#readwise # Microsoft Japan Tested a Four-Day Work Week and Productivity Jumped by 40%  ## Metadata - Author: [[Kari Paul]] - Full Title: Microsoft Japan Tested a Four-Day Work Week and Productivity Jumped by 40% - URL: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/04/microsoft-japan-four-day-work-week-productivity?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other - Covered topics: [[Productivity]], [[Economics]] - Published on: Mon 4 Nov 2019 22.14 GMT ## Highlights - For the month of August, Microsoft [Japan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/japan) experimented with a new project called Work-Life Choice Challenge Summer 2019, giving its entire 2,300-person workforce five Fridays off in a row without decreasing pay. The shortened weeks led to more efficient meetings, happier workers and boosted productivity by a staggering 40%, the company concluded at the end of the trial. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gy5r03whq2c4n3v5he82zj5b)) - “Work a short time, rest well and learn a lot,” Microsoft Japan president and CEO Takuya Hirano said in a statement to Microsoft Japan’s website. “I want employees to think about and experience how they can achieve the same results with 20% less working time.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gy5r0q0ej2jfg9mfeshcsvxy)) - In 2018, New Zealand trust management company Perpetual Guardian [trialled a four-day work week](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/19/work-less-get-more-new-zealand-firms-four-day-week-an-unmitigated-success) over two months for its 240 staff members. Employees reported experiencing better work–life balance and improved focus in the office. Staff stress levels decreased by 7%. Workers have often said they could be more productive with less time in the office. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gy5r2mfgv6enyd6xxxq8z5x4)) - Another experiment [published by the Harvard Business Review](https://hbr.org/2018/12/the-case-for-the-6-hour-workday) shows shorter work days, a decrease from the average 8-hour work day to a 6-hour work day, increased productivity. A 2018 survey of 3,000 employees by the [Workforce Institute at Kronos](https://workforceinstitute.org/the-case-for-a-4-day-workweek-nearly-half-of-employees-worldwide-could-do-their-jobs-in-5-hours-or-less-each-day/) found more than half of full-time workers thought they could do their job in five hours a day. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gy5r3ads4gvcy59qystc9r5v))