• Could a Three Day Weekend Help the Environment?

Air Monitoring

Could a Three Day Weekend Help the Environment?

Apr 07 2017

Anyone and everyone looks forward to a bank holiday. The eagerly anticipated three-day weekend means more of that all-important quality time with family and friends, granting an escape from the pressures of working life for an extra day. But imagine if, rather than just for a few select days of the year, you had a three-day weekend every… single… week!

Far from just a pipe dream, the notion of a three-day weekend could well be just what everybody needs. Not only would it help satisfy personal and social requirements but according to recent research, it could pave way to a brighter economy and help reduce society’s carbon footprint.

What are the benefits to individuals?

There are many psychological and physical benefits associated with spending less time at work. Long hours at the office have been linked to increase pressure on your heart and a higher risk of strokes. Whereas, those of us lucky enough to work less than the average person are reported to be healthier and happier. Less time for work means more time to spend on social activities, time to care for children and to engage with the community we live in.

How would a 4-day working week impact on businesses?

Contrary to the fear that productivity will decrease with the implementation of a four-day workweek, research suggests that there could be a significant rise in efficiency. A proportion of this is owed to the improved physical functioning a worker might experience simply from being less stressed-out and getting more rest.  There is evidence to suggest that spending more hours at work often leads to less time for sleep. And insufficient sleep takes a substantial toll on performance. In 2006, accounting firm Ernst & Young did an internal study of its employees and found that for each additional 10 hours of vacation employees took, their year-end performance ratings improved by 8 percent.

Environmentally friendly 3-day weekend

Not only could a reduced working week be beneficial to business, the environment could also be positively impacted by this reduction. In an article penned by University lecturer Alex Williams, he argues that "three-day weekends might be one of the easiest steps we could take to radically reduce our environmental impact—and future-proof our economy." This perception has been developed from research which shows a correlation between reduced working hours and a reduction in energy consumption.

Working Longer hours encourages people to travel, eat, and lead busy lives, which consequentially requires more energy. However, in countries where the working day is shorter, there is a direct link with lower ecological and carbon footprints. Essentially, countries that work more appear to pollute more.

Less is more?

The future of the working week structure is uncertain. But what is clear is that ‘less is more’ is becoming a popular view when it comes to retaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle. The opposite is true, however, in other aspects of the environment, such as weather monitoring. Adding a back receiver to existing weather sensors can significantly increase their efficiency, as discussed in ‘Two Heads are Better Than One: Advantages of the Biral Back Scatter Head for Precipitation Classification’.


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