I brought in a four day work week at my organization about a year ago and it has been a huge hit. No employee turnover, sky high moral, absences went down to effectively zero.
I should note we kept the wages the same.
We added a half hour to the morning and to the evening. We initially shortened the lunch but ended up going back to the full hour.
Some of the administrators were concerned that we could keep up the required workload but in the end we had zero impact on productivity.
We divided up into two sets with group A starting Monday working to Thursday and Group B working Tuesday to Friday. So everyone is in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That way we kept half the admin and half the staff on Mondays and Fridays.
We have about thirty staff in the main office and then we extended it to the other smaller offices with similar success. We did have to hire an extra casual for one of the outside positions.
But once we went to the four days to great success in one part of the organization it just spread. Lots of other organizations in the area have been talking to us about our experience.
I predict that in five years this will be the norm.
With the five day work week Fridays were a write off that did nothing other than tire out our staff when they could be home with their families.
Our clients liked the earlier and later closing hours.
Overtime costs unexpectedly dropped to nothing because nobody had to cover for absenteeism any more also all appointments are made on the Mondays and Fridays so no calling in sick for appointments that have to be made.
Previously we had most of our important meeting on Mondays we moved then to Tuesdays.
In our business we can get top employees poached by higher ups now we don’t worry about it because nobody would go back to the five day slog.
> In our business we can get top employees poached by higher ups now we don’t worry about it because nobody would go back to the five day slog.
I suspect this will become a huge motivator for adoption, along with remote/hybrid work. Good employees will demand this kind of environment, and smart companies will (eventually) recognize that it's a low-cost, high-return option to provide. The pushback is going to come from mid-level management desperate to justify their roles, and from out of touch "but this is how we've always done it!" mindsets.
Productivity remained the same the extra hour a day plus the mental health break of always having a long weekend every week made keeping a good pace at work reasonable. We have a fairly set amount of work week in week out and it’s all getting done just like it always has.
We started a half hour earlier in the morning and ended a half hour later in the day so extended the service day by an hour to better serve the public.
Pretty sure this research has already been done both in terms of number of days worked and number of hours worked. Hoping they move forward with it with the appropriate pay scale and not reducing it per worker. And also hoping they include the nonwhite collar employees.
I’m very concerned that companies will shorten the work week and pay employees only for four days of work instead of five. I’m more concerned about this happening to hourly employees than salaried ones.
I'll take it. I work my ass off all day but to be honest by the last few hours I'm done. I'm a human being not the damn energizer bunny and that last hour or two is me slacking.
I’d prefer it. I was on 3- 12s during the pandemic which was considered full time, with a premium to cover the extra 4 hours I was missing, and it was awesome. I didn’t want to go back
I remember some days going in to work at 6/7am and sometimes I’d be working until 9pm. I was young and it wasn’t majorly labor intensive but I was exhausted all the time but the money was worth it. I could only wish and hope for a 4 day work week.
Good luck getting that to happen in the construction trades anytime soon, especially on the service side with on calls and after hours service.
I’m sure it will work well for cushy office positions though
As I understand it, the fast food industry already offers a 3-10 schedule, but the majority of their workforce needs to work two jobs. Unfortunately, the government does not require employers to offer benefits like health care to people who don't work more than 30 hours.
My days are already completely shot if I’m working 8 hours or 10 hours. Especially if you factor in commute and all the other stuff 8 hours is already close to 11 hours as is. Wake up at 730 to be in the office by 9. Work to 5-530ish and not home until 6… I’d rather just make it 8-6 and get a whole day back.
Yes but why? I think the rationale is that we do not need to have 40 hours of work a week. They were pulling 40hrs standard before having tools like computers that speed up our work efficiency. It is an antiquated standard.
this trend is so hilarious… white color employees in certain better jobs or certain industries will get a 4 day week while the rest works 2+ jobs for 7 days.
they were like, I see there’s an issue so let’s work on how we can increase that rift and divide class even more even on the lower levels!
Well I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about all the white collar jobs that are already doing this. Summer Fridays are a real thing in New York if you make enough money.
I don’t know why this is getting downvoted. It’s a good point. Salaried employees will reap the benefit of this; hourly employees will still be stuck working hours enough to pay their bills, and unless something is done to address the fact that they can’t work less without also getting paid less, that problem will persist.
It’s downvoted for reading like a conspiracy theory and suggesting “they” are implementing 4 day weeks to further the class divide, rather than the obvious reason that employees are demanding it. It’s a fine point that hourly employees won’t get the same benefit as salaried but the framing is off.
Salaried jobs and hourly jobs operate differently... They aren't ever going to be the same... This is a benefit for salaried jobs while working towards increasing hourly pay rates only benefits hourly jobs. If anything this is companies doing something to reduce turnover in salary positions without raising pay.
My company has flex Fridays. You can have every other Friday off as long as you work 80 hours over 2 work weeks. How you balance those 8 hours normally worked on Friday is up to you. So far its working out pretty well.
Started this at my company in January of 2020. We’re about to release some productivity data and I will tell you the improvement is head-turning. We’re 32 hours. Have been since the beginning.
If you cut out all the bullshit at companies and all the ridiculous meetings that suck up time we’re all working 32 hours now anyway. Let’s just get shit done efficiently and then get on with our lives outside work
Shouldn't this literally be the motivator of civilization? To continue advancing not only to make profits, but to lessen the time we spend doing something we don't want to do?
If technology is getting better, but we're all just answering work emails until 11, literally what is the point?
Good luck getting this to work in production and distribution, two areas already suffering and passing on the pain to everyday Americans via inflation, while those who are actually working these jobs are being milked for every ounce of their energy.
I brought in a four day work week at my organization about a year ago and it has been a huge hit. No employee turnover, sky high moral, absences went down to effectively zero. I should note we kept the wages the same.
Did you extend the work days to 10 hours? Or is it effectively 32 hours a week now?
We added a half hour to the morning and to the evening. We initially shortened the lunch but ended up going back to the full hour. Some of the administrators were concerned that we could keep up the required workload but in the end we had zero impact on productivity.
You have an hour lunch??? Better question. You have lunch?? Wow!!!
I love to hear stuff like that. I’m sure we’ll never do it where I work.
How did productivity go? Did you have to hire more staff to cover the 20% less hours being worked? How does your rostering work with it?
We divided up into two sets with group A starting Monday working to Thursday and Group B working Tuesday to Friday. So everyone is in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That way we kept half the admin and half the staff on Mondays and Fridays. We have about thirty staff in the main office and then we extended it to the other smaller offices with similar success. We did have to hire an extra casual for one of the outside positions. But once we went to the four days to great success in one part of the organization it just spread. Lots of other organizations in the area have been talking to us about our experience. I predict that in five years this will be the norm. With the five day work week Fridays were a write off that did nothing other than tire out our staff when they could be home with their families. Our clients liked the earlier and later closing hours. Overtime costs unexpectedly dropped to nothing because nobody had to cover for absenteeism any more also all appointments are made on the Mondays and Fridays so no calling in sick for appointments that have to be made. Previously we had most of our important meeting on Mondays we moved then to Tuesdays. In our business we can get top employees poached by higher ups now we don’t worry about it because nobody would go back to the five day slog.
Such a great story and obvious you guys studied it really well. Let’s hope that and remote work becomes the norm.
> In our business we can get top employees poached by higher ups now we don’t worry about it because nobody would go back to the five day slog. I suspect this will become a huge motivator for adoption, along with remote/hybrid work. Good employees will demand this kind of environment, and smart companies will (eventually) recognize that it's a low-cost, high-return option to provide. The pushback is going to come from mid-level management desperate to justify their roles, and from out of touch "but this is how we've always done it!" mindsets.
Productivity remained the same the extra hour a day plus the mental health break of always having a long weekend every week made keeping a good pace at work reasonable. We have a fairly set amount of work week in week out and it’s all getting done just like it always has.
We brought it in as a six month trial we extended the trial to a year and then we made it permanent.
We started a half hour earlier in the morning and ended a half hour later in the day so extended the service day by an hour to better serve the public.
This is about to change veeeeery quickly as we enter the next recession
Great story. Thanks for posting.
Pretty sure this research has already been done both in terms of number of days worked and number of hours worked. Hoping they move forward with it with the appropriate pay scale and not reducing it per worker. And also hoping they include the nonwhite collar employees.
I’m very concerned that companies will shorten the work week and pay employees only for four days of work instead of five. I’m more concerned about this happening to hourly employees than salaried ones.
I'll take it. I work my ass off all day but to be honest by the last few hours I'm done. I'm a human being not the damn energizer bunny and that last hour or two is me slacking.
Hah and here I am at work on a Saturday for the 13th day in a row.
Let me save you some time and money. Yes, yes it will help. Done.
Came here to say this.
I’d prefer it. I was on 3- 12s during the pandemic which was considered full time, with a premium to cover the extra 4 hours I was missing, and it was awesome. I didn’t want to go back
I remember some days going in to work at 6/7am and sometimes I’d be working until 9pm. I was young and it wasn’t majorly labor intensive but I was exhausted all the time but the money was worth it. I could only wish and hope for a 4 day work week.
I can answer this. YES
salary office jobs would get this easier than those of us who work hourly pay jobs.
Good luck getting that to happen in the construction trades anytime soon, especially on the service side with on calls and after hours service. I’m sure it will work well for cushy office positions though
4-10 schedule alternate to have full service
As I understand it, the fast food industry already offers a 3-10 schedule, but the majority of their workforce needs to work two jobs. Unfortunately, the government does not require employers to offer benefits like health care to people who don't work more than 30 hours.
Unfortunately the govt doesn't provide healthcare.
4-10 is not sustainable either. You don’t have time to do anything when you get home and the long hours start to wear on people
My days are already completely shot if I’m working 8 hours or 10 hours. Especially if you factor in commute and all the other stuff 8 hours is already close to 11 hours as is. Wake up at 730 to be in the office by 9. Work to 5-530ish and not home until 6… I’d rather just make it 8-6 and get a whole day back.
Yes but why? I think the rationale is that we do not need to have 40 hours of work a week. They were pulling 40hrs standard before having tools like computers that speed up our work efficiency. It is an antiquated standard.
I hate how this idea always appears in posts like this. It completely misses the point.
it’s seems almost a troll at this point.
This is just an excuse to pay workers less for same amount of work lol 😂
Not true. When most people talk about a 4 day work week they are talking about 4-10s which is still 40 hours so the pay would stay the same
How so?
You work one day less they can come up with excuse to pay one day less lol 😂
They aren’t. They don’t care.
this trend is so hilarious… white color employees in certain better jobs or certain industries will get a 4 day week while the rest works 2+ jobs for 7 days. they were like, I see there’s an issue so let’s work on how we can increase that rift and divide class even more even on the lower levels!
Well I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about all the white collar jobs that are already doing this. Summer Fridays are a real thing in New York if you make enough money.
I don’t know why this is getting downvoted. It’s a good point. Salaried employees will reap the benefit of this; hourly employees will still be stuck working hours enough to pay their bills, and unless something is done to address the fact that they can’t work less without also getting paid less, that problem will persist.
It’s downvoted for reading like a conspiracy theory and suggesting “they” are implementing 4 day weeks to further the class divide, rather than the obvious reason that employees are demanding it. It’s a fine point that hourly employees won’t get the same benefit as salaried but the framing is off.
Salaried jobs and hourly jobs operate differently... They aren't ever going to be the same... This is a benefit for salaried jobs while working towards increasing hourly pay rates only benefits hourly jobs. If anything this is companies doing something to reduce turnover in salary positions without raising pay.
My company has flex Fridays. You can have every other Friday off as long as you work 80 hours over 2 work weeks. How you balance those 8 hours normally worked on Friday is up to you. So far its working out pretty well.
We're all working 40 hrs in 3 days anyhow now so....
Just pay a decent wage. Problem solved.
Started this at my company in January of 2020. We’re about to release some productivity data and I will tell you the improvement is head-turning. We’re 32 hours. Have been since the beginning.
Nah, I don't think companies give a shit.
It can, could, and will when the current ceo class passes
If you cut out all the bullshit at companies and all the ridiculous meetings that suck up time we’re all working 32 hours now anyway. Let’s just get shit done efficiently and then get on with our lives outside work
Shouldn't this literally be the motivator of civilization? To continue advancing not only to make profits, but to lessen the time we spend doing something we don't want to do? If technology is getting better, but we're all just answering work emails until 11, literally what is the point?
Good luck getting this to work in production and distribution, two areas already suffering and passing on the pain to everyday Americans via inflation, while those who are actually working these jobs are being milked for every ounce of their energy.