Many workers are exhausted by the pandemic. This is why they would return to the job market

Michelle Fox -

After more than a year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic, many American workers are exhausted.

The remedy may be a four-day workweek, according to a survey by Eagle Hill Consulting.

Of the US employees surveyed, 53% say they are exhausted, with women and younger workers having the highest levels, with 56% and 62% respectively.

83% said a shorter work week would help.

1,010 people from a random sample of employees from across the United States participated in the survey.

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"Employee burnout has been latent for years, and the dual issues of the pandemic and the labor shortage have compounded the issue," said Melissa Jezior, president and CEO of Eagle Hill Consulting.

Although not new, the idea of ​​a four-day work week has been slowly gaining traction since the coronavirus pandemic struck.

In July, Rep. Mark Takano, D-California, introduced a bill that reduces the standard workweek to 32 hours, instead of 40.

Entrepreneurs, for their part, are looking for ways to be more efficient and, at the same time, meet the needs of employees.

In September, tech company Bolt launched a four-day workweek, and earlier this year New York-based crowdfunding platform Kickstarter announced that it would test it in early 2022.

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The latter participates in a global effort, called 4 Day Week Global, which has companies testing the reduced workweek.

So far, 15 companies from the United States and Canada have joined the six-month pilot program, which begins next year.

The idea is to reduce working hours, not wages or productivity.

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"We are changing the work model, stopping measuring the time you spend at your desk or in the office, and moving to measure what people really produce and the results we try to achieve throughout the week," explained Joe O 'Connor, director of the global pilot program for 4 Day Week Global.

Amid the "Great Resignation," in which a record 4.4 million people quit their jobs in September, a four-day workweek can give employers a hiring edge, the employers suggest. defenders.

Employees at the Workday Inc. office in San Francisco, California, United States, Thursday, January 10, 2019.Michael Short / Bloomberg via Getty Images

According to a 2019 report from the UK's Henley Business School, 63% of companies said it is easier to attract and retain talent with a four-day week.

It also found that 78% of employees with four-day schedules are happier and less stressed.

"Companies that have done well don't say, 'These are the changes you need to make," says O'Connor.

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"They have empowered their people to come up with ideas and solutions to change the way we work and ensure that we produce the same results for four days instead of five," he said.

That's what Banks Benitez, co-founder and CEO of Denver-based Uncharted, did when he decided to give the four-day week a try.

Meetings were canceled or downsized and priorities reimagined.

"It has been a great function to force us to think differently, like taking a smaller suitcase on vacation," he said.

"We have to make concessions," he added.

Evaluating a four-day workweek should be part of a larger strategic conversation about the intersection of an organization's mission and its people, according to Eagle Hill Consulting's Jezior.

It may work well for some, but not for others, such as those in the hospitality, medical and public safety sectors, he noted.

"The five-day workweek has been a part of American culture for more than a century, and change is not easy," recalled Jezio.

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