An increasing number of companies in Europe are switching to the 4-day workweek model as a way to attract and retain employees. However, experiments show that the model is not always the most preferred.
In Lithuania, the majority of workers would prefer a shorter working week. Last November, a survey commissioned by LRT showed that 51 percent of the country’s working population would like to move to a 4-day workweek, while 35 percent opposed such an idea, and 14 percent had no opinion or did not answer the question.
Some companies in Lithuania are already experimenting with the 4-day workweek model. For example, an automotive technology company OBDeleven tried out such a model in July 2023 and January 2024, leaving all conditions, including remuneration, the same as under the standard 5-day workweek model.
Preparation needed
According to Juozapas Mindaugas Preikša, a marketing manager at OBDeleven, the idea to test out the 4-day workweek model at the company was suggested by the employees.
“We had to prepare for the experiment. The metrics of the total workload and efficiency of the employees were estimated across the company so that we could compare them with the period of the experiment,” he told LRT.lt.
July was chosen for the first experiment because there were no major projects or changes in the company planned at the time.
However, some workers are on holiday in the summer and the metrics can be distorted by seasonality, Preikša said. For this reason, OBDeleven decided to repeat the experiment in January, after the intense holiday period.
Productivity and satisfaction
According to the marketing manager at OBDeleven, the 4-day workweek experiment was very well received by most employees.
“Some dedicated more time to their families, travelling, taking care of their health and relaxing, while others went skiing with the team and otherwise enjoyed their free Fridays,” Preikša said.
“What was really unexpected and provided a different picture was that after the two experiments, some of the employees asked not to repeat it. They complained about the increased work intensity and stress of the responsibility to work efficiently, while others said they could not spend their days off with their family members who were working on those days,” he added.
The internal surveys showed that OBDeleven employees reported improvements in their work-life balance and mental health, while job satisfaction increased during the experiment. The majority also agreed that their productivity increased and that the 4-day workweek benefited both employees and the company.
However, some employees admitted that they had to work overtime to achieve their goals, around a third reported that their workload had increased, and two-thirds said fatigue had not decreased during the experiment.
Around 15 percent of employees also said they felt increased stress levels and pressure from their manager. However, around two-thirds reported an improvement in teamwork and just over half reported an improvement in the quality of work.
“Looking at all performance metrics, there was a marginal drop compared to the 5-day workweek months. However, we did not see any negative impact on the company’s overall performance. In terms of revenue and profit, these were very good months,” Preikša shared.
Lessons learned
The marketing manager at OBDeleven noted that the 4-day workweek experiment encouraged employees to review their agendas and optimise the number of meetings. The lessons learned also had a lasting effect beyond the experiment.
“The main benefit that has remained is the change in the culture of meetings and, in general, the freedom to say that this or that action may be a waste of time and needs to be abandoned,” Preikša explained.
According to him, modern companies should not be afraid to experiment with different working models and find the one that best suits their employees and the nature of work.
“We are currently looking at other experiments. One of them is to work for 4.5 days with Friday afternoons free, while another idea is to keep 4-day workweeks as a motivational tool for good or loyal employees,” said the marketing manager at OBDeleven.
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