Russians might work four days a week in the future

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev assumes that a four-day work week will be adopted in the future, so that workers could overcome the burnout syndrome and chronic fatigue.

Last month, the World Health Organization included the burnout syndrome among occupational phenomena, caused by workplace-related stress and leading to exhaustion and mental absence.

According to a report published last year, the productivity of Russian workforce is among the lowest ones compared to the biggest world economies, despite their spending a large number of hours at work.

– It is very likely that, in the future, a four-day work week will be the foundation of social and labor contracts – Medvedev said at the Geneva International Labor Conference.

He added that, in a constant striving for success, workers get chronically stressed out and exhausted, leading to reduced productivity.

He cited the recent example of a company from New Zealand, which implemented a four-day work week with a three day weekend. As a result of that, the per-hour productivity has increased by around 20%, whereas the level of stress in workers has considerably diminished.

World Health Organization

Dmitry Medvedev

four day work week

burnout syndrome

chronic fatigue

workforce productivity

Geneva International Labor Conference

per hour worker productivity

employee stress level