Could a Four-Day Workweek Become a Reality?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Here's your Money Briefing for Thursday, February 23rd. I'm J.R.
What was the UK four-day workweek trial and how large was it?
Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. The idea of shortening the standard work week to four days isn't new, but recently dozens of businesses took part in a study to find out if employees could accomplish the same amount of work in fewer hours for the same pay.
Some companies gave their employees every Friday off. Some companies staggered the four-day workweek so that none of the five days or even, say, seven days, depending on the business, were left uncovered.
Vanessa Furmans is deputy bureau chief of the WSJ's careers and workplace team. Coming up, we'll talk to her about the results of the study and whether companies and workers see the shortened workweek as a long-term solution. That's after the break.
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How was the four-day workweek implemented and who participated?
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In one of the largest trials to date, companies tested the idea of employees working four days instead of five, and if productivity was affected. Wall Street Journal Careers and Workplace Deputy Bureau Chief Vanessa Furmans has been going through the results of the study, and she joins me with more.
Were employees paid the same while working 80% of the time?
Hey, Vanessa, thanks so much for being here.
Thank you for having me.
So, Vanessa, when this test study was first floated two years ago, it got a lot of attention. I remember people saying, heck, yeah, a four-day workweek sounds great.
Yeah, the idea of a four-day workweek has been around actually for a long time. Richard Nixon, already back when he was president, had said a four-day workweek could be a goal or a dream for us someday. And as we know, during the pandemic, the way we thought about work, our relationship to work, the way it should get done, it all got blown apart. We found out remote work doesn't work so badly after all. And so people also began to look more closely at the idea of the traditional workweek and the way it's structured. So there have been a number of studies that have been looking at the effects of a four-day workweek. This one that began in the UK started in July 2022. It involved more than 60 companies and 2,900 employees, which makes it arguably the largest trial to date of a four-day workweek.
All right. So how did this work?
So companies that wanted to do this, it was all on a voluntary basis. In the UK in particular, there is more discussion, I would say, than in the US so far about the concept of a four-day workweek. A lot of these companies wanted to try it out to see what it could mean for productivity and employee well-being.
What productivity and revenue results did participating companies report?
Those that applied, a lot of them had about two months of preparation and consultations about how to go about it. It isn't simply about cramming more work into less time. It's about looking at workflows and tinkering with those to make this happen.
All right. So workers who worked four days in this study, were they paid for four days of work?
No, they were paid their regular salary based on five days of work, 40 hours a week. The idea was that they work 80% less of the time, but they still get paid 100% of previous levels.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:39
2
What was the UK four-day workweek trial and how large was it?
0:39–1:25
3
How was the four-day workweek implemented and who participated?
1:25–2:11
4
Were employees paid the same while working 80% of the time?
2:11–3:31
5
What productivity and revenue results did participating companies report?
3:31–4:07
6
What workflow changes and 'hacks' made a four-day week possible?
4:07–7:17
7
How consistent were four-day week results across other countries and studies?
7:17–8:25
8
Could a four-day workweek become a long-term recruiting and retention tool?
8:25–8:57
Speakers
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