4-Day Workweek Gains Traction

The 4-day workweek is one solution employers can embrace to meet demand from employees for more flexibility in scheduling.

This article was first published on October 13, 2023, by HR Daily Advisor, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders.

If there’s one thing the pandemic experience has contributed to, it’s employees’ demand for more flexibility and work/life balance. Hybrid work is becoming more common, but so is another flexible concept: the 4-day workweek.

It’s an idea that has been gaining traction globally, and it holds a lot of advantages not just for employees but also for employers. And, it’s an idea that has slowly gained traction over the past several decades.

A Continued Push to Shorten the Workweek

Henry Ford is generally credited with being one of the first to acknowledge employees’ need for more leisure time, making a shift from what was then a 6-day workweek to a now more traditional 5-day workweek. That was back in 1926!

Fast-forward to today, and there’s renewed movement afoot to decrease the length of the workweek even more—from a 5-day to a 4-day work model.

Global—and Governmental—Support

The support for a 4-day workweek has seen more rapid adoption in a wide range of countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, and others.

Australia’s experience with the 4-day workweek has been notable and is often cited as a successful example of making this shift. The Australian Services Union recently became the first union to include it in an enterprise bargaining agreement. The concept has gained momentum following the COVID pandemic, as many people have moved to reevaluate the role of work in their lives. In Australia, the largest Australian company to adopt this approach is Unilever, testing it through an 18-month trial with 500 of its Australian-based employees.

While start-ups and smaller companies have been more agile in testing this model, even larger organizations have started to explore the feasibility of a 4-day workweek.

And, in fact, there’s governmental support, including in the United States, as well. Lawmakers in both California and Pennsylvania have been proposing a 4-day workweek bill; other states are sure to follow.

While There Are Some Supporters …

Proponents argue that a 4-day workweek can lead to improved physical and mental health, better productivity, and increased employee retention. The idea is that employees can maintain or even enhance their productivity, allowing them to complete their work in fewer hours, leading to a win-win situation for both employers and employees.

Not all are in favor of this shift, though.

… There Are Also Opponents

Detractors, on the other hand, might point to potential challenges in coordination, especially in industries where continuous operations are essential. There’s also the concern about longer workdays, which could offset the benefits of an additional day off.

Still, while the 4-day workweek may represent challenges in certain industries and for certain organizations, potential definitely exists. Is this a model that could work in your organization?