How Many Hours Is 180

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, many people with office jobs worked remotely for the first time. Now, telework — or hybrid piece of work models, which see employees splitting their time between the office and home — are the (new) norm. At first, the shift to remote work might've felt strange, but, equally time has gone on, many workers have discovered some unexpected work-from-dwelling benefits, namely that this kind of work schedule is a fleck more flexible and user-friendly.

Despite the ongoing vaccine rollout, many Americans want the work-from-dwelling house option to stick effectually. Fifty-fifty more than exciting? This move to remote work has opened up other conversations surrounding what's best for workers and their career/personal life balances. For example, some employees are imploring their companies to not but develop meliorate telework policies only more robust fourth dimension-off and vacation policies too.

Workers and labor activists alike are considering even larger, more sweeping changes. That is, this newfound need for flexibility has many wondering if it's time to rethink the forty-hr workweek. Is it fourth dimension to cut down on working hours across the board? Hither, we'll discuss how shifting abroad from the stringent, long-standing 40-hour workweek can impact our health — both physical and mental — for the improve.

Interestingly, in the United States, the workweek was once much longer than the standard forty hours we know at present. Amongst the Industrial Revolution, workers were used to clocking 80–100 hours a week, merely, in 1817, labor unions and activists pushed to change that. Afterward all, life isn't all near work — and working that much was only unsustainable and unhealthy.

It took decades of efforts, ranging from strikes to protests, but, eventually, eight-hr workdays were put in identify for government workers in 1869. Seeing this success, individual-sector workers and unions pushed for the same, though many of those employers didn't adopt the eight-hr workday until the mid-1920s. In 1940, the 40-hour workweek became law in the U.S., marking a huge improvement for workers across the board. Nevertheless, times have inverse and, now, many are first to notice that even xl hours might be a trivial too taxing.

A Shorter Workweek Could Ameliorate Mental Wellness

Although Americans have grown accepted to xl-hour workweeks, there are certainly several benefits to having an fifty-fifty shorter workweek. Afterward all, individuals are more than just employees; everyone has personal lives and hobbies, too, and committing too much of your free energy to work can take a toll on your emotional and mental health.

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If nosotros could work fewer hours a mean solar day — or have another full twenty-four hour period off — there would exist more room for a work-life balance. Instead of cramming errands, appointments, and social engagements into but two days (or in the spaces betwixt meetings), we could program less stringently and avoid that feeling of racing from one thing to the next.

In turn, we'd experience more refreshed and more well-rested. By building in time off, employees might be less likely to call out ill for their mental health or have an unexpected day off to conform appointments. And, in the wake of the pandemic, that flexibility sounds better than ever to folks who are reassessing what matters to them.

Cut Hours on the Clock Could Help Productivity Levels

Just because an employee is on the clock for eight hours, it doesn't mean they're working productively the entire time. If you work viii hours a day, you lot're probably well aware of this fact. Sometimes, your fourth dimension gets interrupted by attending meetings, communicating with coworkers, and answering emails or phone calls. One time you're interrupted, information technology can take a while to get back on runway. All of this to say, many of us are simply working at our well-nigh productively for four to six hours a day — not the full eight.

Trying to attend Zoom meetings while doing other piece of work? Well, the stress of a forty-hour workweek forces many of us to multitask — possibly to an unhealthy level. Only because you lot're juggling several tasks at once, that doesn't mean you're checking them all (if any) off your list, nor are you giving anything your full attending. This can spill over into folks having bad boundaries when it comes to endmost their laptops and stepping away from their desks at the end of a stop-and-become workday. Some of that difficulty with work boundaries comes from feeling "guilty" nearly not achieving enough — so, why not accept some of the pressure level off?

Photograph Courtesy: [Hinterhaus Productions/Getty Images]

These days, some companies in the U.S. are experimenting with 32-60 minutes workweeks. Others are rearranging piece of work schedules to provide employees with three days off. For example, Natalie Nagele, co-founder and CEO of Philadelphia-based software visitor Wildbit, moved the visitor to a four-24-hour interval week in 2017. So far, the shift has proven very successful.

"Nosotros had shipped more features than we had in recent years. We felt more than productive [and] the quality of our work increased. So then nosotros simply kept going with it," Nagele shared with NPR. Having that shorter workweek allowed her and her team to really residuum — and, every bit an added bonus, information technology doesn't force them to stick effectually and solve piece of work bug when they should be clocking off. "You tin inquire my team: at that place are multiple times where somebody is like, 'On Sun forenoon, I woke up and… I figured information technology out," she stated.

Long Work Hours Can Exist Detrimental to Concrete Health as Well

A written report by the Australian National University published in the Social Science & Medicine showed that long hours not only impact employees' mental health but their physical wellness as well. Dr. Huong Dinh, the lead researcher on the project, shared that, "long piece of work hours erode a person's mental and physical health because it leaves less fourth dimension to eat and expect after themselves properly."

Other consequences of long hours include poor eating habits and less sleep. Those two habits lonely can pb to serious health problems over time, from decreased cognitive function to weight proceeds. Instituting a shorter workweek could assist employees focus more on taking better care of themselves. After all, it's often that self-intendance that nosotros cut from our schedules first when nosotros're also busy or stressed.

Other Countries Accept Fewer Working Hours and Still Boast Success

Outside of the handful of companies in the U.Southward. that are forging alee with shorter piece of work weeks, other countries have seen their populations do good immensely from working fewer hours. For example, in The Netherlands employees work an average of 27.5 hours per week; the country boasts high incomes and a depression level of unemployment, and the regime actively supports both professional and personal growth.

New Zealand workers are on the clock for four days each calendar week, merely they nevertheless receive 5 days' worth of pay. Even before the pandemic, the land's authorities encouraged flexible working arrangements and shorter workweeks. Even with fewer working hours, employees even so have the same level of productivity — but in that location's the added bonus of less stress and greater workplace satisfaction. Moreover, in recent years, organizations based in Sweden started to experiment with a six-hour working 24-hour interval to proceed employees happy and increase productivity. Subsequent inquiry found that employees were however able to complete their duties, and were amend off emotionally, mentally and physically. In the UK, three companies – Hutch, MBL Seminars, and Yo Telecom – volition initiate a six-month-long iv-mean solar day workweek trial this June.

Though other logistics come into play, companies may want to consider shortening their piece of work weeks in the near future. At the very least, there may need to be more than flexibility, be information technology allowing for remote work, hybrid schedules or more fourth dimension off. All of this to say, the COVID-xix pandemic has forced employees to rethink what's important to them — and, finally, they are starting to choose their health over their jobs.

Resource Links:

"Could a shorter workweek boost employee productivity?" via Insperity
"The Evolution of the 40-Hr Work Week and Its Touch on on Mental Wellness" via CBT Baltimore
"Enjoy The Actress 24-hour interval Off! More than Bosses Give 4-Twenty-four hour period Workweek A Try" via NPR
"Hour-drinking glass ceilings: Work-hour thresholds, gendered health inequities" via Social Science & Medicine
"The Futurity of Work: How working forty hours a week is killing your mental health" via Ladders
"Work-Life Balance — Kingdom of the netherlands" via Business organisation Culture
"A 4-Day Workweek for 5 Days' Pay? Unilever New Zealand Is the Latest to Try" via The New York Times
"Sweden tested out a 6-hour workday — and information technology more often than not worked" via Business Insider
"Three Britain firms sign upwards to 6-month four-day working week trial" via The Guardian