Thousands of Workers Tried a 4-Day Week—the Impact on Their Health Was Clear
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A four-day workweek with no reduction in pay improves both workers' health and overall job performance and satisfaction, according to a new study.
Working norms were reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago, making remote work a necessity for some amid lockdowns. But it also exposed widespread burnout and disengagement among workers across most markets.
In response, some companies began offering reduced hours with full pay. Initiatives like '4 Day Week Global' are aimed at reshaping post pandemic work to meet employees' needs without compromising their companies' interests.
The study—led by Boston College researchers Wen Fan and Juliet Schor—tracked 2,896 employees across 141 organizations worldwide over a six months period, to understand the effects of the new scheme on their physical and mental health.
The team found that workers whose days were cut by eight hours or more reported the most substantial improvements—which came in the form of reduced mental strain and improved physical health. Smaller reductions also had positive effects.
A stock image shows some work colleagues having a laugh over a cup of coffee at their desk.
A stock image shows some work colleagues having a laugh over a cup of coffee at their desk.
getty images
The trial included subjects in the United States, as well as Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The researchers analyzed changes in burnout, fatigue, sleep quality and work performance resulting from the change to the working week.
Employees switching to a four-day week were compared with those at 12 companies that kept the traditional five-day model. Workers in the four-day trail reported higher levels of physical and mental well-being than those who worked five days a week.
A similar study was previously conducted in 2022 in the United Kingdom, where over 3,300 employees at 73 companies participated in a six-month trial aimed at testing the effectiveness and productivity of a four-day workweek.
It was found that the four-day workweek did not generate a loss of productivity—in fact, it actually improved productivity in some cases. While 46 percent of leaders reported stable levels of productivity, 34 percent said it "increased slightly."
The authors of the new study acknowledged some key limitations in their methodology, including the fact that the companies involved opted in voluntarily and that most were smaller firms based in English-speaking countries only.
The researchers recommend randomized, government-backed trials be conducted in future to assess shortened workweeks on a larger scale.
Do you have a health story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about the four-day workweek trial? Let us know via health@newsweek.com.
Reference
Fan, W., Schor, J. B., Kelly, O., & Gu, G. (2025). Work time reduction via a 4-day workweek finds improvements in workers' well-being. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02259-6
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