Is A Four-Day Workweek Going from Radical to Routine?

It wasn’t all that long ago that a forty-hour, nine to five, five-day workweek was considered the norm. So normal that Dolly Parton famously sang about it in her unforgettable 1980 hit “9 to 5.”

It wasn’t always that way. In the mid-1800s workers typically had to toil more than seventy hours a week. The eight-hour-a-day five-day schedule was popularized in the late 1920s by the Ford Motor Company. And in 1938, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed a law which mandated that employers had to pay overtime to employees working more than forty hours a week.

Fast forward to today—and, as Bob Dylan would say, “The times they are a-changin’.”

The hangover of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rise of remote work, and the increasing employee desire and demand for a work-life balance has spurred a significant rethink. As economic historian Benjamin Hunnicutt, a professor at the University of Iowa, has said, “The experience of the pandemic has struck some chords. There might be a way to live my life more fully and do my job at the same time. It’s on the table again.”

The change is so significant, according to Gartner research, that four-day workweeks will go from radical to routine, especially since 63% of potential employees in their survey rated “four-day workweek” as the top future of work offering that would attract them to a job. The organization, in its report “9 Future of Work Trends for 2024,” states, “A talent shortage is making it more difficult to attract and retain employees, and organizations are evaluating whether shifting toward a condensed workweek will meet growing employee expectations for flexibility as well as the organizations’ objectives.”

In a Gallup survey of more than 3,000 employed US adults, in partnership with Bentley University, 77% said a four-day, 40-hour workweek would have a positive impact with 46% saying it would be “extremely positive.” A recent KPMG survey of CEOs found that 30% of large US companies are already exploring four-day or four-and-a-half day workweeks to combat the challenge of burnout. And billionaire investor and Mets owner Steve Cohen recently told CNBC he believes a four-day workweek could soon be the norm partly because of the rise of artificial intelligence and partly because of generally lower productivity levels on Friday.

Is it working out? The world’s biggest trial of a four-day week, conducted in the United Kingdom, turned out to be a resounding success. In the six-month study, employees at 61 organizations worked 80% of their usual hours—for the same pay—as long as they delivered 100% of their usual work. At the end of 2023, at least 89% of those firms were still letting employees work the shorter week and at least 51% had made the four-day week permanent.

What’s my take? I’m all for flexible work schedules. You get the best results and most productivity out of people when you allow them to work in the timeframe that suits them best and not force them to punch a time clock. It also means allowing work from home when their role makes that possible.

At Ideal Outcomes, for instance, we bring people on board to accomplish certain tasks. I don’t care when they do it or how long it takes them to do it as long as the work is produced to the high quality our clients expect. Of course, there are certain jobs that require a fixed number of hours—if you’re working in a call center or retail outlet as examples. But even then a four day week could work well.

The purpose of a business is to create a profit for the company and a good income for employees to enable all of us to have a wonderful personal life. But if you need to take a Tuesday off, take it off, as long as you make sure someone is able to cover for you if you have that kind of job.

I am not a believer in time equals performance. I know of bosses who pay close attention to when their employees arrive at work and monitor to ensure they don’t take more than an hour for lunch. Managing by the clock like that is a guaranteed recipe for employee disengagement. Instead, bosses should prioritize whether objectives are being met. My attitude is to get the job done rather than put the time in. Work ethic has nothing to do with the hours you work. Work ethic is about commitment, having a sense of pride in the quality of your work, and the fulfillment you get out of your work.

Another concrete sign that flexibility needs to be the corporate watchword is that the number of CEOs who envision employees returning to the office full-time has dropped from 62% to 34% in just one year, according to the KPMG survey. “The views of employees haven’t changed. They want more flexibility. Now there is more recognition from CEOs that hybrid is here to stay,” said Paul Knopp, chair and CEO of KPMG US.

I couldn’t agree more. As the concept of a four-day workweek shifts from a radical idea to a routine practice, it’s evident that both historical trends and current needs are aligning to redefine the structure of our work lives. The overwhelming support from both employees and executives highlights a significant shift towards valuing efficiency over hours spent at the desk. With major studies confirming the benefits of a shorter workweek in terms of productivity and employee well-being, and a growing number of companies adopting this model, it is likely that the traditional five-day workweek will soon be considered a relic of the past. This evolution reflects a broader recognition that achieving a sustainable balance between work and personal life isn’t just a luxury—it’s essential for the future of work.

Written by Jason Richmond.

Have you read?
Countries Most in Debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Most Successful Unicorn Startups.
$100 Billion Club: Richest People With The 12-Figure Fortunes.
Largest electricity consumers in the world, by country (in terawatt-hours).
Countries that Export the Most Goods and Services.