In Valencia, Spain, an experiment to introduce a four-day work week has come to an end. And the results are already known – employees reported a significant reduction in stress levels and improved health, but employers did not notice a decrease in work efficiency, reports Obozrevatel.
The Valencia City Council conducted the experiment between April and May 2023. This period was chosen because there were already three additional holidays (due to public holidays) on these dates. Therefore, only one new holiday was introduced during the experiment to create a full four-day month.
After the study, those who participated reported a 35% reduction in stress levels and a 64% improvement in sleep quality. In addition, 72% of participants said they spent more time with friends, 37% said they increased their physical activity, and 46% read more.
In addition, some environmental improvements were also observed in Valencia during the test month. In particular, traffic in the city decreased by 9.5%, and the concentration of nitrogen oxide in the air decreased by 58%.
However, according to local authorities, there were also disadvantages. In particular, the consumption of alcohol and tobacco products increased in Valencia during the experiment. However, analysts consider this to be an insignificant shortcoming, as the revenues of restaurants and leisure companies have increased.
By the way, testing of similar projects in other countries has also yielded positive results. The largest study, conducted in the UK, involved 33 companies. And none of them wanted to go back to the five-day work week. Companies found that productivity remained stable while employee satisfaction increased.
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2023-11-18 12:27:28
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