Ever think to yourself that you need just one more day on the weekend to feel rested? Maybe a day for chores, a day for social activities, and, I don’t know, a day to lay around? News of studies around how four-day workweeks have impacted the workforce abroad have made their way to the US and have people thinking, why not? This week, a look at the elusive "four-day" workweek and some legislation around it.
So, we could just work four days a week?
A four-day workweek can generally be one of two things, either increasing the daily hours people work from eight to ten so that they can accomplish 40 hours in four days, or, reducing the amount of hours people work. Generally an hour reduction is reducing time worked from 40 hours to 32, and having people work four eight-hour shifts.
With the increasing discourse around work-life balance, the drawbacks of comuniting, and how we are progressing as a society, the people are very interested in what a four-day workweek could look like.
Alright... Pros and Cons?
Most of the benefits of four-day workweeks tie directly back to quality of life for employees. One of the best observed trends is that when people have a good work-life balance, they do better work. But, not all industries can make a four-day workweek work. Implementing a four-day workweek comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages:
Pros:
- Improved Work-Life Balance: People having an additional day off allows for more time to rest, spend with family, pursue hobbies, and do errands. This ultimately can lead to a much better work-life balance.
- Higher Morale and Wellbeing: Having more time for yourself can increase your overall happiness which can lead to boosting employee morale. Also, employees may experience reduced stress, burnout, and mental health issues due to the ability to rest more.
- Increased Productivity: Some studies from abroad suggest that a compressed workweek can lead to increased focus and productivity during work hours. A deduction in unnecessary meetings and tasks help employees do better work in less time.
- Attracting Talent: Offering a four-day workweek can make companies more attractive to potential employees and help with talent retention.
- Reduced Commuting: Employees experience reduced transportation costs, less traffic congestion, less time spent traveling to and from work. Also, the environmental impact of commuting is reduced.
Cons:
- Longer Workdays: Working four 10s instead of five 8s may lead to fatigue and reduced productivity toward the end of the day.
- Workload Management: Depending on your position, the need to distribute the same workload over fewer days can be challenging, potentially causing stress and requiring investments in more effective time management.
- Overlap Issues: If all employees do not take the same day off, there can be challenges related to collaboration, communication, and continuity across business functions. This can also lead to scheduling complexities and client frustration.
- Customer Service: Businesses that need to provide customer service throughout the week can face difficulties ensuring appropriate coverage.
What’s been happening outside of the US?
Over the last decade, countries all over the world have explored what a four-day workweek would like for them, including:
- Iceland: Between 2015-2019, Iceland conducted the world's largest successful trial of a shortened workweek, where employees worked fewer hours while maintaining or even improving their productivity. Their trial cut down the workweek to 35 to 36-hours and did not cut pay. As of today, 86% of Iceland’s working population have shifted to a shorter workweek as a company or have gained the right to opt into less working hours.
- Sweden: In 2015, Sweden looked into having companies try six-hour workdays instead of eight-hour ones without loss of pay, but it was not largely participated in.
- New Zealand: New Zealand has garnered attention in recent years for its examination around four-day workweeks as a means to improve work-life balance and productivity. In 2022, New Zealand company Unilever conducted a four-day workweek trial where they allowed employees to work 80% of the time for 100% pay. The company reported the following: stress among employees dropped 33%, absenteeism dropped 34%, feelings of strength and vigor at work increased by 15%, and work-life conflict fell 67%. Unilever has since decided to expand their trial to Australian employees.
- Spain: In 2021, the Spanish government agreed to invest 50 million euros (around $60 million USD) into a three-year, four-day workweek trial program. Around 6,000 employees at 200 companies were expected to participate. The trial allows for employees to work 32 hours a week without pay reduction. This trial will have three different phases where the government will help with covering: 100% of the companies’ costs the first year, 50% the second year, and 33% during the final year.
- Japan: In 2019, Microsoft offered Japanese employees three-day weekends for a month. This resulted in a boost in productivity by 40%. In 2021, the Japanese government announced they were going to make an effort to help employees achieve a better work-life balance. There is a term in Japan, karoshi, that means “death by overwork” which has led to the country exploring more methods.
- United Kingdom: Probably the most covered in the media was the United Kingdom's four-day workweek program last year with 61 companies and more than 3,300 employees. The program was run by researchers at Cambridge, Oxford, and Boston College, as well as some advocacy groups. The majority (92%) of the companies which took part in the trial decided to keep the four-day week policy after the trial period, most commonly citing the immense impact better work life balance had on their workforce.
- Belgium: And finally, Belgium became the first country in Europe to pass a bill codifying a four-day week in February 2022. Today, Belgian employees can choose between a four or five day workweek, but all employees work the same amount of hours.
The Bills
There is no codified legislation passed in the US (at this time) outlining what a four-day workweek could look like here, but, some companies (especially startups) have adopted four-day workweeks. According to a study performed by Qualtrics, 92% of US workers are in favor of the shortened workweek, even if it means working longer hours. The study also found that 55% percent of employees said a four-day workweek would likely frustrate customers. So what's happening in the US? What is right? Let's take a look!
The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act
On the national level, we have the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act. This bill, sponsored by Representative Mark Takano and others, aims to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours per week to 32 hours per week for "non-exempt" employees. Takano first proposed this legislation in 2021, but recently it has gained more traction. HR1332 mandates overtime pay for work done after 32 hours, in hopes of encouraging businesses to either pay workers more for longer hours, or shorten the workweek and hire more people. "Non-exempt" employees are people who are currently entitled to overtime when they work more than 40 hours in a week. Because of this "non-exempt" employees aspect, if passed the bill would effectively mean either shorter workweeks or more overtime pay for hourly workers, but it wouldn’t impact salaried workers in office and tech jobs.
New York
New York A1241 would reduce the number of hours in a workweek to thirty-two for employers with at least five hundred employees who are not part of a collective bargaining agreement. The bill also states that employee compensation will be reduced due to the reduction in hours considered a legal week's work and the bill should not prevent an agreement for overwork at an increased compensation. The compensation for more work should be "at least one hundred fifty percent of the employee's base compensation."
Maryland's Four-Day Workweek Act
Maryland proposed the Four-Day Workweek Act of 2023 but it died in April. SB187 aimed to create a pilot-program where participating businesses would have received tax credits if they offered their employees a four-day work week. The tax credit would be a state income tax credit of up to $750,000 per fiscal year if the company moves at least 30 employees from a five-day workweek to a four-day workweek without reducing pay or benefits.
Massachusetts' Smart Work Week Pilot
Massachusetts has also proposed a bill, H3849, that would have also created a tax credit for businesses who move their workers to a shorter week for the same pay. Under this bill, businesses would have to transition at least 15 workers to a 32-hour, four-day schedule without reducing salaries. To engage in the pilot and receive a tax credit, employers would be required to report regularly on the economic and social impact of the shortened week in their organization. Legislators also proposed H3599 which aims to prohibit employers from employing "any employee for a workweek longer than 32 hours unless such employee receives compensation for their employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than 1½ times the regular rate at which they are employed." Both of these bills are sitting in committee.
Conclusion
The research findings reveal an interesting perspective on the adoption of a four-day workweek. Many participating companies in studies across the world reported that the ability to free up valuable time by streamlining their work schedules lead to an overall positive experience.
One interesting item I wanted to surface from the Qualtrics survey was that when asked to choose between two options, 50% of employees said they’d prefer increased flexibility to work when they want, compared to 47% who said they would rather have a four-day workweek. To me, this shows that people are looking for more flexibility and control over their lives and how they can spend their time. This flexibility underscores the importance of considering individual needs and the unique nature of the work when implementing a compressed workweek.
Ultimately, whether a four-day workweek is a success or failure hinges on factors like the type of work, industry practices, corporate culture, and effective planning. I am incredibly interested to see what the future of this looks like in the US and across different industry types.
Cover Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash
About BillTrack50 – BillTrack50 offers free tools for citizens to easily research legislators and bills across all 50 states and Congress. BillTrack50 also offers professional tools to help organizations with ongoing legislative and regulatory tracking, as well as easy ways to share information both internally and with the public.