Workplace Trends: What is a Four-Day Workweek?

In June 2022, the four-day work week was put to the test in the largest pilot program to date, involving nearly 3,000 employees in the United Kingdom. Some organizations hope that a new way of working will help teams recover from burnout, entice new talent and improve retention, especially for organizations that prioritize working in-person. 

According to the pilot’s result report, “Following the success of pilot schemes around the world, overwhelmingly positive research and societal shifts driven by COVID-19, working time reduction appears an increasingly ‘common sense’ approach to the world of work. Frustrated by poor work-life balance and more accustomed to the flexible working patterns brought about by the pandemic, for many the four-day week has only become a more popular and enticing prospect.”

Six months after the trial began, the results are in: Of the 61 participating companies, 56 said they would continue four-day workweeks. Of those companies, 18 said they planned to make the change permanent. Three companies did not want to continue any element of the concept.  

What is a four-day work week?

In the pilot program, each company chose what abridged workweek model aligned with their business needs. The changes were flexible depending on the business, with the end goal being to “meaningfully” shorten employees’ workweeks, while still receiving 100% of their pay. 

Here are a few of the options companies operated under during the six-month period:

• Fifth Day Stoppage: The company shuts down operations for one additional day weekly. This was more important for organizations that prioritized collaboration over five-day coverage. 

• Staggered: Staff alternate days off to continue operations Monday-Friday. For example, one team takes Mondays off and another team takes Fridays off. 

• Decentralized: Departments work on different schedules depending on their needs. This might include a team who operates on a fifth day stoppage model and another who works 32 hours over five days. 

• Annualized: Under this model, workers average 32 hours of work weekly, but it does not specify a day off. For example, an organization with a busy season compensates for longer operating hours (40+ hours) during one part of the year with shorter work days later so the annual average is 32 weekly hours. 

• Conditional: As long as performance targets are met, employees are only required to work 32 hours weekly. In one example, a company alternating on a decentralized model determined KPIs each team needed to meet.

Who was included in the study?

Advocacy group 4 Day Week Global, research organization Autonomy and researchers at Boston College and the University of Cambridge collaborated on the pilot.

Of the participating organizations, 9% were in finance and insurance and 11% were charity/not-for-profit. 

Two-thirds of the participating companies were small, with 25 or fewer employees who had already explored the concept of flexible work, such as working remote. Additionally, 90% of the participating employees were white and 68% had at least an undergraduate degree. 

What was the result?

Of the employees who participated, 15 percent said that “no amount of money” would convince them to go back to working five days a week. 

According to the researchers’ reporting, revenue “stayed broadly the same” and resignations decreased. Participants were less likely to report feeling a lack of time to take care of children, grandchildren and aging parents. 

What’s the catch?

Opponents of the four-day workweek note that the concept is not feasible for industries such as child care and health care, which already face talent shortages. Other skeptics think that employee productivity will eventually level out should a four-day week become permanent. 

Where do we go from here?

Optimists of the concept believe that it would benefit some industries. Other positive effects include lowered health care costs from less sedentary activity and reduced emissions from daily commutes. Others hope that it will end unnecessary meetings.

In 2022, KPMG in Canada turned every weekend into a long weekend in July to reduce stress and develop a resilient workforce as part of their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. 

Closer to home in Arizona, some governmental departments at the city of Tolleson and Goodyear have adopted a spin on the four-day workweek: four 10-hour days. While employees still work 40 hours every week, less time is spent commuting and an entire day is freed up for running errands, scheduling appointments or taking care of children, grandchildren or aging parents.  

Read More: Visit the digital version of the article for a full list of resources referenced in this article, including:

• “A four-day workweek pilot was so successful most firms say they won’t go back”, The Washington Post

• 4-Day Workweeks: Here's Why Some Companies Hope Permanent Long Weekends Will Boost Bottom Lines, Forbes

• The Results Are In: The UK’s Four-Day Week Pilot, 4 Day Week Global

This article was written for the Arizona Society of CPAs’ magazine, AZ CPA.