Thousands of Workers Tried a 4-Day Week—the Impact on Their Health Was Clear
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A four-day workweek with no reduction in pay improves both workers' health and overall job performance and satisfaction, according to a new study.
Working norms were reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago, making remote work a necessity for some amid lockdowns. But it also exposed widespread burnout and disengagement among workers across most markets.
In response, some companies began offering reduced hours with full pay. Initiatives like '4 Day Week Global' are aimed at reshaping post pandemic work to meet employees' needs without compromising their companies' interests.
The study—led by Boston College researchers Wen Fan and Juliet Schor—tracked 2,896 employees across 141 organizations worldwide over a six months period, to understand the effects of the new scheme on their physical and mental health.
The team found that workers whose days were cut by eight hours or more reported the most substantial improvements—which came in the form of reduced mental strain and improved physical health. Smaller reductions also had positive effects.
A stock image shows some work colleagues having a laugh over a cup of coffee at their desk.
A stock image shows some work colleagues having a laugh over a cup of coffee at their desk.
getty images
The trial included subjects in the United States, as well as Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The researchers analyzed changes in burnout, fatigue, sleep quality and work performance resulting from the change to the working week.
Employees switching to a four-day week were compared with those at 12 companies that kept the traditional five-day model. Workers in the four-day trail reported higher levels of physical and mental well-being than those who worked five days a week.
A similar study was previously conducted in 2022 in the United Kingdom, where over 3,300 employees at 73 companies participated in a six-month trial aimed at testing the effectiveness and productivity of a four-day workweek.
It was found that the four-day workweek did not generate a loss of productivity—in fact, it actually improved productivity in some cases. While 46 percent of leaders reported stable levels of productivity, 34 percent said it "increased slightly."
The authors of the new study acknowledged some key limitations in their methodology, including the fact that the companies involved opted in voluntarily and that most were smaller firms based in English-speaking countries only.
The researchers recommend randomized, government-backed trials be conducted in future to assess shortened workweeks on a larger scale.
Do you have a health story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about the four-day workweek trial? Let us know via health@newsweek.com.
Reference
Fan, W., Schor, J. B., Kelly, O., & Gu, G. (2025). Work time reduction via a 4-day workweek finds improvements in workers' well-being. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02259-6
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
2 minutes ago
- Forbes
In India, Air Pollution Can Increase The Risk Of Preterm Birth: Study
TOPSHOT - A woman walks across a railway track amid smog on a winter morning on the outskirts of ... More Jalandhar on December 21, 2023. (Photo by Shammi MEHRA / AFP) (Photo by SHAMMI MEHRA/AFP via Getty Images) India is the third most polluted country in the world, largely due to its extraordinarily high levels of air pollution. While seven out of 10 Indians are exposed to noxious air, pregnant women and their unborn children are among the most impacted. According to a recent study, prenatal exposure to air pollution could increase the risk of a preterm birth by at least 12% and a 5% higher risk of low birth weight — especially in North India. "Medical studies found that the fetus grows rapidly in the third trimester of pregnancy. That period is more sensitive, and exposure to PM2.5 can hemorrhage fetal growth. Nevertheless, the level of thyroid hormone might be affected by the toxicity of PM2.5, which is a responsible factor for less fetal weight,' the researchers explained in the study. 'Previous studies have found that the concentration of ambient fine particulate matter (also known as PM2.5) is highest in the states of the upper-Gangetic plains such as Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, as observed in the present study. A recent Lancet study suggests that the average PM2.5 concentrations in Delhi were 13.8 times higher than those in Kerala,' the researchers wrote. The first trimester is the most risky period as PM2.5 exposure during this stage, which is above 21.36 μg m3, is linked to higher odds of adverse birth outcomes. 'A large proportion of households in the Northern parts of India use solid fuels compared to other regions. It is well documented that the residential sector is a significant contributor to the total PM2.5 emissions, along with the industry, energy, and agriculture sectors. Among industrial, residential, and energy sources, the contribution of energy sources to total emissions is the maximum, while residential sources contribute the maximum to PM2.5 emissions during winter and post-monsoon,' they added. 'However, at the urban or city level, where most households are already using cleaner fuel, reducing vehicular emissions (both exhaust and non-exhaust) emerges as a crucial strategy for reducing PM2.5 levels. It was prominently observed during the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) lockdown in Indian cities when traffic reduction substantially minimized urban areas' exposure to air pollutants.' To date, several studies have shown the deleterious health impacts of unborn children being exposed to large amounts of PM2.5. In the last seven years, researchers have linked this form of air pollution to fetal malformation, miscarriages, and stillbirths. Air pollution is in the top five risk factors for early deaths, in both men and women, making it one of the most omnipresent "silent killers." Scientists estimate that in 2019 itself, particulate matter pollution was linked to over 4.14 million deaths globally. PM2.5 is the most harmful air pollutant, and its major sources are the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas. Due to the extremely tiny size of PM2.5, which is less than 2.5 microns, it worsens the risk of getting heart disease, lung cancer, respiratory diseases, and stroke. The study was published in PLoS Global Public Health on July 2, 2025.
Newsweek
2 minutes ago
- Newsweek
FDA Issues Highest Risk Warning for Tofu Recall
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A recall of tofu due to the potential presence of an undeclared allergen has been issued the highest risk warning by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Shang Hao Jia, Inc., based in California, issued a voluntary recall for a select number of cases of Danshi Spicy Shredded Tofu on June 26 due to possible undeclared sesame. The FDA subsequently issued a Class 1 risk classification for the recall on July 17. Newsweek reached out to Shang Hao Jia, Inc. for comment by phone outside of regular working hours. Why It Matters A Class I risk classification represents "a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death," according to the FDA. The FDA warned in its recall notice that individuals with an allergy or severe sensitivity to sesame "run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product." Sesame is one of the nine major food allergens as defined in law. The others are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans. Allergic reactions vary in severity from mild symptoms, such as hives and lip swelling, to life-threatening complications, such as anaphylaxis, that may include fatal respiratory problems. Stock image of tofu on a plate. Stock image of tofu on a plate. Arno Burgi/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images What To Know The product impacted by the recall is the following: Danshi Spicy Shredded Tofu - UPC code: 6 942849 709499 - lot code: 20240825 - best-by date: 05/24/2025 The product was imported by Shang Hao Jia, Inc., and manufactured in China by Sichuan Shifang Danshi Food Co., Ltd. The recall impacts a total of 50 cases, each containing 30 bags. The products were distributed to three grocery stores in the Los Angeles area, according to the recall notice. As of June 27, no illnesses had been reported in connection with the consumption of the products. The recall was initiated after it was discovered during an FDA inspection that the product contained sesame, which was not listed on the packaging. What People Are Saying The FDA says on its website: "People with food allergies should read labels and avoid the foods they are allergic to. The law requires that food labels identify the food source of all major food allergens used to make the food." Dr. Sebastian Lighvani, director of New York Allergy & Asthma PLLC, previously told Newsweek: "Every three minutes in the United States, someone ends up in an emergency room because of an allergic reaction after accidental ingestion of food. So even when we try hard, these reactions are happening. And if you look at the incidence of anaphylaxis, it has skyrocketed in the last five, 10, 20 years. And in the U.S., there's like a 300 to 400 percent increase in the rates of anaphylaxis to foods." What Happens Next The recall is listed as ongoing, according to the FDA. Consumers who purchased the affected product are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Scientific American
an hour ago
- Scientific American
The Pandemic Aged Everyone's Brain—Even in Healthy People
The brains of healthy people aged faster during the COVID-19 pandemic than did the brains of people analysed before the pandemic began, a study of almost 1,000 people suggests. The accelerated ageing occurred even in people who didn't become infected. The accelerated ageing, recorded as structural changes seen in brain scans, was most noticeable in older people, male participants and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. But cognitive tests revealed that mental agility declined only in participants who picked up a case of COVID-19, suggesting that faster brain ageing doesn't necessarily translate into impaired thinking and memory. The study 'really underlines how significant the pandemic environment was for mental and neurological health', says Mahdi Moqri, a computational biologist who studies ageing at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. It's unclear whether the pandemic-associated brain ageing is reversible, because the study analysed scans taken at only two time points, adds Moqri. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. The findings were published today in Nature Communications. Pandemic effect Previous research has offered clues that SARS-CoV-2 infections can worsen neurodegeneration and cognitive decline in older people. But few studies have explored whether the pandemic period — a tumultuous time marked by social isolation, lifestyle disruptions and stress for many — also affected brain ageing, says study co-author Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad, a neuroimaging researcher at the University of Nottingham, UK. To find out, Mohammadi-Nejad and his colleagues analysed brain scans collected from 15,334 healthy adults with an average age of 63 years in the UK Biobank (UKBB) study, a long-term biomedical monitoring scheme. They trained machine-learning models on hundreds of structural features of the participants' brains, which taught the model how the brain looks at various ages. The team could then use these models to predict the age of a person's brain. The difference between that value and a participant's chronological age is the 'brain age gap'. The team then applied the brain-age models to a separate group of 996 healthy UKBB participants who had all had two brain scans at least a couple of years apart. Some of the participants had had one scan before the pandemic and another after the pandemic's onset. Those who'd had both scans before the pandemic were designated the control group. The models estimated each participant's brain age at the time of both scans. Nearly six months more The models predicted that the brains of people who had lived through the pandemic had aged 5.5 months faster on average than had those of people in the control group, irrespective of whether those scanned during the pandemic had ever contracted COVID-19. 'Brain health is shaped not only by illness, but by our everyday environment,' says Mohammadi-Nejad. Pandemic-related brain ageing was most pronounced among older participants and men, who are known to be more susceptible to neurological changes when they are stressed than women are. The brains of those experiencing hardship, such as unemployment, low income and poor health, also aged faster than did those of other participants, suggesting that these lifestyle stressors have a detrimental impact on brain health. Form and function Next, Mohammadi-Nejad and his colleagues assessed participants who had completed cognitive tests both times they were scanned. They found that only those who had a SARS-CoV-2 infection in the interval between the scans showed signs of cognitive decline, such as reduced mental flexibility and processing speed. This suggests that physical brain ageing might not have been severe enough to affect mental acuity during the pandemic. 'Some changes do not trigger symptoms, and some others take many years for any symptom to be manifested,' says Mohammadi-Nejad. Although the findings are 'compelling' evidence that brain ageing accelerated during the pandemic, more work needs to be done to investigate a causal link, says Agustín Ibáñez, a neuroscientist at the Adolfo Ibáñez University in Santiago. He adds that future studies should include data on factors such as mental health, isolation and lifestyle to clarify the mechanisms underlying the brain-ageing effect and how it plays out in people from different backgrounds. The next steps for Mohammadi-Nejad and his colleagues are to unravel some of these mechanisms and explore whether the effects are long-lasting.
