The Four-Day Work Week

April 27, 2023

On March 7, workers in France created chaos with mass protests against plans to raise the retirement age to 64 years from 62. Other European countries have similar benefits and are being pressured to improve them even more. Meanwhile, the world of work is being upended. Office towers everywhere empty because employee attitudes shift. The pandemic necessitated lockdowns and remote work, and technology facilitated this phenomenon. But now workers and unions demand the right to continue to work remotely and more are working part-time. New U.S. Labor Department data reveals that more than 22.1 million Americans work part-time by choice and have little interest in full-time employment. Younger workers prefer remote work and fewer hours and also demand more vacation time or lengthy leaves of absence. Many prefer to hold down several gigs rather than work full-time at one job. These changes fuel the movement in favor of a four-day work week, a policy shift that is gaining momentum in Western nations.

Countries where the 4-day workweek is being studied and partially implemented

The demand for a four-day work week is linked to the popularity of remote-work: As of January, 41% of Americans were working from home for some or all of the week. Two dozen nations study the four-day option. Iceland was the pioneer and now 86 percent of its workers work only four days a week. Corporations also run trials in many countries to measure productivity results as polling among workers shows huge support for a shortened work week. The most well-known result was published in 2019 by Microsoft Japan which found that a four-day work week led to a 39.9 percent boost in productivity. In February 2022, a global trial involving 33 companies in six countries also reported increased revenue, along with enhanced wellness and better attitudes among employees. Another study involving 100 companies found similar results, according to labor advocate organization which calls itself “4 Day Work Week Global”.

The movement grows, backed by research that productivity benefits occur, but is evolutionary. During the Industrial Revolution in the 1880s, workers spent 100 hours on the job and the standard work week was six days. But in 1926, automobile pioneer Henry Ford created the world’s first five-day, 40-hour work week. He believed an extra day off would enhance productivity and also provide more leisure time for his employees to spend driving Ford cars. He was right.

Then in 1938, during the Depression, Washington mandated a five-day, 44-hour work week, to spread the workload among more people on order to reduce unemployment. Ten years later, Australia became the first country to institute a 40-hour, five day work week and the country’s unions and labor even erected a statue to commemorate that reform in Melbourne.

5-day workweek memorial

Remote work came about because of Covid’s forced lockdowns. Employees who had to work at home didn’t miss commuting to work, day care costs, or office politics. And shorter work weeks are also being offered out of necessity. Shortages in labor markets continue because of declining labor participation rates and because of the demographic shift to Generation Z and Millennials. Both cohorts are less enamored with work and wealth than were their parents or grandparents.

They are less ambitious monetarily because they are less interested in getting married, having children, or living in the suburbs. Many are happy to share accommodation with one another or their parents indefinitely, or to relocate geographically. Polling shows that avoiding the office cubicle and daily trek to work is hugely popular among Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2010) workers, who total 68 million Americans. Half of them said they’d leave their job if unable to work remotely full-time or part-time. The four-day work week is their preference.

Older workers are also retiring earlier than ever, sometimes opting for part-time work or self-employment. In December and January in the United States, the number of part-time workers rose by 1.2 million by choice, not necessity, according to the Labor Department. This brought the total of voluntary part-time workers to 22.1 million, or five times’ more than the 4.1 million part-timers who seek full-time work. This represents 16.3 percent of American workforce.

The shift in attitudes gains traction around the world. As of late 2022, a handful of countries have officially introduced permanent four-day work week options or other variations such as shorter work days. In Sweden, for instance, a six-hour day was introduced for six months among assistant nurses to avoid burn-out and fatigue. But it was scrapped because it was too expensive.

“I really don't think that the six-hour day fits with an entrepreneurial world, or the start-up world," argues Erik Gatenholm, chief executive of Gothenburg-based bio-ink company. He tested it but ditched it after a month following bad feedback from employees. “I thought it would be really fun, but it felt kind of stressful," said one. He said tasks require “time and when you don't have all that [much] time it kind of feels like skipping homework at school, things are always building up.”

Part-time and remote work are only the beginning of increasing demands by workers in the world’s developed countries. Movements in favor of lowering pension eligibility, increasing vacation time, and providing day care benefits are growing. People want geographic flexibility too, and more are working out of log cabins in Idaho or wifi-equipped islands in the Mediterranean than ever before in history. All these changes were triggered by the pandemic and technology which each greatly empowered workers. The same profound shift occurred in 1349 following Europe’s worst plague. The feudal system broke down because there was such a shortage of labor that workers demanded better compensation and more rights, and got them. Today’s workplace revolution is no different. And it is far from over.