The four-day working day or teleworking from home are hot topics. And Generation Z (young people between 12 and 27 years old) is very clear on their position. According to a survey conducted by Generation Lab, 81% of young people say the four-day workday is key for businesses to be more productive. Only 19% prefer to maintain the traditional five-day calendar. And not only that, but the latest studies seem to prove them right.
We are facing the biggest employment shift of the century
As young people enter the workforce, many face the challenge that companies don’t trust them. Whether due to low productivity or unusual requirements so farthey prefer to hire older people. However, there comes a time when the incorporation of younger staff becomes absolutely necessary.
What does Generation Z offer? After the Generation Lab study, it is clear that they want three days off per week and condense all your work into a four-day workday. As a benefit to the worker, we’ll all agree it’s quite a benefit, but what about business productivity? In a profession, everything is a matter of two people.
An analysis carried out by Spanish companies that implemented the four-day day reveals that employees feel more rested and creative
Other studies support four-day work
The World Economic Forum also supports this trend. After a study of 360,000 workers, it was concluded that reducing the working day to four days reduces stress and improves the overall happiness of employees. Even giants love Microsoft has experimented with this model and reported a 40% increase in productivity through the implementation of shorter work weeks.
With 81% of young people calling for a four-day workday, it’s clear they are ready to challenge traditional norms. But Gen Z isn’t just looking for a shorter work week on a whimbut as a response to a discouraging economic and social reality.
These young people grew up in a world where work no longer guarantees success and where salaries often do not correspond to the cost of living. They are frustrated that their efforts don’t necessarily translate into financial stability or the ability to achieve traditional milestones like buying a home.
Furthermore, they witnessed how Previous generations sacrificed their mental and physical health for a professional career. As a result, Generation Z is seeking a healthier work-life balance, prioritizing their well-being and seeking more efficient ways of working.
Meetings with more than three guests tend to be less productive
This revolution started long before
The last time the maximum working day in USA was changed was more than 40 years ago, in 1982. At that time, there were no computers, no smartphones… It’s true that there are professions that have not changed. Customer service hours in a store are what they are. But many other jobs have nothing to do with processes or productivity.
This revolution in the world of work which is currently taking place This didn’t happen overnight.. But, with recent technological advances and especially with the arrival of artificial intelligence, we are very close to being able to take this step taken forty years ago.
Apps like ChatGPT help us use our time better
It’s comparable to the industrial revolutionwhere machines replaced manual labor and people adapted to new roles. Today, we are seeing a similar phenomenon: tasks that previously required hours of human work can now be analyzed by AI in seconds. This is a redistribution of time and resources.
But the real challenge of this four-day event is making it accessible to everyone. An office job where you can optimize processes is not the same thingrely on AI, or work on goals and completed projects, like a chef who has to serve in a restaurant.
Not all sectors can easily adopt this model, and there is a risk of creating a gap between the service sector (with stores open on weekends or 24 hours a day) and other sectors where employees could benefit from three days off per week. The challenge is to find a balance that benefits everyone without creating even greater employment inequalities.
At Apple they are already testing this method
Apple is already testing the four-day workday on some of its high-performance teams. An employee of the company confirmed to us that they have the possibility of compact your day into just four daysworking a total of 32 hours per week. This initiative is complemented by its flexible teleworking policy, with two days of teleworking from home.
The four-day day will not be a passing trend. Rather, it can become an act of business maturity that requires commitment from both the company and the worker. It is a pact of mutual trust where the employee commits to perform the same work in less time, without wasting a minute and remaining focused at all times.
This model requires a new mentality: it is no longer about “warming the chair”, but rather about optimizing every minute to be truly productive. This means leaving distractions behind, the endless discussions around coffee and unproductive meetings.
There is no doubt that as a society we have a challenge. Adapting our work culture to this new planning will not be easy. Only time will tell if we are ready, but one thing is certain: Generation Z has already made its bet.
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