Four Day Work Week and well-being: An explorative study

Abstract

Flexible working forms are attracting growing interest in scientific literature. This paper aims at contributing to the debate that sees flexible working as a way of supporting individual and organisational well-being. In today's labour landscape, where flexible working arrangements are becoming increasingly valuable for workers' well-being, companies are experimenting with new forms of organisation. This preliminary study focuses on working time flexibility and the reduced working-day week (4DWW), examining their impact at individual and organisational levels. A desk analysis of Italian companies that have adopted these practices was carried out, and direct interviews were conducted with two of the company managers of the 20 organisations enrolled in the study. This paper reports the first results of the experimentation, highlighting its risks and challenges, benefits and drawbacks. Individual and organisational well-being variables reported a positive impact. However, there is a need for careful reflection on the systems used to evaluate and organise work.