{"id":79361,"date":"2022-09-23T13:33:43","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T17:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=79361"},"modified":"2022-09-23T13:33:45","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T17:33:45","slug":"the-4-day-workweek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-4-day-workweek\/","title":{"rendered":"The 4-Day Workweek: A Historical & Social Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the history of the 4-day workweek<\/a>? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages to the community?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An increasing number of global organizations are trying out the 4-day workweek, but the benefits of a reduced working schedule can come at a cost to others. As a result, it’s not yet clear if this kind of reduced schedule is viable on a large scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to learn about the history of the 4-day workweek and how it can help or harm the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Is a 4-Day Workweek the Future of Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An overwhelming majority of US workers (83% in one survey<\/a> and 92% in another<\/a>) would like their employer to switch to\u2014or at least offer the option of\u2014the 4-day workweek.<\/strong> Globally, increasing competition for workers is driving employers to offer reduced work schedules, and pilot programs have already concluded in New Zealand<\/a>, Spain<\/a>, Japan<\/a>, and Iceland<\/a>. More are currently underway in the UK<\/a>, Belgium<\/a>, Canada<\/a>, Australia<\/a>, and the United Arab Emirates<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This push to reduce work schedules gathered momentum during the pandemic, which forced employers to become more flexible about working arrangements<\/strong> and led many workers to <\/strong>reflect on unhealthy work cultures<\/strong><\/a> that had led to problems with work-life balance<\/a>. These changes have nudged the balance of power away from employers and toward workers, allowing them to demand benefits that would have been far-fetched just a few years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is a 4-day week a good compromise between workers\u2019 needs and employers\u2019 demands? The jury\u2019s still out.<\/a> Advocates of the 4-day week say that it makes employees happier, increases productivity, reduces employee burnout, and has impressive environmental benefits. However, companies continue to hesitate because of the potential effects on the bottom line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we balance the needs of workers with those of businesses<\/strong>, and how would a large-scale shift to a 4-day week affect the wider community?<\/strong> In this article, we\u2019ll give a brief history of the 4-day workweek and then tease out the pros and cons for each set of stakeholders: workers, then organizations, then the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The History of Reduced Work Schedules<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The idea of a shorter working week isn\u2019t new. For a long time, it seemed to be an inevitability that would naturally accompany technological advancements<\/strong>: As machines replaced manual labor, the theory went, there would be less work left for people to do. In 1930, British economist John Maynard Keynes even predicted that in 2030 his grandchildren would struggle to find enough work to fill three hours a day<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keynes\u2019s prediction came on the heels of Henry Ford\u2019s decision in 1926 to reduce the working hours in his factories to five-day, 40-hour weeks<\/a>, a move that spread to other businesses during the Great Depression<\/a>. In the context of working hours that had already decreased from 70 per week in the early 19th century to 60 in the late 19th century<\/a>, Keynes\u2019s prediction seemed completely reasonable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, despite a spike of interest in the 1970s<\/a>, 4-day weeks haven\u2019t caught on universally. <\/strong>While working hours in most countries have steadily declined over the last few decades<\/a>, this decline has stagnated in the US, particularly over the last decade. While technology has<\/em> made some jobs more efficient, in other jobs it\u2019s allowed people to work from anywhere and at any time of day (or night), leading to an \u201calways on\u201d mindset that can lead to burnout<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are the Results So Far?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Four-day workweeks have been piloted at a range of private companies and even by a few state and national governments. But it can be difficult to compare these pilots<\/strong> because they\u2019ve all been implemented in slightly different ways. The main differences are in the type<\/em> of 4-day week and in the strategies<\/em> used to squeeze a workweek into four days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two broad types of 4-day workweek:<\/strong> the compressed schedule and the reduced schedule<\/strong>. People on a compressed schedule work the same 40 hours per week, but in four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days. Examples of compressed schedules include Shake Shack\u2019s 2021 trial for managers<\/a> and the Utah state government\u2019s year-long pilot<\/a>, which began in 2008. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People on a reduced schedule<\/strong> work fewer hours with no reduction in pay. This might amount to a 4.5-day week, as with the United Arab Emirates government<\/a>, or it might be an even shorter 32-hour week<\/strong> (four eight-hour days). Examples of 32-hour week pilots include software company Wildbit, which implemented a 4-day week in 2017<\/a>, and the UK national trial<\/a> that\u2019s currently in progress. In the UK model, participating employees make a commitment<\/a> to follow the 100:80:100 model<\/a> (100% of the salary for 80% of the time while maintaining 100% of the productivity of a five-day week). Even within these broad categories, there\u2019s a lot of variation in how people make them work.<\/strong> For example, the <\/strong>time-saving strategies <\/strong>of workers on reduced schedules might include reducing lunch hours<\/a>, automating repetitive tasks<\/a>, capping meeting length and attendance<\/a>, designating meeting-free days<\/a>, and setting aside dedicated quiet time<\/a> for deep work<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Effects on the Community<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One area that\u2019s often overlooked when evaluating 4-day workweeks is their potential effect on society more broadly. If only a few companies make the shift, this won\u2019t make much of a dent in community patterns. But if a large number of companies make a long-term shift to 4-day weeks, the repercussions will be more widely felt. Here are the pros and cons for the community:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advantages of a 4-Day Workweek<\/h4>\n\n\n\n