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: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Saturday July 26, @11:20PM
>You mean like turning on a switch and light magically appears? In "developed" parts of the world nearly everyone commands energy slaves (Bucky Fuller's term), while barely noticing them.
Yes, such is technological progress - I type this and it instantly becomes available to read on dozens of screens around the planet. Great kings would have to send runners just to deliver a message 100 km away, and conversation with overseas kingdoms required months round trip for an answer...
What hasn't changed since those days is that a select few command people to do their bidding, not just machines.
The availability of "energy slaves" such as pickup trucks to haul your stuff, is a great distribution of power and wealth to the common people who have access. What keeps those people "common" is that while half of them might be able to afford the fanciest pickup truck on the market, less than 5% of them can afford house staff to do domestic chores - although it has become quite fashionable for "commoners" to afford lawn care to flex to their neighbors how they can have illegal immigrants sweat in their yard for them.
A very true comment heard from a British expat in Africa: "one servant is worth a whole kitchen full of mod-con appliances."
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