Offices Transitioning to a 32-Hour Work Week?

This article is a part of the Mental Health Series under SDG -3 of the United Nations. Target 3.8 is “By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.” Mental health issues can arise because of many factors but our work environment can make a significant contribution. This article considers how a shortened work week may help combat this and promote the mental wellbeing of employees in the long term.

Work and mental health

Over the past few decades, as an increasing number of people join the corporate sector, more people than ever have been working long weeks at the office. The impact of this corporate culture on mental health has long been known but little has been done to effectively address it until recently.

Research has consistently shown that long work weeks are associated with adverse mental health effects. For example, a study conducted in China suggests that more time spent by employees remaining in the office was correlated with increased occupational stress and depression, which can impact their physical well-being and relationships in the long-term.

How the 32-hour work week proposal grew mainstream

Although this concern has been raised in the corporate sphere for years, it was not until the COVID-19 pandemic that non-essential workers in particular began to advocate change. In response to the pandemic, office spaces were abandoned for remote work from home initiatives, which showed that despite the rigid approach of many companies in their work practises, there was undoubtedly room for flexibility.

Plans to implement shorter work weeks?

In March 2021, the California legislature proposed a Bill which would reduce the average 40-hour work week to a 32-hour work week but this was unsuccessful upon reaching the committee that same year. But California is not the only US state to make such proposals. In fact, in January of this year a similar bill was brought forth in Maryland and may be more likely to succeed considering that it has faced overwhelming grassroots support as well as that of numerous state delegates.

So this raises the question, why is the shortened 32-hour work week gaining so much traction? Well, numerous research projects have reported encouraging results of adopting shorter work weeks in offices. One of the largest of these was carried out in the UK over a 6 month period with 61 companies participating. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with 39% of employees reporting less stress and 71% feeling less burnout. The results were so positive, in fact, that 56 companies continued with the shorter work week and 18 made it permanent company policy.

Is it feasible?

Many detractors of the scheme argue it will reduce productivity in an increasingly cut-throat corporate climate. The research suggests otherwise. Many companies saw the same level or increased levels of productivity, such as in one study in Iceland. The positive results of a shortened work week were so significant in the research that around 86% of companies in Iceland now operate under the shortened work week conditions of the study permanently.

But the shorter work week solution is not a one-size-fits-all solution to ensuring improved mental health considerations in the workplace. Whilst shorter work weeks whilst maintaining productivity is feasible in companies, other fields such as the manufacturing and service industries simply maintain economic viability whilst adopting similar policies to promote mental health. Some research also suggests that the shorter work week system generates greater productivity for smaller companies, whereas on a larger scale it proves less effective.

It is unclear at the moment just how widely shorter work weeks may be adopted in the corporate landscape. Nevertheless, just considering how beneficial these measures are to employee mental health, signals that this may become standard practise in the upcoming years.

By Nargis Babar