ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.
Listen "The impact of a compressed workweek on shareholder value (Dutordoir & Struyfs, 2024)"
Episode Synopsis
Welcome to Revise and Resubmit, where we dive deep into the latest cutting-edge research from the world’s most prestigious journals. Today, we unravel an insightful study titled "The Impact of a Compressed Workweek on Shareholder Value: An Event Study Analysis of Belgium's 4-Day Workweek Legislation," authored by Marie Dutordoir and Kristof Struyfs. This paper was recently published in Human Resource Management, an FT50 journal—a distinction marking it among the top 50 business journals in the world, maintained by the Financial Times.
The compressed workweek, or CWW, is no longer just a buzzword. It’s becoming a bold new way to reimagine productivity. Belgium’s 2022 announcement of a 4-day workweek mandate caused ripples—not just among employees, but in the financial markets. In this study, Dutordoir and Struyfs used event study methodology to examine how shareholders reacted to the policy. Surprisingly, the stock prices of Belgian firms jumped following the news. Why? Investors believe that employees will reciprocate the benefit of extra time off with higher productivity—especially in firms that rely heavily on knowledge workers or had lower productivity to begin with.
The authors' backgrounds give this paper added weight. Marie Dutordoir, a professor of Finance at Alliance Manchester Business School and part-time faculty at Utrecht University, is renowned for her research at the intersection of finance and sustainability. Kristof Struyfs, assistant professor of Finance at the Open Universiteit, brings his expertise in sustainable finance and corporate governance to the mix. Their deep connection to Belgium’s academic landscape makes them uniquely positioned to analyze the country’s CWW policy.
But here’s the real question: Is the 4-day workweek the win-win solution we’ve been waiting for? And if so, how might this experiment in Belgium shape the future of work around the globe?
Thank you to Professors Dutordoir and Struyfs and Wiley Periodicals LLC for making this essential research open access. Stay with us as we unpack the implications of this policy for HR managers, policymakers, and businesses worldwide.
Reference
Dutordoir, M., & Struyfs, K. (2024). The impact of a compressed workweek on shareholder value: An event study analysis of Belgium's 4‐day workweek legislation. Human Resource Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22238
The compressed workweek, or CWW, is no longer just a buzzword. It’s becoming a bold new way to reimagine productivity. Belgium’s 2022 announcement of a 4-day workweek mandate caused ripples—not just among employees, but in the financial markets. In this study, Dutordoir and Struyfs used event study methodology to examine how shareholders reacted to the policy. Surprisingly, the stock prices of Belgian firms jumped following the news. Why? Investors believe that employees will reciprocate the benefit of extra time off with higher productivity—especially in firms that rely heavily on knowledge workers or had lower productivity to begin with.
The authors' backgrounds give this paper added weight. Marie Dutordoir, a professor of Finance at Alliance Manchester Business School and part-time faculty at Utrecht University, is renowned for her research at the intersection of finance and sustainability. Kristof Struyfs, assistant professor of Finance at the Open Universiteit, brings his expertise in sustainable finance and corporate governance to the mix. Their deep connection to Belgium’s academic landscape makes them uniquely positioned to analyze the country’s CWW policy.
But here’s the real question: Is the 4-day workweek the win-win solution we’ve been waiting for? And if so, how might this experiment in Belgium shape the future of work around the globe?
Thank you to Professors Dutordoir and Struyfs and Wiley Periodicals LLC for making this essential research open access. Stay with us as we unpack the implications of this policy for HR managers, policymakers, and businesses worldwide.
Reference
Dutordoir, M., & Struyfs, K. (2024). The impact of a compressed workweek on shareholder value: An event study analysis of Belgium's 4‐day workweek legislation. Human Resource Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22238
In God we trust