Is the traditional working week really working for us? More and more evidence is stacking up to say no. 

The arguments in favour of the four-day week or reduced-hour week (working 9am–2pm, for example) tend to focus on the benefits of this way of working. Research has found that a four-day week benefits your physical health, can increase productivity and reduces sick days taken. Four-day week trials showed lower levels of stress and burnout, and workers reported better work-life balance. 

But new research looks at the opposite: the negative impact of not reducing our hours and just continuing to plod on with the standard 9-5, five days a week working model. 

The study tracked the computers of 789 in-office workers at an energy company for two years, looking at measures such as typing speed, number of typos made, and mouse activity. They found that across the board, people typed more and made more mouse movements Monday to Thursday, particularly in the mornings. In the afternoons of each day, these stats dropped, while typos rose. And Fridays – all day, but even more so on Friday afternoon – were the worst affected of all. 

One of the lead researchers, Dr Taehyun Roh, said: “Employees were less active in the afternoons and made more typos in the afternoons – especially on Fridays. This aligns with similar findings that the number of tasks workers complete increases steadily from Monday through Wednesday, then decreases on Thursday and Friday.”

If we’re consistently doing less work or work of a lower quality every Friday, what harm would there be in just… ditching that day and starting the weekend early? Trials of the four-day week found no drop in productivity as a result of this style of working, and this new research provides further backing to the idea that we might end up getting more done by condensing our hours. 

“Other studies have found that those who work from home or work fewer days have less stress from commuting, workplace politics and other factors, and thus have more job satisfaction,” said another of the researchers. “These arrangements give workers more time with their families and thus reduce work-family conflicts, and also give them more time for exercise and leisure activities, which have been shown to improve both physical and mental health.”

Lower stress, more productivity, more happiness and better work-life balance? It’s all adding up to reducing our time at work being a very good plan indeed. Do feel free to send this to your boss. 

Images: Getty