Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you only had to go to school or work four days a week? What would you do with that extra day off? Some people would go shopping and run errands, while others would spend the day decompressing on the couch.
This is one of the emerging ideas that many businesses and establishments are adopting and implementing for their employees. Rather than working five eight-hour days, individuals would be working four ten-hour days. This results in a three-day weekend instead of the traditional two days off after a five-day work period.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, when everyone was forced to work from home, many people questioned the possibility of reduced workdays. Individuals began discussing the work-life balance and whether their employers might offer more flexibility in work schedules.
As a result, many businesses and corporations across the country have been incorporating trial periods of shorter workweeks. “Four-day workweeks have been growing in popularity in the United States for decades, with their incidence tripling among full-time workers between 1973 and 2018,” claims the American Psychological Association (APA).
They also add, “Perhaps unsurprisingly, employees are largely enthusiastic about both types of 4-day workweeks, with about 80% of Work in America survey respondents saying they believe they would be happier and just as effective with 4 days at work.”
And it’s not just the employees who are benefitting from these shorter workweeks. According to the APA’s research, most companies continue the four-day workweek after their trial period is over. Businesses note that there is better retention and recruitment of employees.
“It’s about creating a better work-life balance by improving productivity,” claims Andrew Barnes, the architect behind the Global Four-Day Workweek Movement. “By empowering team members to manage their own time more effectively, organizations can unlock higher performance levels and improve customer satisfaction. Barnes’ data backs this up: companies across various industries have shown marked improvements in output and well-being,” as mentioned in a Forbes article.
This raises many questions for us, as members of the workforce, to consider. Is it worth an extra day of stress? Why is employment culture so important to us when the reality is that humans weren’t meant to work this often? Don’t we deserve more time to ourselves, rather than slaving away to create a chain of corporate greed?
Many business owners have also been reporting the positives of a shortened week as well, stating that there’s increased productivity, cost savings, and employee retention. “The same poll found that business leaders reported 62% reported fewer sick days being used. When employees have that extra day off during traditional business hours, they’re better able to schedule personal necessities. They can make doctor’s and other appointments on their regular day off without taking time away from the job,” as stated by Trinet’s report on the four-day workweek.
“There is no surprise, which is not typically the case in academic research. Usually, we would get some hypotheses supported while others refuted, but for this project, basically everything we expect to move moves, and in the anticipated direction. Hours reduced, well-being improved, and key organizational bottom-lines sustained—all of these happened without the need for workers to intensify their work demands. I think this is an ideal example demonstrating how powerful, well-conceived work redesign efforts can make an impactful difference in the real world,” according to Boston College’s Associate Professor Wen Fan, after researching the statistics and impacts of a potential four-day workweek.
Boston College students found evidence of a four-day workweek benefiting all parties involved, not just employees. They found high satisfaction between employees and employers, and a higher degree of staff productivity was maintained. This was obtained by reducing low-value activities, which was accomplished by summarizing meetings in emails, rather than organizing team conferences.
This discussion of a shorter week has also led to the foundation of a New Zealand based organization known as the 4-Day Week Global (4DWG). This establishment has coordinated with corporations around the world to implement shorter workweeks with full pay. Thanks to 4DWG, well over one hundred institutions, located in countries such as Australia, the United States, and Ireland, have participated in a four-day workweek trial.
The four-day workweek isn’t just being attempted in the workforce, but also in the educational field. School calendars are typically dictated by its states’ minimum instructional time requirements. Schools that don’t meet this minimum requirement receive less funding from the state. Many regions around the U.S. allow for schools to opt into a four-day schedule, as long as some level of flexibility is provided for students and families. This could be things such as providing meals for students who rely on school food, or opting into 5-day weeks if families cannot find proper care for young children.
“Proponents of a four-day school week argue that it offers several benefits, including cost savings, improved student attendance and increased teacher morale,” says the National Conference of State Legislature, “By reducing the number of school days, schools can save money on transportation, food and energy costs. This can be especially important for rural districts where students may need to travel long distances to get to school. District administrators also claim that the appeal of a four-day workweek helps recruit teachers in areas where it is consistently difficult to attract new staff.”
However, while the idea appears to be an effective way to achieve a better work-life balance for employees, several difficulties remain. Many families would struggle to find appropriate care for their children if students had a four-day schedule, while adults maintained a five-day workweek. Another concern with this idea is that it may create coverage gaps, scheduling issues, and potentially lead to overtime costs for hourly-paid employees.
One of the largest conflicts of this idea is that it simply may not work for everyone. “There may be sections of your company that can shift to a 4-day workweek, while others cannot. Unless you plan to shut down the production line and live with the ripple effects that causes, office workers may have the option, but not front-liners. This might become a pain point for your business: it might result in resentment. If you’re considering a change, make sure it can apply equally to all departments,” Trinet states in their research.
Despite the conflicts, there are simple fixes that could temporarily alleviate the difficulties of this switch. For example, making a four-day workweek optional for families and workers, while still accommodating both types of employees, no matter what schedule they choose to work with, would be a solution. This could involve allowing workers to decide specific schedules ahead of time, such that they can accommodate their lives outside of work. For students, there could be an alternative if they choose to do four days of school rather than five through virtual teaching and online classes.
Overall, a four-day workweek could be the next large-scale change made to the American employment system. Despite its challenges, it could create real impacts among employees by improving productivity and reducing costs for businesses in the long run. It is time for employers and corporations to consider how the effects of a four-day workweek could benefit all employees and leaders. With the right structure and support, we can create a better balance between work and life for everyone involved.
