"Three Days Off in a Row Is Sweet?" Four-Day Workweek Begins, but Unexpected Burnout Emerges

Work Intensifies Into Four Days, Leading to Burnout for Some Employees
Some Secretly Work on Fridays
Others Handle Tasks Even on Official Days Off
Shift from Uniform Four-Day Week to 'Work Autonomy'

How much would an office worker's life change if they could work only four days and rest for three days each week? In reality, there have been global companies that have experimented with a four-day workweek in response to employees' wishes. However, the results were different from expectations. Since the workload that used to be spread over five days was compressed into four days without any reduction, some employees ended up working longer from Monday to Thursday. In addition, some even handled work secretly on Fridays, which were supposed to be days off.

On September 17, the U.S. business magazine Fortune reported on the case of Safeguard Global, a global workforce management company that trialed a four-day workweek in 2023 but has recently withdrawn the policy. Safeguard Global, which has about 1,000 employees working remotely in 78 countries, initially introduced the system to attract and retain talent, among other goals.

The policy involved working from Monday to Thursday and taking Friday off. However, over time, it became clear that the system did not apply equally to all employees. Some workers extended their working hours from Monday to Thursday to ensure that they could fully rest on Friday. As work became more concentrated within four days, cases of employee burnout increased. Conversely, employees who couldn't finish their tasks in four days ended up coming in and working on Fridays, even though it was officially a day off. Some employees strictly adhered to the four-day policy but felt anxious about falling behind if colleagues continued to work during their days off.

The workload stays the same but the workdays decrease... The company's solution: autonomy

Faced with results completely different from expectations, Safeguard Global founder and CEO Bjorn Reynolds was left grappling with the consequences. The four-day workweek, which was started for employees' benefit, ended up backfiring. In the end, the company abandoned the uniform application of a four-day workweek for all employees from Monday to Thursday and shifted to allowing each individual to select their working hours and days according to their own tasks.

Ultimately, the company discontinued the policy of uniformly applying a four-day workweek from Monday to Thursday to all employees, and shifted its approach to allow individuals to choose their working hours and days according to their own tasks. Getty Images Bank

If employees could finish their work in four days, they could work just those four days. If five days were needed, employees could work the full five days and take half-days off. The company also strengthened outcome-based evaluation, placing more emphasis on actual deliverables than hours worked. Safeguard Global currently highlights flexible work hours on its recruitment website, stating, "Success is measured by results achieved, not hours worked."

However, it is difficult to interpret this single case as proof that the four-day workweek is ineffective overall. In fact, other studies have confirmed various positive effects of a four-day workweek. A study published in the international journal "Nature Human Behaviour" last year analyzed a no-pay-cut four-day workweek across 2,896 employees from 141 organizations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Before reducing working hours, the companies redesigned work processes and collaboration methods and then implemented the four-day week for six months. The results showed reductions in burnout and improvements in job satisfaction as well as mental and physical health. The researchers emphasized that rather than simply squeezing five days' worth of work into four days, it is important to actually reduce working hours while also changing the way work is performed.

In Korea, 'four-and-a-half-day week' experiments are spreading

Meanwhile, discussions around a four-day or four-and-a-half-day workweek are rapidly spreading in Korea as well. Currently, under the Labor Standards Act, statutory working hours are eight hours a day and 40 hours a week, excluding break times. While the four-and-a-half-day week has not been established as a legal standard, pilot projects are already underway with government support for voluntary reductions in working hours at companies.

Discussions about a four-day or four-and-a-half-day workweek are rapidly spreading in South Korea as well. Under the current Labor Standards Act, the statutory working hours are eight hours per day, 40 hours per week, excluding break times. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

This year, the Ministry of Employment and Labor launched the "Work-Life Balance+4.5 Project" for the first time. The program supports companies that reduce actual working hours—such as implementing a four-and-a-half-day week—without wage reduction through labor-management agreements. The government allocated 32.4 billion won for related projects this year, and companies shortening work hours can receive up to 7.2 million won in annual support per worker. Additional subsidies are also available for increasing new hires.

Interest from companies exceeded expectations. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, as of the end of June, 224 companies had joined the project—surpassing the annual target of 220. Of these, 67.9% were companies with fewer than 50 employees. The formats in operation are not limited to a uniform "Friday off." They vary by company, ranging from a four-and-a-half-day week with Friday afternoons off, to biweekly days off, shortening work two times per month by four hours each, or a 35-hour week achieved by reducing one hour each day.

Expectations among office workers are high. According to a survey conducted last December by the employment platform Blind targeting 16,920 Korean office workers, 78% supported the adoption of the four-and-a-half-day workweek. Among 5,398 respondents who had actually experienced such a schedule, 52% said their productivity increased compared to before implementation, while 11% reported decreased productivity.

While working hours in Korea continue to decline, they remain above the OECD average. According to OECD statistics, Korea's actual annual working hours per worker in 2024 were 1,865, which is 124 more than the OECD average of 1,741. The government aims to bring annual hours down to the OECD average of the 1,700-hour range by 2030.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.