Fine and dandy, but if your workplace serves customers, you need to have enough staff at work during business hours. That means Friday too. I cannot imagine a plumbing company (for example) not having people available on Friday. Or whatever day of the official workweek. Not everyone is a tech worker or works in a 24 hour setting like a hospital.
27
A few years ago I had a 4 day/week job and I loved it! I still worked 5 days/week, just fewer hours each day and hardly any weekends. And here's what happened: I now had time to work out so I was the healthiest I've ever been. I had time to go out on a date and I was the happiest I've ever been. A 4 day work week for knowledge workers is a recipe for a productive workforce.
81
4 day week is interesting -
As a neuroradiologist, I’m the one reading the MRI and CT scans of the brain, neck (ENT issues) and spine. Mostly work off hours, typically a 7 day week block of evenings followed by a 7 day week block of nights. It’s not leisurely - average a scan about every 6 minutes during the shifts. The positive trade offs are work from home so no wasted commute time, actually get more sleep and workout time (midday when gyms and pools are empty), and always have a bit of time on weekdays for errands / cooking. These 2 week straight blocks alternate with 2 weeks off. Given the nature of the work, each case read is a unique event, and there is essentially no intrusion into off duty time outside assigned duty hours. With a group of 20 there are a # of postings per 24 hrs that need to be staffed, others can be off.
I like the work a lot, very interesting, and also love my off duty time. Longer blocks off on a regular basis facilitate family time, home projects, travel, non medical conferences etc.
Bottom line, people should think very strategically about the work they enjoy, and also rigorously evaluate the life they want to lead. This isn’t easy. I practiced dentistry for 8 years in the 80’s, entered medical school at 32, and finished residency and fellowship at age 42. Looking back, the entire journey was worth it.
Ultimately, the goal isn’t a particular workweek - it’s making work fit life and not the other way around.
51
We should have had the 32 hour week by now, but tethering work to insurance has stopped societal progress.
102
I've spent the last 10 years "working" at our CSA on Fridays, getting paid in vegetables. It has kept me sane and allowed me to be more productive in my job.
19
Simply don’t have enough staff to work less than 40 hour, OT most weeks...vacations often aren’t granted, can’t get coverage. To keep it at 40 hrs/week you have to ask to be PT, but then you pay more for insurance.
4
There's some cognitive dissonance for me in discussing a shortened work week when work intrudes more than ever on people's lives. At least in my industry (software), you're pretty much expected to be on tap most of the time, at least enough to respond to emails and so forth. What good is a shortened work week if your personal time is filled with work, anyway?
47
I love the idea of a four day work week! My hard-working children will blow by the slackers, just like the hard-working children in France who ignore the "35-hour work week" have blown by their peers or moved to London.
9
A better bet is to qualify yourself for a job you would really like to do five days a week, as many people have.
9
The Wrigley Company (Doublemint, Juicy Fruit, etc.) instituted a 5 day work week in 1919 - seems we ought to be able to lop another day after 100 years!
17
I so deeply believe in our need for a 4-day work week or even a 32-hour work week. Our culture's obsession with work is unhealthy for individuals, the whole, and country's future. What group can I link up with or support to help this endeavor?
54
Friends took their sailboat around the world. On a remote Pacific island they were welcomed to dine with the chieftain who asked, "What is it like on YOUR island?" They described typical routines, daily commuting times, hours worked, vacations, etc. Chief responded they were insulting his intelligence. He said they were not being truthful because "there is not so much work." I think he is right.
52
How about work-sharing? For instance, hiring 5 people instead of 4, with each working 32 hours. This would reduce the number of not-employed people, including many receiving government benefits. Probably some reduction in income for many workers, but improvement in workers' individual well-being overall, and much societal benefit.
Not exactly a new idea, but not brought up here.
To have a maximal chance of success, this labor policy (yes, government would be involved) would be more viable to the extent that we had a better educational system for the whole population.
17
Some work cannot be done in less time. Reducing hours would require hiring more staff and paying them less.
4
When you’re a free-lancer or self-employed, every work day with billable hours is a blessing. Day off? No pay.
23
As automation replaces labor, a compressed workweek is inevitable. But be careful what you wish for. You may find yourself working 16 hours a week and wishing it was 50.
7
Years ago my former employer, ATT, offered us craftsmen a 4-day week: 40 hrs a week, 10 hrs a day. I took Wednesday off, knowing that most of my comrades would choose either Friday or Monday, and so Wednesday it was. I enjoyed it: plenty of time to do errands, shopping, classes, free reading, or just snoozing. Almost like being retired. Alas, I quit that program when Mgmt decided to require 2 extra hours of O.T. from everyone for extended periods of time to get the work done. That meant a 12-hour day, a killer. Count on mgm't to run a good idea into the ground. Boo-hoo.
62
@Bob You said it best, Bob.
3
My wife and I are both self-employed in different professions (medicine and law, respectively). We take Wednesdays off and have been doing so for fifteen years. We run errands, recharge, spend time together, and spend afternoons after school with our grandchildren. Best decision ever.
55
I would work even longer hours if given the strength and opportunity; as an artist, I abide by Robert Henri's axiom to love hard work for the sake of doing things well. Of course, working for the one-percent taskmasters is slavery performed in order to pay them back for food, clothing, and shelter. This is a harsh world, made harsher by the rich. Instead of a kinder, gentler world, with a guaranteed, universal basic income for everyone, they promulgate the lie that productivity is the way to happiness, so work extra hard for that week-long vacation, and you, too, may get to die in the nursing home of your choice. If you are lucky enough to find your calling, work can become a pleasure, but mostly it is a drudge, and the less of it, the better.
33
I stopped reading when you referenced one percenters... I can’t listen when you’re only blaming others (one-percenters) for society’s failures. You’re little different than supremacist blaming...both nauseating. One feels divinely supported, the other obliviously ignorant...I only know that both are dangerous.
2
The faculty at my uni in Japan teach four days a week, reserving the fifth day for research (and often, errands). Coming from a standard five-day week the lifestyle improvement is dramatic.
The other added benefits to a four day week is less commuting, which is better for the environment and the other commuters.
34
A full salaried with benefits four-day workweek in the USA is not going to happen anytime soon. There's zero incentive from corporations to do such a thing. Working from home IS growing with corporate consent but many of those workers arent full time salaried with benefits either. This article is mostly wishin and hopin.
8
Last Christmas season I worked 44 days in a row until Xmas. The 40 percent or so of employees who have a 5-day workweek with Sat and Sun off in the US are and have long been a steadily shrinking minority. But let me know of openings, even with a Monday - Friday schedule. 4-days - LOL!
23
As I read this wonderful article, I am at home with my feet up on my desk; it's Friday at 3:24 PM. I just got done cleaning out my closet and boxing up my summer clothes; I'm about to meet my girlfriend and we're going to go to the supermarket before the rush hour.
Ever since a trip to Berlin two months ago, I refuse to work at night, and I'm coming close to making Friday a half-day. The result is that I'm getting more done in my actual workday as I don't have the mindset "Well, I'll finish it tonight or this weekend."
Nope and nope.
Much much less stressed, quality of work goes up, and...enjoying my life rather than working 7 days a week as I used to for the past few years.
Thanks for a great read!
24
@Zellickson You determine your own hours? Good on you! Nice work, if you can get it.
4
@Bob Pretty much, yea. I've been a working freelance writer/musician for the past 19 years. I'm up at 6, take the freezing cold shower, do the 30 pushups and attack! :)
5
It would be good for the environment, too!!!
That’s a lot less people on the road driving to work and back.
35
I think of the many people who lead unhappy private lives and escape into their work. They make everyone miserable.
And what to do with all that free time? Meditate.
20
How about ensuring EVERYONE has consistent 2 days off a week first? There are millions of workers that haven't had "weekends" in decades, much less set schedules or the pipe dream of paid time off.
People are too burnt out to work Fridays? Imagine what it's like to work that burnt out for a lifetime and with no end in sight.
Sorry, but I have zero sympathy for people sad about working Fridays. Awww... you're exhausted from having a lifetime of weekends off? Try a lifetime of NEVER having a single set day off! Or, even consistent hours every day? Many people don't even have metaphorical "Fridays" in the first place.
Frankly, the only time I know for sure I have off is that one glorious hour in the spring when the clocks skip ahead. Oh, wait.
How about some labor laws that apply to everyone, instead of giving employers license to abuse workers by calling them "contractors" or making everyone "part time" at 29.5 hours?
56
@Alex
attitude adjustment might help.
4
@Alex, your comment is so very true. The wage slaves are forgotten in this discussion, although they make up a vast majority of workers. Those that are lucky enough to even consider negotiating for a 4 day week are an elite group, whether they know it or not. End-stage capitalism is where we seem to be now. Maybe some things never change, and serfdom never ended.
22
@Daphne Yes, thank you. That's such helpful advice! I'm sure the millionaire CEO of my employer limits 100% of his hourly employees to 29.5 hours a week and provides zero benefits because 100% of the staff has a bad attitude.
I'll spread the word, I'm sure it'll change all our lives.
23
Years ago the popular music band Lover Boy told us that everybody was working for the weekend.
I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.
2
Healthcare is a 24/7 endeavor. Heart attacks and cancer don't take Fridays off and neither do health care employees....thankfully.
2
But almost every hospital employee I know with patient care responsibility works four 10 hour or three 12 hour shifts. And every self-employed physician I know works a four day week, too. (Not all the hospital-employed physicians have that luxury.)
32
@Lyn Robins ever heard of a shift?
14
Why should anyone have to ever work? If we raise taxes on the billionaires everyone can have everything free forever! Elizabeth Warren said so!
7
@Larry
Love the sarcasm. So true. You could confiscate the entire wealth of anyone with more than 1B and it would be burned up in about 6 months. (Remember if you take it all it’s a one time deal). Then they come for the rest of us.
1
I need a 3 day weekend just to work my other job.
24
Sure.
Work 4 days, I'll pay you for 4 days.
Fair is fair.
Honest pay for honest work.
Work is not a charity.
1
I think the idea is to work 4 10 hour days.
I’d work 4 11 or 12 hour days to get a three day weekend.
7
@AutumnLeaf Fair is fair, eh? There are upper echelon managers making thou$and$ of dollar$ a day. That is fair??? Where have you been?
18
Oh, puhleeze, AutumnLeaf. You sound utterly appalled at the thought of leisure time....
18
Idiots. No, the reduced workweek didn't boost productivity by 40 percent; it it had, they would continue to use it. (They're not.)
- The trial was for all of 5 WEEKS. Of course employees, over 90% of which approve of a shorter work week, worked hard to make it a success.
- The change included other changes to their procedures, like having fewer meetings, limiting meetings to 30 minutes and 5 people max, using online chat instead of emails and paper documents, etc. I've no doubt that fewer meetings were a big contributor to real productivity. It's sort of the way that reading the NYT, when combined with diet and exercise, can help you to lose weight.
- The measure of productivity was actually just sales. In August. Hmm, I wonder if there is a group of consumers purchasing a lot of Microsoft stuff in August?
This was mostly a publicity stunt. Yet everyone is citing this as big news.
3
@Ernie Cohen "...if it had, they would continue to use it. (They're not.)" Ernie, you're assuming that the owners/managers are rational people all the time. Really, they are VERY conservative and extremely resistant to change. An abbreviated work week to make the workers happier and more productive? Must be something wrong there...
13
capitalism and corporate america are slowly killing happiness and people's ability to live a well-balanced life.
24
Yes, Ashley, except for the slowly...
4
I'm sure the couple doing it on the desk in the lower left window frame of the IPC Media building picture could use a day off.
6
All those in favor of the seven-day weekend, say "Aye."
6
I'm pushing for an 8 day week. Just add a day between Saturday and Sunday (Satunday?). That way, the corporate pigs get their 5 days worth of my blood and sweat and I get an extra day to unwind. I've already got the calendar manufacturing lobby on board.
7
@JG
One friend at a 7-day/week pharmacy worked three 12-hour days on a "rolling" schedule. Three on, three off. (Work M/T/W; S/M/T; S/S/M; F/S/S; T/F/S; W/T/F; T/W/T) Great coverage for the employer, and no one employee got stuck on the weekend. As with other medical care workers, this was contractually agreed with no overtime after 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a calendar week. 12-hours days are ideal for employers who have to run businesses 24 hours/day.
This schedule in fact does provide one sort of work/life balance.
2
Instead of workers realizing the benefits of increased productivity in the form of reduced hours, with the same annual compensation, employers have reaped increased profits.
As a result, productivity gains have increased income inequality.
9
As a teacher I have nothing to worry about -- I don't forsee anybody suggesting I work less than four days a week!
2
Read Juliet Schor's work on this subject. Her book, The Overworked American, details the myriad ways we're harming ourselves through overwork, and offers a prescription that also offers positive implications for fuller employment.
4
Be careful what you wish for. My Fortune 500 engineering company is switching to a four-day workweek next year. We already work a "9/80" schedule, meaning we get every other Friday off, and work 9-hour days M-Th, and 8 hours on the Friday we do work.
Even having every other Friday off is not as great as it may sound. My wife and I spend our off-Fridays rushing from the doctor to the vet to the grocery store to the salon to the mechanic. It's basically become a chore day. More importantly, it's difficult to focus/concentrate on work for 9 hours straight. I wouldn't even want to watch TV or read a book for that long.
So I am not looking forward to being stuck in my cube for 10 hours a day. I am in the minority, though. A full 74% of my peers voted to switch to "410". I believe the company is trying to appeal to younger workers (I'm 50 - about the median for our company). To our company's credit, they will allow people to continue working 9/80, or even a standard 5/40, but we must document a "hardship" to be able to do so. IMO, the "hardship" is working 10-hour days.
3
@Michael 9 hour days is already pretty normal in a large part of corporate America, without anyone moving away from a normal 5-day workweek.
20
@Michael
You work for a Fortune 500 company and you only work a 9 hr day?
I do too and my normal day is 14 hrs, often without a lunch break. Then like most of my colleagues there are emails to deal with on the weekend, so no real break. Same on vacations.
So you have it pretty easy, even at 10 hrs
The 4 day work week simply won’t happen in the industry I work in. We work long hours already. If people had a Friday off they would still work just not “on the clock”
All this just to make a decent wage
It is brutal
7
@Michael I work a 9-80 schedule and love it. I find working the extra hour a day is an excellent tradeoff in exchange for a three-day weekend every other week. Rather than a day of errands or chores, I have made it into a day to relax. That being said, at my workplace it's not madatory but completely voluntary. I have coworkers who have no interest in working an alternate schedule and would be as upset as you if they were required to work a 9-80 or 4-10 schedule.
1
I had today, Friday, off on a vacation day. It was great. I have next Friday off too.
1
@Ronald Stone I did this, too, the year I quit (i.e. 'retired'); I used all my accrued vacation days as a weekly day off. It was wonderful, heaven. Your job will never love you, no matter how hard or how hard you work.
16
Isn’t that the truth. I have a cartoon on the wall of my cubicle with Lucy and Charlie Brown where she is holding the football and saying if you work hard and put the company’s interests before yours they will reward you. After 45 years in the work place I know better.
4
Our oligarchs worry that with more time on our hands, we’ll get more active politically. Increased public participation in policy formation, you know, democracy, is a big fear of the wealthy- and their politicians are eager to abide.
23
Brilliant, Ed! Although if people were able to maintain living standard with more time off, there’d be much less reason for discontent....
2
Labor activists fought and died for the 40 hour work week.
Attributing a hard-won victory of organized workers to the imagined largesse of Henry Ford is ahistorical in the extreme.
47
I'm a computer scientist, age 61 in great shape, who works 10-hour days, Mon - Thur, 6 AM - 4:30 PM. I've had this schedule for about 3 years and LOVE IT! I remind EVERYONE - coworker, friends, family - at 4:30 PM Thursday, I'm "retired" until Monday at 6 AM. It also means Fridays - my day off - are great days for a dental cleaning, medical checkup, gym, enough time to cook a great dinner, plan a long weekend trip. Also, starting work at 6 AM, I get interrupted less for hours before all the emails come in, interrupting my concentration/quality thinking. Finally, this 4-day workweek is a fantastic benefit, less stressful at work, and allowing me to work until age 70 to start taking my Social Security at its maximum payment. For me to leave my current job, I would need an offer of over $50K/year more, at a minimum. That's how great this benefit is. Since I am a senior computer scientist and others need me, I tell my peers to feel free to call and not worry about "bothering" me. In reality, in my three years in this schedule, I think I got a call or email response on a Friday about three times.
21
@Sam Don't you find your Fridays are ruined by all the chores you couldn't get done during the workweek?
Ah, to work four days a week!
Life would ne'er then look so bleak.
Three day weekends in supply
for long naps or some bonsai.
Friday is a waste just now;
no one comes in anyhow.
Think if Monday, too, were gone;
we would face a brighter dawn!
13
If I were to propose a four day workweek, I'd lose my job.
Most Americans have zero input into their employment. And most seem to be living hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck.
If we can rebalance the scales back to pre-Reagan tax rates, when millionaires and corporations really did pay their dues, we as a middle class could fight our way back. A strong middle class is vital to this country's future, and the GOP have all but destroyed us.
I'm praying a Green New Deal really happens, and billionaires can finally contribute back to the tax base and take some pressure off us 99% of the population. It's well past time.
34
@Ricardito Resisting Better do more than pray, Rickie; they don't give in without a fight.
6
I don't mind allowing factory workers and other lower paid employees a 4 day week provided they work 40 hours; however, the last thing I want is our Government Offices to close for three days and we all know they would be the first to do it and last to put in a 40 hour work week.
2
@Philip W , why do you harbor suspicions that government employees have a weak work ethic? 40 hours of work can be completed in a variety of schedules. I imagine some people would still choose 5 8-hour days while others might want to do 4 10-hour days or 6 6 1/2-hour days. Such schedules might allow public access to offices after 5 and on weekends.
8
@Philip W so interesting you have this perception. My government employer won't even allow remote work, and hell would freeze before they'd consider a shortened workweek. Does Fox tell you this?
6
@Philip W
not to mention - why aren't they open Sat/Sun for the very people they claim to serve
1
A four-day work week makes sense but I think employees should get to choose their 3rd day off. If everyone has Friday off it just means traffic jams are on Thursday instead of Friday and it creates a heavy demand on hotels and airlines for the same 3 days each weekend. If people can choose Friday OR Monday, it spreads out the traffic jams a bit and the demand for airplane seats and hotel rooms. Businesses could make Tues-Thursday compulsory work days and let people decide their schedule beyond that.
If this happens, government institutions and schools will have to go along as well. And also, lengthening the workday to 10 hours defeats the purpose. Keep the workday to 8 hours and hire more workers if need be.
46
@CJ Yes, on my Fridays off, there is a lot of traffic, making it difficult to take advantage of the day. It's like everyone in town has Friday off.
@Michael And what's wrong with Wednesday off? It breaks up the week nicely. Two days on, one day off, two days on, two days off...rinse, repeat. Not bad, eh?
10
My law firm played with Friday’s off for years without success. The main reason for us being unsuccessful were two fold. Billing and the Courts worked (5) days a week. We eventually settled on a half day on Friday and most of the billers never left before 3-4pm. Whatever.
5
We can't even get our employer (a large public entity) to consider remote work, never mind four days.
11
Four-day work weeks won't become widespread in America for the same reason people in recent years have started greeting each other with the inane "Happy Friday!" at the end of the week. The majority of Americans have meaningless jobs with stagnate wages they're miserable doing, and if their only respite, those short weekends, expanded to three days they'd spend that third day rested and sane enough to think of ways to escape from the cells corporate America holds them in with health care plans and false promises of security and empty hopes of advancement.
38
People can work 4 10 hour days in several places. It makes for a very, very long day, and was never worth it to me.
5
@Rockaway Pete
Sign me up!
I'd much prefer a 10 hour workday to my typical 12-14 hour workday.
Working 8-10 hours 5-6 days a week allowed me to retire two decades early, so it is possible to benefit from front-loading the hours of one's working life.
7
@BayArea101 I hope you got overtime for all those hours...just sayin'.
2
In the Municipality of Odsherred on the Northwestern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark (the island where the capital Copenhagen is on the East) began a three-year experiment with a four-day work-week among its administrative employees about two months ago. The experiment is being followed by researchers from the University of Roskilde. The Municipality has 33,000 citizens and around 300 administrative employees, so it's a small-scale endeavor, I guess - but interesting nonetheless. "Have a nice weekend" we tell each other every Thursday afternoon. "Friday is the new Saturday", it goes.
11
The proposal would work in some areas but not others. General office work could be converted to a four day week, but would it work for teachers, physicians, judges, attorneys, EMT's, firepersons, etc.? I am not sure. On the other hand, a less than eight hour day, five days a week, twelve months a year seems to be fine with Congresspersons.
9
@Disillusioned The EMTs and firefighters in my city work a 24-hour shift, several days in a row, followed by a nice, long stretch of days off. I've never met one who didn't love it.
8
@Randy I used to work that shift as an ambulance attendant years ago. 48 hrs on duty (sleep over at work place), 48 hrs off duty. I liked it.
2
The longer the workday the longer people will take to get their work done. The work expands to fill the time. I suspect most of us would be more productive if we only worked 4 days/week instead of 5.
42
My hobby is music, which needs to be practiced on a daily basis for several hours in order to stay on too of it. With 5 8-hour days, I have a couple hours to practice. If I switched to 4 10s, it would seriously cut into my practice time. “Making up for it” on the extra day off would be a recipe for injury.
I suggest 4 8-hour days and raise wages to compensate for the list day. Now that is something I could get behind!
6
@Essiecab Totally agree. I play guitar, but with my work schedule, it's rare, and because it's rare, it's very difficult to improve. I've often thought most of us could get the same amount of work done in 35 hours.
1
Rather than the 4-day work-week, lets have companies embrace remote work. As a remote worker for almost 15 years now, I can attest to being happier, and more productive than my colleagues who have to spend 2+ hours a day commuting to and from work. Not to mention the benefits to the climate with one less car on the road and the significant cost savings for not having to eat out every day.
62
@Faisal Remote work doesn’t work. The majority of remote workers are actually slacking / multi-tasking for large portions of the day.
Moreover, actually being human and interacting with your colleagues does matter! Relationships formed without seeing people regularly in person are much shallower than those formed in person.
Just walking over to someone’s desk or office and saying “hey, I’ve got a quick question for you” and talking about it is so different than email, or IM or Skype.
Much less, “Hey, let’s go grab a coffee and talk about X”
3
@Bob Fogel
That is true. I know mothers who work from home and take care of their kids full time. There’s no babysitter or family to help. There children are also infants and toddlers. Not sure how someone can be a productive paid employee and take care of little kids at the same time.
1
@Bob Fogel I guess Ive been slacking for the last 15 years then. And the company I founded that's 100% remote and is thriving because of all my employees are slacking. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
20
How about telling this to teachers of all education levels.
They work significantly more hours per week than the average 40.
With class preparations, grading, staff meetings, after school programs and tutoring in mornings and afternoons, the list goes on.
I’ve lived with a teacher all my adult life and they are working at least 4-5 extra hours at home in the evenings after the kids went to bed and at least 20 plus hours over the weekends.
That is my life with my partner.
Yet most here would never support teacher strikes or better pay and benefits because it inconveniences their own work day as parents.
63
I've had experience with the 4-day, 10-hour workweek and I hated it. I found that my extra "day off" was packed with all the tasks, errands and chores that I no longer had time for on workdays and it was impossible to maintain my workout program.
The 4-day, 32-hour week, OTOH, was wonderful. I generally took Wednesdays off and it felt like I was playing hooky.
22
@Randy Ha, I'm glad it's not just me with a chore day.
1
For people in finance (or working jobs related to finance), there won't be four day work week until there's a four day trading week. So never.
10
The world will not end if we went to a four-day work week. Capitalism will blindly and merrily grind on regardless. The five-day week is an outdated concept that benefits nobody but corporations.
13
A lot of people are working two or three jobs. Think they can pay their bills with a four day work week?
5
@DRR Something is wrong when you need to work two or three jobs to pay your bills. Don't they pay you enough? Maybe you can cut spending. (Of course, if everyone lived within his means, the economy would be brought to its knees.)
1
There are a lot of us who already work 10 hour days, 5 days week.
Being able to go home after even an 8 hour day would be a treat.
44
@Marge Keller
I agree. I now work 5 8-hour days and, coming from the auto industry where I was expected to work (and work hard!) 12 hours a day 7 days a week, 40 hours feels like vacation. I distinctly remember having the flu back in the 7/12s days and telling my boss that I was going to take it easy and only work 8 hours that day because I was sick. I would LOVE to work 4/10s and I wouldn't care if my day off was Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
3
This is old news to our household. My husband worked as a chemist 40 years ago for a lab where half the staff had Monday's off, and the other half of the lab had Friday's off. Everyone worked 10 hour days. The lab was always open, work was accomplished and the staff was very grateful for the "experiment" of a 4 day work week.
11
When I was in my 40's, the government agency in which I worked allowed workers to choose a compressed work week of four 10-hour days. I tried it and mostly loved it. The extra day off per week seemed to give me more of a life outside of work, although I did spend the "happy Friday" off resting more than I thought I would have to.
When I was in my late fifties and early 60's, a different government agency for which I worked also offered the compressed 10-hour four day work week, but I chose to remain in the traditional five day, eight hours per day set up. This job required fairly intense concentration and focus in front of a computer screen all day long, which I feared would be difficult to sustain over 10 consecutive hours. I did not think I could be as productive in that sort of job when the last two hours might be spent in mental burn out.
I wonder about those in more physically-oriented jobs, particularly older workers, staying on their feet or lifting for 10 hours at a stretch. A thirty-two hour, four day work week with full benefits would be ideal for all. But that second government agency I worked for would have to lower its productivity requirements to accommodate a shortened work week.
5
And who wants to work 10 hour days (especially if there is a substantial commute involved?) I would prefer more telework opportunities.
14
@sfalise my husband works 4-10's and I work 5-8's at the same company. He prefers the 10 hour days and I am always jealous when he is at home and I'm having to go in the extra day!
1
A decade ago I worked for a Jewish nonprofit. On Fridays we got out early - different times depending on time of sunset, but always at least a couple of hours before 5pm, for the Sabbath. The world didn't end. It was great.
30
No, no. We tried it back in ‘86-‘87. But we could take Friday or Monday off and split staff accordingly. I wanted Mondays. Too many sleepless Sunday nights with workplace heebie jeebies.
3
I suspect any improvement in productivity in transitioning from a 5 day 40 hour week to a 4 day 32 hour week will be seen by those who actually experienced the transition. For the next generation that *starts* with a 32 hour week, I would imagine they will produce at the average set-point that is natural to human beings, i.e. roughly the same per-hour level of productivity that their parents worked during a 40 hour week.
2
@James Gregoric Your response makes a very broad assumption, this natural "set-point" for a human. There is no such thing. The expectation of work and productivity is driven by the work environment. Those next generation workers would more likely be influenced by the workplace pace and output defined by those that they observe -- in 32 hours you are expected to deliver at x level. We are already producing at a much higher level than our parents. Peers are the more predictable influence.
In 2004 I was offered a job that came with very good benefits but the commute was long and arduous. I accepted with the caveat that I would work M-Th 10 hour days. It turned out this was the best benefit: 20% commute savings, less stressful commute since I was driving at times that were less congested, holiday 3 day weekends became 4 day weekends, and 20% reduction in my carbon commute footprint. It also provided a time in the office where I could get work done without interruption since the others were on the 9-5, 5 day week.
11
I remember while growing-up in the 60s all the articles about the "coming leisure crisis"--that with all the increases in productivity soon Americans would only need to work half as much. Juliet Schor explained in her 1991 book "The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure" that as productivity increased post war, Americans and Europeans went in different directions in their use of the "productivity dividend." Europeans took their 4-6 week vacations, shorter work weeks, etc. while Americans continued to work more to by that larger house, 2nd car, etc.
We have a consumer society that requires and glorifies more money, more things, and more work.
36
Every immigrant who arrived her with no skills, no intelligence, no money, thanks all the Americans responsible for this development. But for you, we'd be mining coal in our countries, and likely be dead already.
Thank you for are calling the workplace 'family' - which is short hand for 'tolerate my nonsense.' Thank you for your notions on work-life balance (which means showing up should be optional for you). Thank you for refusing to work for a common cause, and insisting that the common cause should work instead for you first. I love that there are few takers for overtime (paid at time and half). While you were balancing work and life, I got to pay for my children's braces. Thank you for insisting that the workplace should solve every psychosocial and behavioral pathology you have developed at the collective dime and time. Thank you for insisting that you will disengage and not take a risk unless all your pet issues are litigated at every turn (your concern for diversity, inclusion, environment, children, endangered species).
Thank you for insisting that this debate about 4 day work week is best settled with a compromise to working two and a half days a week. We have people at my workplace insisting that we are not diverse because everyone has a Ph.D., and unqualified people are not represented at all. If I had space, I would thank you in every language spoken by immigrants like me for making it real easy.
1
I wonder if one of the issues is that many benefits are granted based on a 40-hour work week and companies would have trouble adjusting all of those policies? Especially those that are full time but still hourly. Sure, the 4 day 10 hour schedule solves that but what if those days are 8 hours? Would employers simply strip benefits?
1
@Brandon K I work in benefits for a large employer and we have employees who work 4 10 hour shifts and also those who work 3 12 hour shifts. We consider 36 hours as full time so they are still offered benefits.
2
I'm a substance abuse counselor; working four 10-hour shifts is why I'm still in the field--one where burnout is incredibly high. Additionally, I start my day at 11 AM, end at 9:30 PM. I don't wake up to an alarm. The benefits for my own mental health and quality of life far outweigh those of working in a more lucrative field with "traditional" hours. With the three day weekends, I'm able to learn how to play electric guitar, read, meditate, exercise, and spend more time with my loved ones. I think the obsession with "rise and grind" culture is an impediment to productivity and work experience. Everything doesn't need to open at 8 AM. An extra hour or two of sleep would pay dividends to employers and employees. Time to scrap this anachronistic schedule.
75
I took a job at a university several months ago, where many people, including me, work a four-day week. Knowing that I have less time to get everything done forces me to be more efficient. I don't typically spend much time trying to snatch little bits of peace and relaxation throughout the day, like I would if I worked all the time. I just get in there and work.
Having the extra day has also been a huge mental boon. It's the day I get caught up on the chaos at home, plan for the coming week, or just go out to have a coffee or meet friends. For the first time in years, I feel like I am not just desperately treading water all the time with home and family.
113
@BB Thank you! I may try to change to this. Even if it means a pay cut.
6
@Tracy McQueen My 4-day workweek was the result of Governor Schwarzenegger's scheme to save money by furloughing all state employees for one day each week. It meant a 5% pay cut, but I was sorry to see the program end.
9
@Randy
just get in there and work.
what an idea !!!
2
Let me go a step further. What if there was a minimum wage that we would not let people fall below? As an example say it was equivalent to $15 per hour, $3,600 per month or $30,000 per year. In any month you fell below that, for any reason, you would be compensated to bring you up to that level. If you made above that, you would get nothing. What would a society look like were no one would have to starve? Where if you lost your job, you could survive?
To begin with companies would treat their people better, because no one would be forced to stay in a job they hated. What would it be like to work in a place where everyone wanted to be there? People in start ups know this, what if the whole country had that level of productivity and dedication? I think there would be an explosion in start ups, the humanities, the arts and education. You could write the Great American Novel, you could take a couple of years to develop that energy saving device, you could get that degree you've always wanted.
Would some just quit and lay about? Yes, but fewer than you think. Most people want to contribute, but they want to do it their way. This would make that possible.
It would be hugely expensive, but we are starting to have a debate of what is really important, this could be done if we changed our priorities. It is being tried in a few areas. Food For Thought.
26
@Bruce1253 No one would work and there would be massive shortages of everything.
2
@Lyn Robins l disagree. I think most would work, there would be a lot of movement to start with, but based on a 45 yr career in many locations and businesses, I think they would work. There would be some big names who will not be able to make the change, and they will fold. I firmly believe that most people want to work and to a good job if they are allowed.
2
@Bruce1253
Call me an incurable optimist, but I believe that the vast majority of people are basically good people, who want to do a good job, who will help those in need, and will risk their lives at times to help strangers. Indeed these tendencies have been noted even in the early days of the Republic by a Frenchman named Alexis de Tocqville in his books.
These traits are encouraged by smart politicians and managers. If you expect the best out of people most often you will get it. Wondrous things can then happen. This the one side of the Law of Attraction
There are people and politicians who expect the worst out of people, and they usually get it. This is the other side of the Law of Attraction. These people can hold power and sometimes high office, but they always bring themselves down. When that happens, the wise learn from that experience and vow, "Never Again."
We as a society are learning and progressing, by fits and starts to be sure, but the trend is up. Have faith, what we are going through now is necessary and it will change. What happens after that is up to us, which is the entire point.
2
The main dilemma for 50% more free time: How to enjoy life without spending money? North American philosophy, the "work ethic," impedes an individual's ability to enjoy freedom. So, the automatic and contemporary North American reaction to free time, "let's go to Disneyland!" will cost about $1000.00 for a day of family fun. Free time is too costly!
3
I think it’s the opposite. People spend money to save time constantly. Like on prepared food, trash collection, lawn mowing, Uber. More free time means I can save some money and handle these things myself. Also when free time is limited, it feels like we have to make it super special and spend money. When one has a lot of free time, relaxing with a book or taking a walk is nice.
77
Why not? But then again, one can see why not.
Our elected officials respond to a plutocratic trinity, the wealthy, the lawmakers themselves, and business leaders. At such a high-volume of work, it's a wealth transfer, and as such, they make money from us and aren't likely to support it. Plus, we have a traditional culture of masculinity that prizes work, and not a quality of life. People are indoctrinated into it, believing that it provides character, etc.
Galbraith in The Affluent Society, published in 1958, suggested that we were past the sustenance stage and we could move toward a different economy, one based on services and quality of life (my take on the reading). It hasn't happened. Maybe if women get more power in our world, and we have more female elected officials and CEOs, the world could change. Maybe, but likely not much.
BTW, I have seen experiments from Scandinavian cultures, but even they wouldn't move forward with it. People were happier, but the researchers couldn't prove it more productive.
2
Last year, I changed jobs going from a five day/week corporate position to a local government role where I now work four ten-hr days/week.
Not only am I significantly more productive, I have many more hours each week to spend with my family despite my former employer’s emphasis on supporting “work/life” balance.
My paycheck is slightly smaller, but my work days are shorter and I’m no longer perpetually bombarded by late night emails requiring an immediate response.
Although mentioning consumerism driving our modern work practices, the article fails to make the connection between how much we work and how much this productivity contributes to ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions (oh, and lining the pockets of the already ultra wealthy).
It’s time to seriously reevaluate our relationship with work. Work less, consume less, and slow it down.
37
What no one here has even begun to mention is that limiting the work week to four days forces a company to get smarter about the ways in which time is wasted: if you examine the example of Microsoft in Japan, they limited the length and frequency of meetings in order not to waste valuable time. I’m sure many of us have been in useless meetings that took up precious time we could have spent doing more valuable tasks.
There is a LOT of time killed by the average salaried worker that is wasteful and produces nothing: this is where your five day workweek comes in. When time means more, you use it better; I would wager this is why productivity went up for the companies who had success with four day work week trials.
109
What is this standard 40 hour workweek? A lot of us work more hours than that! We work as long as needed to get the work done. I think that will always be true for welllpaid, professional level jobs
22
Maybe, maybe not. I’m a techie too, but at a company that values its workers. We work 40 hours, less even because of generous vacation time. Overwork is not inevitable. Set some boundaries and encourage coworkers to do the same.
12
@techie I don't know anyone with a full time job that only works 40 hours. In the companies and industries I've worked in for the past 20+ years 70+ hour weeks are common and every day is a workday - if you don't respond to emails and don't work on a typical weekend enough you will find yourself without a job. Even assistants are expected to answer emails at 3am. Companies can say they value work life balance all they want, it's simply not true in most industries.
3
@MarielC
It's your choice to work for whom you wish, and if you truly enjoy that kind of environment, go for it. There are alternatives out there. If you have to be on call to answer emails at 3am, that is more than a little dysfunctional.
I have never worked more than 40 hours a week and have a professional full time job.
9
A shorter work week would be the most family friendly policy one could imagine. You’d think that would appeal to a wide swath of the nation, but we are sadly living with a deep Puritanical streak about work (work as a signaling value of social status), a real fear of losing our middle class status, and an arms race in trying to claw our way to the comfortable top tier. This keeps us nose to the grindstone until death. I do see this changing in the future, but not likely in my lifetime.
49
I'm not here to question whether or not a four day work week actually boosts productivity.
I'm just here as a reminder that 58% of Americans get paid by the hour, not by a salary.
Should a surgeon have a little more time to recuperate? An airline pilot? Absolutely.
But back when I was waiting tables I would sometimes beg for one more extra day of work in the week to get by, and I have a hunch a majority of Americans remember what I'm talking about.
When you're a lower income hourly worker, an involuntary "vacation" is extremely stressful!
87
The goal would be to work more hours on work days. So your 8 hour shift becomes 10, 12, or for some of us 16. In exchange for more days off. After 10 hour days, I don't mind a couple extra hours if it means an entire extra day off. I'm writing from a stationary bike at the gym because 4, 10 hour shifts gives me Fridays off.
7
@TlalocBrooklyn given that restaurants things wouldn't have different hours just because of the 4-day work week, I'd assume that waiters, and similar occupations, would be able to maintain the work schedules they have now.
3
"My generation, the baby boomers, may be the last true believers in this really bizarre belief that work can really answer all of our questions as human beings"
I don't know, Adam Neumann seemingly disagreed with this notion in branding millennials the "We" generation as part of his branding strategy for WeWork.
This would be great, if everyone were on board.
I know a lot of people who work in finance and for this to happen for them markets would have to close, too. That will never happen. They almost never close.
7
I suspect that companies resisting a 4-day week believe that they will only receive 80% of the value they expect from their employees (even at 40 hours). To be fair, a company should experiment with a 4-day week in order to make a judgment to keep it or return to a 5-day.
3
“My generation, the baby boomers, may be the last true believers in this really bizarre belief that work can really answer all of our questions as human beings,” he said.
What is it with these sweeping generalizations for Boomers?
I am a boomer, my husband is a boomer, my sister is a boomer - none of us believes this. We all retired from our government jobs early in life. Along with loads of my other friends and relatives, most who retired as soon as financially possible.
Maybe the saying ought to be this: The Boomers (some off them anyway) are the final generation to enjoy a defined pension and some benefits.
73
@Mary
"The Boomers (some off them anyway) are the final generation to enjoy a defined pension and some benefits." Nailed it.
30
@Leoj
govt . "workers"
1
Ok, boomer.
5
Economic activity is about the production of goods and services.
More goods and services can be produced over 5 days than 4....5>4.
If you personally are willing to produce less over 4 days than 5......go for it.
Just be willing to be paid less, also.
Or am I missing something here?
3
@Kenneth Johnson If the 4 day is 4 10 hour days, why would pay be any less or productivity decreased? Additionally, companies can still be open for 5 days of the week and the work gets done. Simply split the workforce so that 1/2 gets say, Friday off while the other half takes Monday.
7
@Kenneth Johnson Of course I'd be willing to be paid less, commensurate with working fewer hours. But that isn't the way the system works. Work less and you lose full time status and benefits, the reduction in income isn't commensurate with the reduction in hours. Personally, I work as little as I possibly can--short of giving up tenure and working as an adjunct.
4
@Kenneth Johnson
You are missing something. Human's aren't robots. There is a law of diminishing returns, productivity decreases the more hours a person works. There is evidence that productivity declines may be steeper than was assumed. As such, people may be more productive working shorter hours.
30
We are on a floating rock in a seemingly endless universe, of course work isn’t the answer, enjoying life is!
98
@AeroThatsMe Well, aren’t you just a water-cannon of sunshine right in the face of those of us for whom “the answer” is “somehow paying the bills.”
2