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Perhaps not a surprise. But working less, for the same pay, makes workers feel better and more relaxed.
we study how an organization-wide 4-day workweek intervention—with no reduction in pay—affects workers' well-being.
These are the findings from new peer-reviewed research published in Nature Human Behaviour, where researchers monitored the effects of a four-day work week for six months.
About 2,896 employees across 141 organisations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom took part.
They answered surveys before and after the trial. Their answers were then compared with 285 employees from 12 companies who worked a normal five-day week.
shows improvements in burnout, job satisfaction, mental health and physical health—a pattern not observed in 12 control companies.
Three key factors mediate the relationship: improved self-reported work ability, reduced sleep problems and decreased fatigue. The results indicate that income-preserving 4-day workweeks are an effective organizational intervention for enhancing workers' well-being.
[...] "We know when people are really stressed and burnt out and not sleeping well, productivity doesn't just continue upwards," Dr Sander said.
Who wouldn't want to work one day less per week for the same pay ...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-22/four-day-work-week-health-burnout/105555392
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02259-6
(Score: 4, Insightful) by khallow on Saturday July 26, @04:25PM
This hypocrisy is an exercise of normal human behavior and psychology. What we excuse in ourselves and in-groups we identify with, we don't when it occurs in out-groups. When you combine that with the variety of media and propaganda that gives us plenty of excuses to indulge in that behavior, then the above is common behavior. It's a typical us-vs-them psychology that might have had evolutionary advantage way back when at the small tribe level of human society.
TVs and movies are a symptom of a related problem - the human cognitive tendency to tie everything into neat, simple stories. Complex situations are hard and require lots of energy/effort to understand. What we can simplify into our stories allows us to understand more.
My view is that these psychological short cuts have their place. We need to be reminded that there are ulterior motives and a good story can simplify a complex situation in a high fidelity, understandable approach. But as you note, these short cuts are also exploitable for nefarious or just plain self-destructive ways.