Hit by mass resignations, this company adopted a 4-day work week. What happened next

The company, Healthwise, found that a shorter work week boosted employee happiness as well as their revenues. (Representational image)

At American non-profit Healthwise, employees were resigning en masse in 2021. The management had to take steps to turn things around.

The company, based in Idaho, approached labour economist Juliet Schor and started a trial of a four-day work week in August, according to a report in Entrepreneur.

The results: happier employees, outstanding customer satisfaction and increased revenue, Business Insider reported, quoting Schor at a TED conference.

"Healthwise employees are spending their Fridays off doing family activities like sports or errands," the economist said.

Schor added that shorter work weeks led to employees being less stressed, appreciating their jobs more and having better lives outside their workplaces, according to a TED blog.

"(Employees) get as much done in four days than they did in five," the economist said.

Schor provided evidence to support the fact that companies were also benefitting from "higher-quality applicants and savings on health care".

The economist acknowledged that not everyone could enjoy a four-day work week, citing healthcare workers and public school teachers as examples.

She added that nevertheless, COVID-19 pandemic-induced burnout and anxiety had created a need to experiment with ways of living and working.

Meanwhile, Adam Husney, the Chief Executive Officer of Healthwise, said that since employees have to get the same amount of work done in fewer days now, they have found methods to reduce "inefficiencies and noise", according a report in local newspaper Idaho Statesman.

“We have not asked them to commit to extra hours during the week," he added. "We’ve asked them to get the work that we need done. That hasn’t changed.”