“People are starting to take a step back from the 24-hour digital life we have now and realise the mental health issues from being constantly connected to work,” Greene said.
A recent survey of 3,000 employees in eight countries including the US, Britain and Germany found that nearly half thought they could easily finish their tasks in five hours a day if they did not have interruptions, but many are exceeding 40 hours a week anyway – with the US leading the way, where 49% said they worked overtime.
“There has been work creep. Because you always have the technology, you are always working, so people are getting burned out,” said Dan Schawbel, director of executive development firm Future Workplace, which conducted the survey.
Schulz-Hofen, a 36-year-old software engineer, tested the four-day week on himself after realising he needed to slow down following a decade of intense work launching Planio, whose tools allowed him to track his time in detail.
“I didn’t get less work done in four days than in five because in five days, you think you have more time, you take longer, you allow yourself to have more interruptions, you have your coffee a bit longer or chat with colleagues,” Schulz-Hofen said.