Employees want to work smarter, not harder — and a four-day workweek is one way they can do just that.
When the switch to remote work first happened at the start of the pandemic, employers were worried about how a digital environment would impact productivity and engagement. As it turned out, employees felt more productive at home than in the office: 83% of employers and 71% of employees considered remote work to be a success, while 52% of bosses thought productivity improved during the pandemic, according to PwC research. Experts agree that employers can expect similar results from employees who work just four days a week.
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The idea that more working hours mean greater productivity is a myth. In 2018, the International Labour Organization at the United Nations conducted a study that showed that shorter work hours can result in greater output thanks to lower fatigue, improved motivation, and reduced turnover.
At the same time, longer working hours can be detrimental to employee health. In May 2021, the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization estimated that in 2016, 398,000 people died from stroke and 347,000 from heart disease as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week.
While only 15% of employers currently offer a four-day schedule, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, the rise of flexible and remote working arrangements as well as advancements in technology are pushing this idea toward becoming reality for more workers.
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Nonprofit organization 4 Day Week Global is currently partnering with a team of businesspeople, academics, researchers and authors to make this more flexible model a reality. As part of the organization’s efforts, it’s gathering signatures on a petition it plans to present to employers across the country in an effort to help them understand the value of a shorter workweek. Fundraising platform Kickstarter is part of this coalition and campaign, and the organization recently told The Atlantic that it will adopt a four day workweek beginning in 2022.
“The four-day workweek has been one of the best things our company has ever done,” Banks Benitez, CEO of Uncharted, a social organization that addresses economic inequality in the U.S., said in a release. “We're more focused during the workweek, we're as productive as we were before, team morale is up, work stress is down, and weekends feel spacious. The four day workweek is a powerful forcing function to determine what's important and what's not; it helps all of us prioritize and deprioritize better.”
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Andrew Barnes, founder of the New Zealand-based investment advisory firm Perpetual Guardian and a co-founder of 4 Day Week Global saw a 40% increase in productivity and a 15% decrease in employee stress levels when he implemented a four-day week at his own business.
“Having gathered the first qualitative and quantifiable evidence of how individuals, families, businesses and the climate do better under this model, it is heartening to see it grow into a truly global movement,” Barnes said in a release. “Like the transition to a five-day week a century ago, most businesses will implement the change gradually, customizing teams’ schedules to fit everyone’s needs. It is time to take this next step and build a world that is more balanced, sustainable, and equitable.”
