Have you ever wanted to work fewer hours a week?
No ? So, you may change your mind after reading this article.
But how do you convince your boss? Well, we bring you all the arguments on a plate.
If you're over 40, you can cite this new study from the Melbourne Institute in Australia.
The researchers found that the 3-day work week would be the best way to keep employees over 40 productive without exhausting them and pushing them to "burn-out".
In this study, Australian and Japanese researchers examined the impact of the number of working hours on the cognitive abilities of 3,500 women and 3,000 men over the age of 40 in Australia.
The volunteer subjects had to pass different cognitive tests, such as reciting number sequences and reading words aloud.
“Our results show that there is a real impact on cognitive functioning depending on the number of hours already worked,” the study states.
"Up to approximately 25 hours of work per week, a positive influence is observed on the cognitive functioning of the subjects. However, beyond 25 hours per week, an increase in working time has a negative impact on cognition".
That is seductive! And, interestingly, the results were the same for men and women.
However, if working 25 hours a week is not an option, what is the 2nd best solution? A 40-hour work week or no work at all?
If you answered "not working at all" then you are wrong, according to the results of this study. Better to work full time than not to work at all.
Same answer if we talk about working more than 55 hours a week. It is indeed much worse for cognitive functioning than not working at all.
"The degree of intellectual stimulation may depend on the duration of labor," said one of the researchers, Colin McKenzie, professor of economics at Keio University.
"Work can be a double-edged sword. It can stimulate brain activity, but at the same time, long hours of work can cause fatigue and stress, potentially damaging cognitive functions. Especially repetitive tasks 8 hours a day, 5 days a week."
In conclusion, therefore, it seems that the 25-hour work week is the ideal.
So, who wants to conduct this study in France so that we can go and see our bosses with a little more peace of mind?
This is, according to the researchers, the “sandwich age”. Indeed, at forty one takes care either of children or of a dependent parent.
Working time is combined with these family imperatives and wears us out little by little. And for these tasks, no right to rest;-)
40 is also the age when the effects of aging begin to be felt on the brain.
Hence the interest of working in a more balanced and reasonable way.
