Kathmandu. Work six days a week and then enjoy the weekend. But then return to the same old world of work next week. What happens if you don’t have to do it?
An important study published in the journal Nature Human Behavior found that reducing the working week to four days significantly improved people’s health. It has also increased people’s happiness.
Researchers from Boston College studied factors such as burnout, job satisfaction, physical and mental health among employees at 141 companies in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. “We’ve seen improvements in employees,” said lead author Wayne Fan. Both the production and revenue of the companies increased. This test is now over. However, 90 percent of the companies involved have decided to continue working four days a week. ’
Earlier, research has been done on the effect of fewer working days on employees. Research from Boston College has also confirmed earlier results. It said that working fewer days a week improved employees. Fewer working days provide better health, a balanced life, and greater satisfaction overall.
Experts believe that the biggest strength of this change will come from the younger generation. For the first time in the 2025 global survey, work-life balance has overtaken salary in the list of most important things.
Many young South Korean employees say they are happy to work even if they are paid less. If the number of working days is reduced in a week, they are ready to work for it.
According to Professor Fan, the young generation has a fundamentally different view of the purpose of work and their expectations from life. “Movements in China such as the Great Rejination (massive job losses after the pandemic) and quiet quitting (doing only essential work) and lying flats (rejecting the culture of excessive work) show young workers looking for new ways to express their dissatisfaction and reject the burnout culture,” she says.
Over time, these changes can reshape workplace traditions. Hiroshi Ono is also seeing some changes in Japan. “Today, 30 percent of Japanese men take paternity leave. This had never happened before. This shows that people are giving more importance to their welfare. ’
Karen Lowe agrees with this. “For the first time, employees have really started protesting,” she says. The more young they are, the more they are demanding change. ’
Karen believes that the demand for change is now gaining momentum. She says, “Covid gave us the first turn. I hope the next mode will be a four-day working week. ’
