The HR world is always buzzing about employee engagement and ways to increase productivity, but what if I told you that by shortening your workweek, you could actually be increasing engagement and productivity? Sounds like I’m off my rocker, but a recent study is proving this might be the case.
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According to The Kansas City Star, Japanese researchers analyzed the employment habits and cognitive test scores of 6,500 Australians—over the age of 40—and found that when employees worked a 25-hour workweek, they scored better on the cognitive tests. The research suggests that workers over the age of 40 require a lower number of work hours to avoid burnout after spending decades in the workforce.
The study required Australians to read words aloud, recite lists of numbers, and link letters and numbers in certain patterns under a specific time constraint. The researchers then measured the cognitive brain functions and scored the individual based on the three tests listed above. The findings were not all that different when it compared males and females.
However, women’s cognitive peaks tended to be higher than males on all three tests, but dropped off more quickly after they worked a certain number of hours. The study also found that for both genders, not working any hours showed a low cognitive level, and men’s cognitive levels would drop when they worked between 55 and 60 hours per week. The number of hours that produced the same results for women were between 45 and 50 hours per week.
The Kansas City Star states: “It is found that working hours up to 25–30 hours per week have a positive impact on cognition for males depending on the measure and up to 22–27 hours for females,” the study concludes. “After that, working hours have a negative impact on cognitive functioning.”
The study did not test younger generations, so it is unclear how this 3-day workweek would impact Millennials and Gen Z. However, I’m sure the younger generations would be happy to work only 3 days as well, regardless of cognitive function.