Health Matters

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A four-day work week improves employees’ health in numerous ways

By Jamie Ducharme

Health Correspondent

As many of us get back to work after the Presidents’ Day long weekend, it’s a fitting time to share the results of a large new report: Four-day work weeks are good for your health.

At least, that’s what researchers concluded after surveying almost 3,000 workers from 61 companies (most based in the U.K.) that tried out four-day work weeks from June to December of last year. After the six-month trial period, almost all employers and employees said they liked and wanted to continue with these shorter schedules, and workers reported health benefits ranging from lower levels of stress and burnout to better sleep and more time for exercise.

Will U.S. workers someday get to enjoy these same health benefits? Maybe. The researchers behind the new report told me they’re optimistic that office culture is shifting, slowly but surely.

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ONE LAST READ

The depression test contributing to over-diagnosis and misdiagnosis

It’s no secret that pharmaceutical companies aggressively market their products to doctors in hopes of driving prescriptions, and a new investigation in STAT shows just how intertwined marketing and medicine are.

Reporter Olivia Goldhill details how a marketer working for Pfizer helped develop a depression screening tool that is still widely—and, in many cases, improperly—used today.

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Today's newsletter was written by Jamie Ducharme and edited by Angela Haupt.

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