Less exhaustion? See the first results of the 4-Day Work Week in Brazil

The experiment that tests the four-day working day in Brazil has reached the halfway point. The first impressions of the first three months of the modality indicate that, with a lot of organization and dialogue, it can be palpable to maintain performance with good doses of well-being for those who make up a company: the employees.

In total, there are almost 500 companies around the world testing working hours in which professionals continue to receive 100% of their salary, but work 80% of the time. In return, he undertakes to maintain 100% productivity. A model that is being known around the world as 100-80-100.

To measure the efficiency of the four-day work model, the pilot project carried out a survey with support from FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas) and Boston College among employees of companies participating in the initiative in Brazil.

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For Renata Rivetti, director of “Reconnect Happiness at Work & Human Sustainability”partner of 4 Day Week Global and responsible for the experiment, the managers realized that, for it to work, it is not enough to just “cut” a working day, but to reorganize routines to maintain the same performance in a shorter working time. “And this requires maturity, which is not always easy for companies,” says Rivetti.

The first data shows that:

62.7% of those interviewed report reduced stress at work;
64.9% they say they feel less worn out at the end of the day;
56.5% they are not frustrated like they used to be;
30% they would not change jobs to work 5 days for no salary;
78.1% they say they have more leisure time or are closer to family and friends;
49.3% report less emotional exhaustion;
64.5% indicate a reduction in exhaustion symptoms.

To complete the first report, 205 responses were collected during the month of April, corresponding to 71% of participants. The analysis sought to understand and evaluate the main points improved after the new work format.

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According to Renata Rivetti, managers needed to expand the dialogue with the teams, because what was previously more relaxed started to be measured with a magnifying glass so that the same result could be achieved with less working time. “Many leaders ended up realizing that they didn’t have much control before. Now everything needs to be well combined, with more responsibility so that productivity doesn’t drop,” she explains.

Before implementation began in January, the project included a planning and reorganization phase of new work practices, coordinated by 4 Day Week Brazilin partnership with 4 Day Week Globala non-profit organization that has been disseminating practices for adopting the new model around the world since 2019, when it was implemented for the first time in New Zealand.

The program gained strength after the pandemic and is already being implemented in several countries in Europe, Africa and North America.

Process is long

In Brazil, the process involved three months of workshops, facilitation, mentoring and support sessions from Reconnect Happiness before it begins to be effectively implemented. After this pilot project period, 44.4% of employees consider that the four-day week has improved their ability to meet deadlines and 33.3% say it has improved their ability to acquire new customers. This is because 67% believe that working one day less reduces weekly anxiety, which ended up reducing insomnia for 50% of them. Today, 57.9% of employees feel they can better balance their personal and professional lives.

Among the survey respondents are employees from different areas of the companies, which demonstrates that the methodology can be expanded and reach all departments, of companies in different segments, according to Reconnect.

For Renata Rivetti, the indicators from the first monitoring are positive and show that companies are taking an important step to change the way they work, being productive and healthy at the same time. “As it is, society is heading towards exhaustion, with no time for anything. Meanwhile, the project shows that the four-day week can be productive and sustainable, improving company results and employee quality of life”, says the expert.

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In total, 280 employees aged between 18 and over 50 participate in the project, with 38.1% men and 59.3% women. The work formats in which they work are 40.2% face-to-face, 34.4% remote and 25.4% hybrid.

Not everything is flowers

The first results are also fraught with withdrawal. One of the companies that signed up for the program ended up dropping out along the way because it couldn’t keep up with the changes.

“They came in later, but they didn’t do the planning and gave up. Because it’s not just about removing Friday from the calendar. You need to plan to take Friday off the calendar”, says Renata, who preferred not to mention the name of the company when InfoMoney.

The study reveals that the main challenges highlighted by participants focus on managing deadlines and balancing internal and external demands, highlighting areas that require additional attention. Some employees faced initial difficulties adapting to the new work model. However, most were able to optimize tasks over time, according to the study.

But the effort resulted in positive points for the companies. In 61.5% of them, there was an improvement in project execution and in 58.5% there was more creativity in carrying out activities. Furthermore, there was significant progress in communication between sectors, with 44% reporting an improvement in the relationship with managers.

“We also had a substantial gain in the rationalization of meetings and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which facilitated some more mechanical tasks such as preparing meeting minutes or reports”, explains Renata.

According to her, in the companies that are part of the pilot project, no meeting is called if there is no clear objective and a well-defined agenda. As a result, there was a reduction in employee frustration, because there was an effective improvement in working conditions. “It has more balance and brings a feeling that the company trusts the person more, that they have more autonomy and clear objectives to achieve”, she declares.

Among the participants are companies from São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Campinas and Porto Alegre, ranging from the food, entertainment and communication segments to legal and health.

Next steps

By the end of June, companies must complete the pilot, when a new quantitative survey will be carried out with all employees, along with interviews with senior leadership and founders for a perceptive evaluation of the project.

The data obtained after the end of the pilot will be considered as the official data of the 4-day week in Brazil, with the release of a conclusive and comprehensive report that will detail the performance and results achieved, according to Reconnect.

Among the participating companies are: