Could a 4-day work help reduce burnout in women?

As the four-day work week becomes popular among companies around the world, some say the model could help change a workplace culture that often leaves women out.

Test run A work model by UK non-profit 4 Day Week Global found that business revenues increased and employees had an improved work-life balance when full-time workers worked one less day per week. Companies participated in a variety of structured four-day work models, all of which involved reduced hours while employees retained their full pay.

In addition, the trial found that men increased their childcare responsibilities by 27 percent, compared to women whose childcare responsibilities increased by about 13 percent.

“It’s not just in the workplace, it’s also at home, where men are more likely to take on the caregiving responsibilities, take on the domestic responsibilities, and that’s what’s going to level the playing field,” said Grace Tallon, the chief. In a phone interview on Wednesday, he told CTVNews.ca of the actions taken at the Center of Excellence to reduce working hours.

And it’s not just women with children who experience injustice, Talon says, as other family responsibilities often fall on women as well. Whether it’s caring for elderly parents or other family members, she says, more often than not, women sacrifice their career goals to take on those responsibilities.

“It’s not just working moms,” Talon said. “You’re taking care of elderly parents or taking in other family members who need support, and it’s mostly women.”

Since the pandemic, women are experiencing more burnout. Agreed Deloitte 2022Of 5,000 women in 10 different countries, 46 percent reported feeling burned out at work, and 53 percent reported higher levels of stress than the previous year.

A NECESSARY CHANGE IN WORKING CULTURE

Beatrix Dart, a professor of strategy at the University of Toronto and executive director of the Women in Business Initiative, says this model will only work for employees if boundaries are put in place to ensure they are not taken advantage of, especially when it comes to: to technology.

In the wake of the pandemic, technology has allowed more people to adjust to working from home, and while this has allowed some more flexibility, it has also blurred the lines between work-life balance.

“We need to use technology to allow us to work from home more, but we also don’t want you working days you shouldn’t be working,” Dart said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. .

Dart says technology can be used to limit overtime; For example, using AI technology, such as automated messages to help during non-working hours, or perhaps shutting down the company network for some employees to discourage overtime if they are tempted to check their email.

“You need a workplace culture where it’s okay not to check your messages for the three days you’re gone,” he said.