第20回 の解答

The Four-Day Week

In recent years, companies in several countries have experimented with a four-day working week. In one of the largest trials, conducted in the United Kingdom in 2022, around sixty companies reduced their employees' working hours by roughly 20 percent without cutting pay. In exchange, workers were expected to maintain the same level of productivity. The idea was that time wasted during a typical workweek could be eliminated, allowing employees to accomplish as much in four days as they previously had in five.

At the end of the six-month trial, most participating companies chose to continue with the shorter week. Employees reported lower levels of stress and fatigue, and the number of workers leaving their jobs fell noticeably. Revenue at participating companies remained broadly stable. Many managers said the change had forced them to rethink how work was organized. Meetings were shortened or canceled, and staff were given longer periods of uninterrupted time to concentrate, suggesting that working fewer hours does not necessarily mean producing less.

Skeptics, however, point out that the companies were volunteers and may have been especially suited to the change. Many were small firms in fields such as marketing and software development, where work can be judged by results rather than hours. In addition, much of the evidence came from employees' own reports, which may have been influenced by their enthusiasm for the new system. Businesses that require staff to be available at all times, such as hospitals and retail stores, may find it more difficult to adopt a four-day week without hiring additional workers. For such employers, more flexible scheduling may be a more practical alternative.