A disruptive work model is making major inroads in businesses around the globe. Companies in Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the U.S. and other countries have adopted the four-day workweek. Many employers and employees have welcomed the change. The reported benefits include increased productivity, better work/life balance and improved mental health.
To be sure, the transition to four-day workweeks is challenging, and it might not be right for all employers. But in a labor market where open positions still outnumber available workers, the four-day workweek could give companies an advantage in hiring because employees get the flexibility they want.
Ladders, a San Francisco-based recruitment firm for executives and professionals, recently surveyed more than 400 job candidates who are active on its search service platform and found that 79 percent say they have already left or would leave a five-day workweek job for a four-day workweek job, provided there is no drop in salary.
"While this strongly indicates an edge in hiring for employers that offer four-day workweeks, nothing is set in stone," says Ladders CEO Dave Fisch.
The decision to try a shorter workweek should be made after "a careful weighing of the pros and cons for their businesses," he advises.
Rethinking the Workweek
SHRM | Nov 2022
Are Shorter Workweeks Good for Business?
Is the 32-Hour Workweek Feasible in the US? Experts Weigh In
How to Implement a Four-Day Workweek
SHRM
Law Firm Articles
Proposed Legislation to Reduce Workweek to 32 Hours
McGlinchey | Apr 2024
What Would a 32-Hour Workweek Look Like?
Stoel | Mar 2024
Never Work Another Friday, America! Bernie Sanders Unveils 32-Hour Workweek Proposal
Proskauer | Mar 2024
What Employers Can Expect from Congress’ Newest Fight for a 32-Hour Workweek
Seyfarth | Mar 2024
The four-day workweek: What's not to love about a shorter working week?
Seyfarth | May 2023
Is the 4-Day Workweek Right for Your Business? Top 4 Things for Employers to Consider Before Implementing this Trend
Fisher Phillips | Jan 2023
Are 4-Day Work Weeks Right 4 Employers?
Frantz Ward | Jan 2023
Implementation
A Guide to Implementing the 4-Day Workweek
Harvard Business Review | Sep 2021
Implementing A Four-Day Workweek? 15 Important Factors To Consider First
Forbes | May 2021
Pilot Program Results
Towards the end of 2022, headlines began popping up trumpeting the arrival, at long last, of a new way of working. Business Insider's, for example, read: "New Research May Have Just Paved the Way for the 4-Day Week." The research in question was the first large-scale, independent pilot programs to test the impact of reducing the workweek to roughly 32 hours, without any reduction in pay.
Conducted by the non-profit organization 4 Day Week Global (4WDG), the two pilots were based on six-month trials that included 33 companies and a total of 903 employees, primarily in the U.S. and Ireland. They confirmed a thesis that has been gathering steam for a while: a shorter work week is better for both employees and employers.
Why 2023 Could Finally Be the Year of the 4-Day Workweek
Time | Jan 2023
Request results: 4 Day Week Global Pilot Program
4 Day Week Global
Related Reading
A 4-day workweek could be the key to helping older workers transition into retirement
Fortune | Mar 2023
What a Four-Day Workweek Is Like for Workers Who Have It
Governing | May 2023
Workers Love 4-Day Workweeks. So Does the Planet
Inc. | Apr 2023
Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act - One Pager
32-hour workweek bill reintroduced in Congress: Will it pass?
The Hill | Mar 2023
Four-Day Work Weeks Are Good for Your Health, a Large Study Finds
Time | Feb 2023
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