Most of us work from Monday to Friday. At weekends, we get much rest that our bodies deserve in order to make up for the rest we did not get on the weekdays when we still work. And then comes Monday again — the day that most of us dread. And then we go back to this tiresome cycle, working again from Monday to Friday, and then getting rest or having fun on the weekends.
Oftentimes, when we work, we get tired at the middle of the week, and we get less productive and we perform not-so-well. We also neglect other duties aside from our job duties as we work on weekdays. An Australian company, tries to solve this problem, by dividing the whole week into two mini-weeks. Would you work in a company that gives you a 5-day pay for 4 days work? I will absolutely say yes to that.
A mid-week break lets staff go to the gym, get on top of house work, look after young children, schedule appointments, work on their start-up or just watch Netflix. Sometimes, they’ll catch up on work. Sick days are down, staff satisfaction is up... “You get that Monday feeling a couple of times a week.”
You might ask, “Why Wednesday?”
Professor Jarrod Haar isn’t surprised that dropping Wednesday has proven so successful for Versa. As professor of human resource management at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, as part of his own research Haar has interviewed employees on rotating four-day weeks, and found they most enjoyed the Wednesdays off.
For employers, shutting down mid-week gives “more bang for your buck”. he says. “The Wednesday break means you return to Thursday fresh, and this is when people feel most productive.”
More details at BBC.
(Image Credit: Daniel Hansen/ Unsplash)