Moving to a four-day working week could see more burnout amongst workers, an expert has claimed.
It comes as a new study found 70% of Irish professionals say the current work week doesn’t suit them.
The data from recruitment firm Robert Walters reveals over half of people surveyed believe that moving to a four-day work week could significantly boost productivity, while 36% think that greater flexibility would have a positive impact.
Some 85% of employees say they would leave their job if the work week was extended.
'The work week has changed'
Futurewise Managing Director Peter Cosgrave told Newstalk Breakfast people need to remember the work still has to get done.
"The work week has changed massively in terms of post-COVID in terms of how we work but the key thing is offices still need to be open for all the times we as consumers expect them to be open," he said.
"Maybe the difference is people don't need to be working exactly the same way.
"We still have to do the work but how we do it... that can be changing and where we work.
"So the 'how' and the 'where' has changed but the work still needs to be done".
Young office workers meeting in a boardroom. Image: Ammentorp Photography / Alamy Stock PhotoMr Cosgrave said a four-day week could actually create more burnout for workers.
"I struggle with the concept of it because I actually think it's slightly retrograde," he said.
"If we're flexible then we can work as long as we want as long as the work's done.
"Four days is about trying to get all your work done in four days [instead of five] - I don't know how you don't create more burnout and stress if you're trying to squeeze everything into four days."
A four-day working week would be based on the 100-80-100 principal: this means workers get 100% pay for working 80% of their previous hours in exchange for a commitment to maintain 100% productivity.
Technology
Mr Cosgrave said technology hasn't quite caught up with the workers.
"The idea is meant to be that the office is still open five days [but] the people work less," he said.
"Where a client or consumer struggles is they often like dealing with the same person.
"I think the bigger challenge is we're often using technology, which hasn't really got there yet, to do all this which is why we end up waiting in queues or chatting to AI chat bots - which drives most people crazy".
Work from home
Mr Cosgrave said there has been "a bit of a backlash" to working from home.
"Part of this is still old school employers who just want to see their staff, which is nonsense," he said.
"If they're doing a good job, you don't really need to see them but there is a longer-term [issue] here which is all around transversal skills [like] presenting, influencing, networking, managing".
Mr Cosgrave added that these are skills you generally learn from other people.
