4 Day work week coming to USA?
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KYMA, KECY/CNN) - A shortened work week sounds pretty good, right?
But is it good for business?
Millions switched to remote or hybrid work during the pandemic.
Commuting time was scrapped, meetings got shorter, or were done virtually.
The question of whether or not a traditional work schedule was necessary got louder.
Jon Leland, Chief Strategy Officer of Kickstarter, says, "We just saw people that were burnt out and tired."
33 companies with a total of 903 employees signed-up to participate in a six month trial with the nonprofit- 4 day week global and researchers at three universities.
Juliet Schor, Economist and Sociology Professor at Boston College, notes that, "The requirements are no reduction in pay. So all employees are still getting their five days pay. There must be a meaningful reduction in work time."
Organizers say the trial was an overwhelming success.
None of the 27 companies that completed the post-experiment survey said they were planning to go back to the five-day work week.
Samantha Losey, Managing Director of Unity, says that, "The productivity is up, not down from four days versus five. How can I possibly argue to this building of intelligent human beings that I want to put them back in five days?"
Workers reported lower levels of stress and fatigue.
Company revenue was higher compared to the year prior.
Some managers reported that having an extra day off gave their staff more energy to do their job.
Losey continues, "One of the big benefits we've seen is just the perspective and almost kind of freshness that people bring to work with them."
One 2021 survey showed that 70% of workers in America would support a shorter work week, while only 90% oppose.
Leland continues, "The five day 40 hour workweek feels like this immutable law that was handed down by God at some point. But we invented it about a hundred years ago. We just haven't updated it."
