Did you know that a reduction in working hours or days is a significant indicator of recession? They act as a solid response to a consequently sagging
Did you know that a reduction in working hours or days is a significant indicator of recession? They act as a solid response to a consequently sagging demand for products or services. It is only then that prospective businesses determine the key areas wherein they will lay off their workers.
Especially after the global Covid-19 pandemic, several businesses and organizations worldwide have faced the detrimental impact of an economy in decline. From escape room businesses like the Hourglass Escapes to the tourism industry, many industries faced a severe blow during the recession. Since then, companies have started adopting many strategies and tactics to overcome their decline.
The introduction of a 4 hours workday is an effective strategy that has helped several businesses cope during these tiring times. In this article, let us find out how exactly the notion of 4 hours of the workday can be fruitful in helping businesses cope with the economic decline during the recession.
The Origins of the Concept
Since the industrial revolution, the idea of making your workers work for forty hours during the entire week has come down in society. At present, you may often find 8 hours workday to be never-ending. But think about how there was a time when workers worked consistently for 16 hours!
Reducing the working hours per day edged from the idea that it has no negative impact on workers’ productivity. Instead, the Ford Company doubled its overall profits within a year of the plan’s implementation! You can guess that it probably stemmed from workers leaving the workplace happy as they had to work less and could thus maintain a healthy work-life balance.
The happiness the workers felt at being made to work less is reflected in their work, though they could feel the pressure of requiring to do more work in less time. The concept of working 8 hours may have suited companies a decade ago.
But now, with the reduction of manual labor and the increase of mechanized working capacities, 8 hours workday may seem illogical. Even though such a realization ought to have saved much of our time, you can still find people working 90 hours per week.
The notion of 4 hours workday stands upon hard science and the realization of the limits of our cognitive abilities. Making your workers work for a shorter period will give your employees more time and energy to provide the best output to their work.
The advantages of 4 hours workday
Eminent personalities like G. H. Hardy and Leonard Woolf believed in working for fewer hours to produce the best output possible. They relied on their faculties to work efficiently and with a high level of professionalism to pour out the best in themselves. While there are several ways in which 4 hours workday can benefit individuals and organizations, here are a few vital ones:
Helping to combat cognitive overload
Workers may often find it hard to get their minds ready to indulge in creative work. Did you know that the empty slouches of time you may have during the day are the key to fueling your creative potential?
During times like these, workers can let their minds roam about aimlessly and let their subconscious be free. You will never know when the knots you were trying so hard to open will start opening of their own accord!
Even if you are thinking of micro-dosing, it is almost impossible to incorporate more than four to five hours of acute work during a single day. Consistently forcing your brain to work more than it can, is unhealthy for your brain too. Small breaks during the workday are instead a sustainable way of working.
Understanding the vitality of slowing down
Businesses and individuals have grown so bent on increasing productivity in the workplace that they have already forgotten the vitality of slowing down. Replying to almost everything with an “I don’t have the time” has become the mantra of the present times.
Instead, workplaces and working environments need to be more driven towards creating a more efficient flow of energy and managing your energy sustainably. Understanding how you spend your working spirit is vital to increase your productivity during the day.
Slowing things down and working healthier will help workers achieve their goals more seamlessly than ever!
Improves focus on work
Making your workers work 4 hours per day during the week gives them greater autonomy to accomplish their work in their ways. Workers will now focus more on completing their work efficiently during reduced working hours. It will improve their focus on work.
Their productivity will also increase since they work when their energy is filled to the brim. Consequently, their work output will be meaningful, thoughtful, and promising.
The human mind cannot consistently focus on its work for more than 90 to 120 minutes. Understanding the same will help you promote your workers’ productivity effectively.
Now you know how efficiently the change to a 4 hours workday will consequently improve productivity in the workplace. Businesses and organizations can effectively incorporate it to boost their business output, as they may still be reeling from the economic decline prompted by the Covid outbreak.
Author Bio:
Charlotte Lin is a content creator at escaperoom.com. She’s a passionate young woman, a mother to a fantastic nine-year-old, and an avid reader. Over the years, writing has helped her explore and understand the world and herself. She loves to travel, meet new people, and spend quality time with her daughter. You can find her on LinkedIn.
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