working those 2 extra hours during the day is really tough,” said乔纳森·马里西克（Jonathan Malesic），，，，PhD, author of “倦怠的终结：为什么工作会消耗我们以及如何建立更好的生活。” “Your productivity after the 8th hour on the job probably diminishes, but the stress doesn’t.”
此外，他补充说：“每周工作4天没有魔力，而不是5天。”“我认为这是发挥更大作用的小时数。”
Other countries have taken a different approach toward improving employee well-being.
Between 2015 and 2019, Icelandtrialeda shorter workweek, without specifying how many days people would be working.
该试点研究涉及2500多名工人，其中许多工人从40小时的一周搬到了35小时或36小时的一周，同时收到相同的薪水。
Researchersfound that the well-being of workers increased, with employees reporting less stress and burnout and improved health and work-life balance.
此外，在试验中涉及的大多数工作场所中，生产率保持不变或增加。
As of last June, 86 percent of Iceland’s workforce had moved to working shorter hours for the same pay, or had gained the right to do so in the future.
自冰岛的研究以来，对较短的工作周的兴趣已经越来越多，大流行促使更多的人重新评估其职业和个人生活中最重要的事情。
Japan，，，，西班牙，，，，andScotland， 也几家公司在美国，也正在尝试较短的工作周。
Last year, Rep. Mark Takano of California引入将该国标准工作周从40小时减少到32小时的立法。除此之外的任何工作都将被视为加班。
内莉·布朗，，，，director of Workplace Health and Safety Programs at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said these kinds of working arrangements offer many benefits for employees.
她说：“较短的工作周是非常可取的，尤其是如果时间与人们真正的需求相匹配时。”
“例如,如果时间更可预测,我t’s easier for people to manage their work and personal balance,” Brown said. “That way, they can make arrangements for child care, elder care, and for doing things that are enjoyable.”
MALESIC说，较短的工作周还可以帮助减少员工的倦怠。
“If we have really high expectations for our job, and if the conditions don’t live up to those expectations, then we’re likely to burn out,” he said.
“Shortening the workweek is one way to improve those conditions — to allow workers to have more of the abstract goods that come from working, without the same level of stress and indignities that come with a job,” he added.
These abstract goods include social, psychological, and spiritual benefits — benefits that can occur while on the job or during the time spent away from work.
此外，“有更多的休息时间使人们能够生活更多，”布朗说。“这并不一定意味着他们将消耗更多，但是这个额外的空闲时间可以为他们的生活增加一种丰富性和深度。”
While some people may spend those extra nonworking hours in nature or trying a new hobby, this may not always be the case. Others may get a second job to make ends meet, or take on more of the child care or elder care in their family.
James R. Bailey，，，，PhD, a professor of leadership development at the George Washington University School of Business, said there are very few high quality studies looking at the impact of shorter workweeks on employee well-being and productivity.
他说：“ [较短的工作周]听起来像是人道的，听起来很进步。”“这似乎是正确的事情，但这并不意味着这是最好的事情。”
Some of the strongestdata来自冰岛。
研究人员发现，在某些工作场所，员工报告说“工作更积极和更快乐”。
Many workers also said that when they started working fewer hours each week, “they felt better, more energised, and less stressed, resulting in them having more energy for other activities, such as exercise, friends and hobbies.”
Some people even showed less interest in working a part-time job and were less likely to turn down employer requests for them to work overtime.
研究人员写道：“这表明对工作时间的满意度更高。”
随着越来越多的国家试验这些计划，研究人员将有更好的机会了解工作周较短的工作的好处和缺点。
最近几家苏格兰业务加入试点计划in the country that will reduce the workweek to 4 days, with no decrease in pay.
研究人员将与苏格兰企业合作，以衡量较短的工作周对员工福祉和生产力的影响。
Although interest in shorter workweeks is growing, Bailey said there are many logistical challenges for employers to sort out, especially if employees or businesses don’t have the same days off.
“If you have two workers who need to coordinate all day long, yet one of them is not in on Thursdays, they can’t have the same degree of interaction and information exchange as before,” said Bailey.
他说，现在想象一家拥有600名甚至50万名员工的公司。为许多人进行协调假期，同时仍允许进行必要的互动，这变得非常复杂。
与其他企业互动的企业可能会出现类似的问题。如果每个星期一每个星期五都会起休假，会发生什么？
贝利说：“这是听起来不错的简单解决方案之一，但会造成问题。”
Another potential problem of shorter workweeks is the challenge of keeping a clear line between work and home life, something many people who worked from home during the pandemic experienced.
“Employees and employers have to set boundaries,” said Brown. “For example, what are the hours of work and what will be the expectations for responding to emails or messages outside of that time?”
“It’s not always easy to do this,” she added.
Interest in shorter workweeks is also driven in part by increased demand for employees in certain industries.
Malesic之前说的大流行,许多企业attracted employees with promises of “doing what you love” or “being part of a ‘really fun’ workplace.”
但是，由于大流行期间发生的一切，这些“福利”可能不再是潜在的员工感兴趣的。
“在美国，在过去的两年中，我们看到了近100万人死于Covid-19，” Malesic说。“工人可能会认识到，他们不想花费大部分有限的生活来出于经常可疑的目的。”
他说：“因此，如果公司想吸引和保留工人，他们必须改善工作条件。”
这可能意味着将工作与生活的平衡更加平衡。