Microsoft Gave Employees A 3-day Weekend And Shorter Meetings - The Results Are Amazing!

Today, several small companies are looking for ways to enhance productivity. And, one of the tactics used is the 4-day weekend. Yes, that’s correct. According to these small companies, when the perks are beefed up, it just makes an employee become more sincere towards his work and achieve a work-life balance, which in the end elevates the efficiency.

This summer, Microsoft put this theory to trial in Japan via a program called “Work-Life Choice Challenge.” Here, the employees were given an extra off each week and every Friday the offices were shut down. This went on throughout the month of August. And, surprisingly, the results were fruitful.

Of course, the hours one spent at work were cut substantially, but the productivity wasn’t hindered. In fact, sales per employee went up by 40% when compared to what it was in the previous year, during the same time.

Additional, long meetings and the time spent on responding to emails was also cut short. The company suggested that meetings must be finished within 30 minutes. Also, if the employees wanted to forgo the meeting, they were told to stay connected via their online app.

And this indeed sounds brilliant. We have all been there were meetings run longer than needed. And, then you end up staying longer in the office to complete all your pending work.

This experiment went on flawlessly and showed great results. More than 90% of the 2,280 employees said that this new measure had a significant impact. And, because of the reduced hours and extra offs, the company was also able to save on electricity and several other resources.

One can say that this measure was taken right on time because, in Japan, the culture of overwork is a huge problem. So much so that there is a term called Karoshi in Japan, which translates to death by overwork.

Microsoft is also planning to come up with another experiment in Japan later this year. It is also taking feedback from the employees on how they can enhance their work-life balance and productivity.