A survey conducted by ResumeBuilder.com indicated that 41% of the country's employers plan to implement a four-day work week, at least on a trial basis. Most of these changes will be implemented this year and over the course of 2024:
Of business leaders who say their company has plans to implement a 4-day work week, 50% say the policy will become effective in 2023, 42% in 2024, and 8% not until 2025 or later.
"Work to live, not live to work"
The survey also revealed that 20% of employers already offer a four-day work week. The majority of managers in these companies (84%) stated that the implementation of the reduced number of working days "has helped them compete for the best talent," and 88% indicated that it had a "positive impact on the profitability" of the company.
Max Shek, founder of nerDigital, is one of the managers who advocates the four-day workday and said he has seen benefits from implementing it:
First, employee morale and commitment have improved significantly. Our team members are more motivated, energized and happy in both their personal and professional lives. This positive mindset has translated into higher productivity and higher quality work. The compressed workweek has encouraged them to streamline processes, eliminate time-wasting activities and optimize their workflows. Overall, the implementation of a 4-day work week has had a positive impact on our organization.
Many supporters of the reduced work week argue that its implementation "helps employees work to live, not live to work."
Employees prefer to work four days ... but with the same salary
One of the consequences of implementing a four-day workweek is that it will likely decrease the number of hours employees work, according to 38% of managers. This in turn will reflect a reduction in salaries.
The salary factor is fundamental, despite the fact that most workers would prefer to have a four-day work week. A Washington Post-Ipsos survey revealed that 75% of employees want to keep their 40-hour work contract, but divided into four days instead of five (working 10 hours per day for four days, instead of eight hours for five days).
If the salary were not maintained or increased, the majority of respondents (73%) indicated that they would prefer to work the traditional five-day work week.
