Economist John Maynard Keynes predicted in 1930 that within 100 years, technological advances would allow people to work as little as 15 hours a week. We haven’t come to that year yet, but it seems unlikely that his prediction will come true. Few of the 40 hours and five days have been spared in the last half century. However, the once nearly impossible utopia now comes to life with the four-day workday.

We told Xataka in several articles that up to 180 companies are experimenting around the world with very positive results. And we come to a common conclusion from all projects: when employees can reduce their work week from five days to four, they tend to devote their new free time to one activity in particular: sleep.

Study. Workers who were able to increase their workweek to 32 hours in pilot programs recorded an average of 7:58 hours of sleep per night, almost an hour more than if they worked 40 hours a week. This is what emerges from a study by a sociologist and economist at Boston College Juliet Schor, who monitors more than 180 organizations around the world.

That is, employees spent nearly seven of their eight hours recovering per week sleeping rather than doing activities, chores, or socializing with friends. The rate of those who were sleep deprived (less than 7 hours of sleep per night) decreased from 42.6% to 14.5%.

Why? Why? This is the question swirling around our heads. Why do employees who are off on Friday sleep an extra hour every night of the week instead of enjoying their free time, family or friends? Various studies have shown that sleep and work compete with each other. And when you trade sleep for work, you have a big problem: you’re sacrificing your health and getting poor work results.

And of course, when we have the opportunity to sleep, we always prioritize it. Even when we are not aware that the consequences of sleep deprivation include illness, unethical behavior, reduced work engagement, poorer socialization and irritability and aggressive leadership tendencies.

Sleeping time is time earned. Evidence shows that workers who try four-day work weeks see an improvement in multiple measures of well-being and productivity, such as life satisfaction and work-family balance. And the report suggests that these results may be related to the additional time they spend sleeping.

Clete Kushida, professor of sleep medicine at Stanford University, explained in this Bloomberg article that increasing sleep helps employees have better mood, better short-term memory and concentration, better executive function skills, and less risky behavior. In fact, a 2011 study found that Stanford University basketball team members could run faster and shoot more accurately when they added 90 minutes of sleep to their routine.

disposition. The concept of shorter work weeks is gaining traction as the pandemic upsets schedules and resilience. an extraordinary case we announced it on Magnet a few months agoThe UK conducted the largest experiment to date in a four-day working week, involving 70 companies from various sectors. the project called 4-Day Week GlobalIt has already given its first fruits.

A recent survey concluded that: 78% of leaders of these 70 companies say their transition was “good” Or they had no problems at all. Even more encouraging, almost all participating companies (86%) stated: they will keep the programs after the test is over in November. Still, nearly half said productivity has increased, 49% said productivity has remained stable, 46%. In other words, 95% performed as well or better than working for five days.

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