{"id":38311,"date":"2022-09-23T17:13:42","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T17:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creative-words.com\/?p=23171"},"modified":"2025-07-17T15:01:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T15:01:20","slug":"the-short-work-week-not-an-option-but-a-choice-at-creative-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.creative-words.com\/en\/the-short-work-week-not-an-option-but-a-choice-at-creative-words\/","title":{"rendered":"The short work week: not an option, but a choice at Creative Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

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HERE\u2019S THE AUDIO VERSION OF THIS BLOG POST, ENJOY LISTENING!<\/span><\/p>\n

How can a short work week<\/strong><\/span> increase team<\/a><\/span><\/span> productivity?<\/h2>\n

Working to live and not living to work.<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re lucky (and also a bit good at it), we enjoy the work we do so much that we\u2019re hardly ever affected by fatigue or the burden of routine. It becomes an aspect of our being, a key component of our personality. We are elevated by the work because it represents a channel for expressing our worldview, to give form, whether concrete or abstract, to our ideas. And possibly even make a positive contribution to society. Yet reality may not always mirror imagination and be seen through the lens of romantic dreamers. Indeed, whether due to necessity or sudden changes in course, our work may sometimes not be exactly what we would have dreamed or expected. Because of this, we don\u2019t feel as fulfilled as we\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

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Four-day week<\/h2>\n

Everyday life thus slowly passes to become a kind of monotonous and suffocating cage from which we find ourselves watching life go by. So it\u2019s not surprising that many people Google which country to live in to work fewer hours and have more “rest” days. When work is oppressive, all you have left is to tightly cling to free time<\/span>.
\nWhether the former case or even more so the latter, it\u2019s still essential to always keep a sort of guideline in mind, an indispensable rule. To draw a thick, clear line between work life and personal life.<\/p>\n

\"short<\/p>\n

Yet what might seem like a simple plan to implement often hides pitfalls. If we\u2019re passionate and motivated in our work, devoting more time to it will come almost naturally. On the other hand, if we work for the mere necessity of earning money, getting out of the monotonous work routine will prove to be no small effort. And so overtime, whether actual or only a mental sensation, will continue to relentlessly multiply, inevitably corroding all the remaining parts of our lives.
\nWell, we can’t let that happen. We can\u2019t allow the existence of a word like “karoshi<\/em>“, which in case you didn’t know is a Japanese term used to refer to death from “too much work”. There\u2019s no doubt that Japan has a different cultural approach to work that\u2019s extremely stricter with much more intense rhythms, but can we easily claim that our situation is so different? That the line drawn is not thin if not, even worse, dashed?<\/p>\n

So how can we change directions and give personal life the space it deserves?<\/p>\n

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The short work week: countries that have already understood its benefits<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Many different solutions can be pursued, but it seems that one of them is starting to gain more and more momentum: the short work week<\/strong><\/span>. This is a different organisation of the amount of working hours, which is spread over four instead of five days. In some cases, the short work week<\/strong><\/span> involves a reduction in the number of hours, while in others simply a “compression” over fewer days. This new way of viewing and structuring work is slowly and increasingly spreading, from European countries to the indefatigable Japan (though only in a few isolated cases). A steadily growing number of employers and employees are experiencing this new reality and enjoying all the (studied and confirmed) benefits that come with it.<\/p>\n

In fact, as the first test conducted between 2015 and 2019 in Iceland has already shown, there are many benefits to the<\/strong> short work week<\/u><\/strong> <\/span>which have a profound impact on workers’ mental and physical well-being.<\/p>\n

These include key factors such as:<\/p>\n