How Many Annual Hours Are in a 32-Hour Work Week?
As more pilots of the 32-hour work week are taking place all across the world, notably in Australia, the US, and the UK, the movement is enjoying never-seen-before levels of popularity. Employees partaking in these pilots are working, you guessed it, 32 hours a week while still receiving their full salaries. However, how does this model fit into the work schedule of an entire year?
There are between 1536 and 1600 annual hours in the 32-hour work week model. These estimations are based on the fact that most employees work around 48 to 50 weeks a year. If a worker were to operate the full 52 weeks, they would work 1664 hours a year.
In comparison, employees partaking in the 40-hour work week model usually operate between 1920 and 2000 hours a year. If they were to work to their full availability, they could end up spending up to 2080 hours a year. So, without further ado, let's explain what the 32-hour work week model looks like in the context of a year, how many days are in a 32-hour work week, and whether 32 or 40 hours a week are too many, too few, or just enough.
Why There Are So Few Annual Hours in a 32-Hour Work Week
If you've somehow never heard about the concept of a 32-hour work week, you might (rightfully) feel a bit unclear about its logistics. Some might assume that the work is simply divided into smaller time increments and stretched out over a longer period. After all, employees partaking in this model are getting paid the same as their 40-hour week colleagues, so they must be serving their companies the same overall amount of time, right?
Well, this isn't actually the case. Employees working 32 hours a week do maintain their salaries while working close to 50 days less than their counterparts. So, how do companies afford to partake in such a model?
The answer is quite simple: by maintaining or improving the overall levels of productivity. The bottom line is that as long as the work gets done (and it gets done well), there's really no point in employees spending extra personal time and valuable company resources just to fulfill the 40-hour threshold.
This is the essence behind the 32-hour workweek model—it claims to increase productivity and employee satisfaction while helping companies cut down on operational costs. It's a win-win!
This is why there are so few annual hours in a 32-hour work week. If we were to compensate for the lost time by having employees partaking in this model work as long as their counterparts, we would be defeating the whole purpose of implementing this model in the first place.
Now that we got this logistic issue out of the way, it's time to learn a bit more about the 32-hour work week. Namely, how many hours a day would one work when partaking in this model? Moreover, is this schedule attainable, or is the limited work time simply not enough? Keep reading to find out the answers to these questions and more.
How Many Hours a Day Are in a 32-Hour Work Week?
Let's take a moment to examine the short-term logistics of the 32-hour work week. How are these hours distributed in the span of one week?
There are usually eight hours a day in a 32-hour work week. Employees partaking in this model work the same traditional schedule as anyone else; however, they only work four days a week. There are also some less common variations of the model in which employees work 6.5 hours a day for five days.
As you can see, the 32-hour workweek model can take on many forms and variations. After all, it's still a relatively new concept that's still being tested around the world. However, the most common variation is the "8-hour a day, four days a week" model.
This is also the variation that's currently being tested the most. That's because it's a happy common ground between innovating and improving employees' work experience and not confusing them too much.
The 8-hour shift has been the industry standard for quite some time now. Therefore, keeping that constant intact while introducing a fairly drastic change to the workplace schedule is usually believed to make the transition process a bit easier.
However, as I previously mentioned, this is far from the only form that this model can take. Some companies have also independently experimented with dividing the 32 weekly hours between five or even three days.
For example, some organizations have kept the 5-day-a-week structure but have decreased the daily work hours to 6.5. On the other end of the spectrum, some companies offer their employees a whopping four days off as long as they work 10 to 12-hour shifts the days they're on call. Having said that, these instances are few and far between.
This is why, from this point on, when referring to the 32-hour work week, I'll be implying a schedule that consists of four, 8-hour shifts.
One interesting reason why the 4-day model is notably more popular than its counterparts is that according to several surveys such as this one from HR Brew, employees far prefer working longer hours four days a week than having to come in an extra day and be able to leave early.
There are many theoreticized reasons behind this phenomenon, with the most glaring one being the additional cost and time that employees have to spend on commuting each additional day. However, there are still not enough field studies to support or contradict the current theories, so take this information with a grain of salt.
Are 32 Hours a Week Too Few?
It's a question that's on every employer's mind: "How can we maintain the same level of output while decreasing work hours by 20%?" But are 32 working hours a week really that few?
The answer to this question, as with almost anything else, is: it depends on the circumstance. As great as the 32-hour workweek model is in theory, in practice, there are some instances in which it simply wouldn't work.
For example, when it comes to companies that have to be in constant contact with their customers, a 32-hour work week simply won't suffice. These organizations either have to close their doors three days a week, leading to ever-increasing customer dissatisfaction, or they have to significantly increase the staff on their payroll to make up for the shortened work week. Either way, the model would cost more than it would be worth.
On the other hand, when it comes to your run-of-the-mill company where most employees spend hours chit-chatting over their lunch break, partaking in pointless meetings, or playing solitaire on their computers to kill time, it's safe to say that 32 hours should more than suffice.
In this instance, the implementation of this model would greatly improve productivity, as the company could cut down on operational costs while employees could spend more of their work hours actually doing their job.
Therefore, when it comes to determining whether 32 hours a week are too few or not, a thorough analysis of the business in question is most important.
Luckily, a more precise answer will likely come to light after the pilots of the model taking place around the world are over. Through the data collected by these undertakings, we'll be able to determine the cases in which a 32-hour week is productive and profitable and those in which it simply isn't enough.
Are 40 Hours a Week Too Few?
Since this new innovative model has had us bringing into question the current workplace schedule, some might actually be wondering whether there are some instances in which even 40 hours a week are too few.
Although there are caveats to any rule or theory, it's safe to say that the general answer to this question is a resounding "no." There are hardly any scenarios in a modern workplace where 40 hours of work a week are too few.
As you can see in this 2004 meta-analysis published by the CDC, there are many negative effects (both physical and mental) that occur when an employee regularly works overtime (over 40 hours a week).
However, employees aren't the only ones suffering from the negative impact of overtime. The same meta-analysis found that after the 8th work hour, employees are far more likely to start making mistakes, which, in turn, affects their productivity and performance.
Therefore, while a 32-hour work week might still not be feasible for some companies, extending the weekly schedule to more than 40 hours will negatively affect both the employer and the employee.
The Shift Away From the 40-Hour Work Week
Just like the 32-hour work week isn't suitable for all companies, its 40-hour counterpart can't be used as a one-size-fits-all solution either. This arbitrary schedule that has been set up since the mid-1950s is now (rightfully) starting to seem a bit outdated.
As technology and our skill sets evolve, people require less and less time to do the same amount of work as their predecessors. This leaves them with plenty of poorly-managed time, most usually spent procrastinating or spending an extra half hour in the cafeteria during the lunch break.
By cutting down on these unproductive extra hours spent at work, employers can cut down on costs while still maintaining, if not improving, their productivity levels. This phenomenon has triggered a reaction that is prompting more and more organizations to shift from the 40-hour work week into its newer, more productive 32-hour counterpart.
Part of the reason why this shift has been so (generally) well-received by employees worldwide is the fact that the traditional work schedule comes with a wide array of drawbacks for all parties involved.
The Drawbacks of the 40-Hour Work Week
The previously linked study outlined a number of factors that made the traditional work week not only unproductive but also dangerous. For example:
Employees working 40 hours or more are far more likely to suffer from mental distress. The mental troubles some of these professionals go through can often lead to conditions as severe as depression.
Employees working 40 hours or more showed an increased risk of cardiovascular-related health issues. As you can see, the traditional work week can compromise a worker's mental and physical health. In fact, long working hours have been singled out as the cause of more than 745 000 heart disease-related deaths in 2016 alone (an almost 30% increase from merely 16 years prior).
Employees working 40 hours or more are at greater risk of consuming excessive amounts of tobacco and alcohol. This statistic is likely linked with the first one, as stress levels are positively correlated with tobacco and alcohol use.
Employees working 40 hours or more are far more likely to make work-related mistakes. As I've mentioned before throughout this article, employees aren't the only ones who get the short end of the stick when it comes to working excessive hours. An increased mistake rate leads to decreased productivity, which, in turn, will ultimately translate to reduced revenue.
Employees working 40 hours or more have a harder time maintaining a work-life balance. This will not only affect their capabilities of maintaining relationships and hobbies outside their work, but it can also negatively impact their productivity, leading to worsened overall performance.
Keeping these drawbacks of the 40-hour work week in mind, it's no wonder why its 32-hour alternative is gaining so much momentum all across the globe. However, the model is still in its testing phase, and further studies and pilots are needed to truly determine its efficiency.
Conclusion
As you can see, an employee partaking in the 32-hour work week model can expect to work anywhere between 1536 and 1600 hours a year. That's about 400 annual hours less than what their traditional-model colleagues are expected to put into their jobs (this roughly equates to 17 full days or 50 work days).
However, as long as the model is well-thought-out and properly integrated, productivity should remain unchanged even though the work hours have been reduced by 20%.
Sources
You Matter: What Is The Ideal Number Of Working Hours Per Day To Be Productive?
HR Brew: Survey says: Workers will work longer hours for a four-day week
WHO: Long working hours increasing deaths from heart disease and stroke
The Guardian: Thousands of UK workers begin world’s biggest trial of four-day week | Productivity
News Week: Every U.S. Company With a 4-Day Workweek—Full List
NPR: A big 32-hour workweek test is underway. Supporters think it could help productivity
CDC: Overtime and Extended Work Shifts: Recent Findings on Illnesses, Injuries, and Health Behaviors
PMC: The effect of job stress on smoking and alcohol consumption