对24/7小时数字生活说不:为心理健康

职业倦怠的压力导致24/7(=24 hours a day, seven days a week) 数字生活的退步

职业倦怠，压力导致更多公司尝试4天工作周

艾玛托马森

 

这听起来好得令人难以置信，但世界各地削减工作周的公司发现，这会带来更高的生产力，更有动力的员工和更少的倦怠。

 

总部位于柏林的项目管理软件公司Planio的创始人Jan Schulz-Hofen表示，“它更健康，我们的工作做得更好。”他为该公司的10周推出了为期四天的工作周。今年早些时候成员工作人员

 

在新西兰，保险公司Perpetual Guardian报告说，在今年早些时候测试了32小时后，压力下降和员工敬业度激增。

 

即使在日本，政府也鼓励公司允许周一早上休息，尽管工作狂国家的其他计划说服员工放松，但影响不大。

 

英国工会大会（TUC）正在推动整个国家在本世纪末之前进入为期四天的一周，这是反对党工党支持的推动力。

 

TUC认为，较短的一周是工人分享机器学习和机器人等新技术所产生的财富的一种方式，正如他们在工业革命期间赢得周末休假的权利一样。

 

“它将减轻工作和家庭生活的压力，并可以改善性别平等。已经尝试过的公司表示，它对生产力和员工福祉更有利，”TUC经济负责人凯特贝尔说。

 

咨询公司J. Walter Thompson的趋势专家Lucie Greene表示，在特斯拉老板埃伦·马斯克（Elon Musk）发布推文“没有人每周40小时改变世界”之后，一系列批评指数强调过度工作。

 

格林说：“人们开始从我们现在所拥有的24小时数字生活中退后一步，并从与工作的不断联系中认识到心理健康问题。”

 

最近对包括美国，英国和德国在内的八个国家的3,000名员工进行的一项调查发现，近一半的人认为，如果他们没有中断，他们可以在一天五小时内轻松完成任务，但不管怎样，许多人每周超过40小时 - 与美国一路领先，49％的人表示他们加班加点。

 

“一直有工作蔓延。因为你总是拥有这项技术，所以你总是在工作，所以人们都会被烧坏，”执行发展公司Future Workplace的主管Dan Schawbel说道，他与Kronos进行了这项调查。

 

36岁的软件工程师Schulz-Hofen在认识到他需要在十年的紧张工作推出Planio之后需要放慢速度时，对自己进行了为期四天的测试，他的工具让他能够详细追踪他的时间。

 

“我在四天内完成的工作少于五天，因为在五天内，你认为你有更多的时间，你需要更长的时间，你可以让自己有更多的打扰，你喝咖啡的时间更长或者与同事聊天，“Schulz-Hofen说。

 

“我意识到有四天，我必须要快，如果我想要获得自由星期五，我必须集中注意力。”

 

Schulz-Hofen和他的团队在解决周一至周四工作的每个人之前讨论了各种选择。他们拒绝灵活工作时间的想法，因为它增加了行政管理的复杂性，而且每周工作时间较短，因为工作时间过于容易。

 

在星期五打电话的客户听到录制的消息，解释为什么没有人在办公室。

 

“我们得到了客户的意外反应。我们的大多数客户都没有抱怨。他们只是嫉妒，”Schulz-Hofen说。

 

WPP旗下的广告公司Gray New York于4月推出了一项计划，允许员工每周工作四天，获得85％的全职工资。

 

Schawbel希望这个想法可以在更多的公司和国家流行，但可能不是他自己的：“我认为美国将是周一早上关闭的最后一个国家，因为我们已经习惯了这种工作方式。”

Burnout stress lead step back from the 24-hour digital life

Burnout, stress lead more companies to try 4-day workweek

Emma Thomasson

 

It sounds too good to be true, but companies around the world that have cut their workweek have found that it leads to higher productivity, more motivated staff and less burnout.

 

"It is much healthier and we do a better job if we're not working crazy hours," said Jan Schulz-Hofen, founder of Berlin-based project management software company Planio, who introduced a four-day week to the company's 10-member staff earlier this year.

 

In New Zealand, insurance company Perpetual Guardian reported a fall in stress and a jump in staff engagement after it tested a 32-hour week earlier this year.

 

Even in Japan, the government is encouraging companies to allow Monday mornings off, although other schemes in the workaholic country to persuade employees to take it easy have had little effect.

 

Britain's Trades Union Congress (TUC) is pushing for the whole country to move to a four-day week by the end of the century, a drive supported by the opposition Labour party.

 

The TUC argues that a shorter week is a way for workers to share in the wealth generated by new technologies like machine learning and robotics, just as they won the right to the weekend off during the industrial revolution.

 

"It would reduce the stress of juggling working and family life and could improve gender equality. Companies that have already tried it say it's better for productivity and staff wellbeing," said TUC economic head Kate Bell.

 

Lucie Greene, trends expert at consultancy J. Walter Thompson, said there was a growing backlash against overwork, underlined by a wave of criticism after Tesla boss Elon Musk tweeted that "nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week."

 

"People are starting to take a step back from the 24-hour digital life we have now and realize the mental health issues from being constantly connected to work," Greene said.

 

A recent survey of 3,000 employees in eight countries including the United States, 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 United States leading the way, where 49 percent 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 with Kronos.

 

Schulz-Hofen, a 36-year-old software engineer, tested the four-day week on himself after realizing 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.

 

"I realized with four days, I have to be quick, I have to be focused if I want to have my free Friday."

 

Schulz-Hofen and his team discussed various options before settling on everybody working Monday to Thursday. They rejected the idea of flexible hours because it adds administrative complexity, and were against a five-day week with shorter hours as it is too easy for overwork to creep back in.

 

Clients who call on a Friday hear a recorded message explaining why nobody is at the office.

 

"We got an unexpected reaction from customers. Most of our clients did not complain. They were just jealous," Schulz-Hofen said.

 

Grey New York, an ad agency owned by WPP, launched a program in April to allow staff to work a four-day week for 85 percent of their full-time salary.

 

Schawbel expects the idea to catch on in more companies and countries, but probably not his own: "I think America will be the last country to give us Monday mornings off because we're so used to this way of working."