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How about a four day work week.

A four-day week is an arrangement where a workplace or school has its employees or students work or attend school over the course of four days per week rather than the more customary five. - Wikipedia

By the way, it doesn't require a Wikipedia definition to know what does it mean or induce you with excitement.
Most of us would have read the article about Microsoft Japan's test with the four-day workweek and about its amazing results.



Microsoft tested out a four-day work week in its Japan offices and found as a result employees were not only happier – but significantly more productive.
That too not by 10% or 20% its by 40%. Holy shit! How did that happen man, worked less by 1 day, increased productivity by 40%. Then will working 1 day a week will increase productivity by 100%? Are my mathematical and quantitative ability skills a joke to them? 
Do you remember the "construction of wall" problem which you would have solved for the preparation of your job. "Productivity is directly proportional to the time we work" right!
That's what I too was thinking all these times. People working without the tea break, without attending the music concert, working even on Saturdays and Sundays without brushing, bathing would help them finish the task, complete that ticket, throw out that bug. But I was wrong and your mind has bluffed you all this time that you are doing the most productive work. While researchers also said that a four-day workweek is the ideal work pattern for increased productivity.

Then what would be the relationship exists between productivity and time.

The time employees are happy will be directly injected into the productivity session of the employee's work. When will an employee be happy? Having a long weekend, spending time with their family, doing other stream works like learning a new technology, good relaxation therapy, doing the things they love and many more things done during the weekend will have a direct effect on their productivity.
Moreover, people will develop a deterioration over the craze about holidays, because people will go crazy only when it is not available or available as a scarce resource. Consider a shop advertising a product that you crave as 'only 10 stocks available', our mind will be pensive in the product itself.
But when there is an adequate number of anything, like the three days weekend that too four days once, an employee will never bother about it. Imagine there is Diwali or Christmas or Ramzan every week. People will never give a duck to it right. People will be more concentrated on their work. Due to shorter week time, there will be quick and productive meetings and work carrying out sessions.
On From the organization's point of view, due to adequate common leaves have given, the employee will never think of taking leave because of hooky reasons, which will result in more time working together with the team. And also many resources can be minimized in terms of the organization's side. Researches concluded that there were less electricity consumption and fewer paper printouts are taken when there was a 4-day workweek.

But the four-day workweek may not be appealing to all kinds of organizations or all kinds of people. If the customers expect the organization to respond on 5 days a week or if one of the team-mates who wants a day-off other day, then it would be a burden for him/her to take all the work alone when all others are at off. And when people are busy traveling and dozing off during the weekend will never contribute to this pattern. An organization must think well before applying these kind of strategies. But Microsoft and, before Microsoft, few other organizations have applied this pattern and are still following it.

-Balaji SV
News courtesy: The Guardian

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