Arushi Bidhuri
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Written By: Arushi Bidhuri | Updated : May 5, 2022 10:56 AM IST
4-Day Workweek Or Hybrid Week May Reduce Stress, Improve Mental Health
Have you heard the latest buzz around the office? Gather around the water cooler, for the rumours are true: a 4-day work week has become a reality for many offices. Many countries have introduced a measure that would allow employees to work longer days to get a 3-day weekend.
But does it benefit your mental health in any way? Does it help boost your mental health? Or working for extra two hours on the weekdays can make it worse for employees.
Over the years, studies have shown that chronic psychological work stressors such as low job control, high psychological job demands, lack of supervisor and co-worker support at work, bullying or harassment at work, a lack of social interactions with co-workers, job insecurity, and long working hours per week, among others, have been found to have severe negative effects on both physical and psychological health of workers.
According to a study published in PLOS One, a heavy weekly workload is harmful to one's mental health. Longer working hours were associated with higher levels of stress and a higher incidence of depression and suicidal ideation in employees aged 20 to 35.
On the other hand, a pilot study conducted in Iceland found that a shorter workweek in improved stress levels and burnout in employees. It also improved health and work-life balance.
The COVID-19 pandemic has helped us realize that work from home (WFH) is possible and not a bad idea. However, WFH doesn't suit everyone and not everyone likes to spend most of their time at their homes also not good for employees' mental health. Enters a hybrid work model that allows us to depart from the traditional work model.
Flexible hours, improved work-life balance, and reduced exposure to unwanted illnesses are some of the many benefits of the hybrid work model. Not only does it help create a work-life balance, but it also helps boost your productivity by improving your mental health.
Dr Sayantani Mukherjee, Consultant Psychiatry, Manipal Hospitals, Kharadi, said that 4-day working days could help optimise work-life balance. He further states the importance of going on a hybrid mode of working, which can help improve the mental health of employees.
"The complete WFH scenario can cause depression, anxiety, irritability, and worsening of substance abuse. On the other hand - physically attending work every day for 5-6 days a week can stress out due to hectic hours, travel, no time for personal life, and so on. The hybrid model gives the best of both worlds - so that one does not lose touch with how it feels to be in a professional environment as well as optimizing the work from home days to manage personal life and self-care. Especially now that children have returned to school, it is a blessing for professionals," he explains.
