A growing number of smaller companies are adopting a four-day workweek. Now the results of a recent trial at Microsoft (MSFT) suggest it could work even for the biggest businesses.

 

越来越多中小公司开始采用四天工作制。如今微软近日的试验结果显示，就算在大企业也能见效。

 

The company introduced a program this summer in Japan called the "Work Life Choice Challenge," which shut down its offices every Friday in August and gave all employees an extra day off each week.

 

The results were promising¹: While the amount of time spent at work was cut dramatically², productivity³ -- measured by sales per employee -- went up by almost 40% compared to the same period the previous year, the company said in a statement last week.

 

In addition to reducing working hours, managers urged staff to cut down on the time they spent in meetings and responding to emails.

 

They suggested that meetings should last no longer than 30 minutes. Employees were also encouraged to cut down on meetings altogether by using an online messaging app (Microsoft's, of course).

 

The effects were widespread. More than 90% of Microsoft's 2,280 employees in Japan later said they were impacted⁴ by the new measures, according to the company.

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