While you are doom scrolling on social media and hate watching cable news each evening, you’re missing the real story. There are wonderful advancements taking place to improve your work lives.

People have taken for granted remote and hybrid work choices and the acceptance of becoming a digital nomad, working anywhere in the world—along with being paid the same as you did when residing in New York or San Francisco. Now, the world is starting to see the dream of a four-day workweek and three-day weekend becoming a reality.

In a pilot program from the 4 Day Week Global group that is spearheading this movement, 35 North American companies and around 20-plus global companies and countries are testing out a four-day workweek. In total, nearly 2,000 employees will be getting a paid day off weekly through the course of the trial. These numbers don’t include companies that have already adopted this shortened-week program.

The organizations run the gamut from small startups to large global corporations. The companies represent a wide array of sectors, including “cultural analysis to health information, manufacturing, telco, tech and web design, building and construction management, hospitality, energy, PR, marketing and branding and investment services.”

The for-profit companies set to undertake the pilot in the United States and Canada

• simPRO
• M’tucci’s Restaurants
• CULTIQUE
• Advanced RV
• Floodlight Invest
• Seed&Spark
• Kickstarter
• Mental Health Advocacy Services
• IPR Denver
• GillespieHall Strategic Communications and PR
• WYNDR
• Fresh Squeezed Ideas 
• GLIDE Design
• OwnTrail

Recently, there has been a number of venture capital-backed startups subscribe to the four-day workweek ethos. Dockwa is one of the first tech startups that had an existing four-day workweek to receive a considerable amount of funding from venture capitalists and investors. Instead of the expected Friday off, Dockwa CEO Mike Melillo chose to include Monday in its three-day weekend. This day off doesn’t have any catches nor does it adversely impact employee compensation, time off or the hours they need to work.

Ryan Breslow is the young charismatic founder and former CEO of Bolt, a fast-growing fintech unicorn, with a mission for “changing the world of e-commerce by fixing a spot with the most headaches: checkout.” Breslow wagered a big bet on the belief that by taking good care of his team, they would happily outperform. Working long hours, five days a week, and sometimes weekends too, you feel exhausted. With only a brief two days off each week, there’s little time to decompress and recharge. To remedy this dilemma, Breslow joined the growing four-day workweek campaign.

Art Shectman is the founder and president of Elephant Ventures, a digital innovation and agile/lean product development and engineering firm based in New York City. His company offers a four-day workweek, but with a twist. Elephant Ventures requires 10-hour days, four days a week and then three days off.

Banks Benetiz is the CEO of Uncharted, a venture capital firm that accelerates early-stage solutions addressing economic inequality. Benetiz converted to a four-day week in 2020.

Companies and countries around the world that have launched an abbreviated workweek

Irish companies in the pilot program

• Typetec
• Yala
• Codema
• Inviz Box
• Frankli
• Stillwater
• Optimum Ltd

Scotland

Scotland has previously launched a trial four-day workweek. The decision was the culmination of a campaign promise made by the ruling Scottish National Party. Workers will have their hours reduced by 20%, but won’t suffer any loss in compensation. The program will be funded by the SNP with a £10 million fund ($13.8 million U.S.). The monies will be used to experiment with the abbreviated workweek. Some Scottish businesses have already started their own truncated workweeks.

Spain

Spain had announced that it would run a trial four-day workweek. The Spanish government agreed to a 32-hour workweek over three years without cutting workers’ compensation. The pilot program, similar to what Scotland is doing, intends to reduce employers’ risk by having the government make up the difference in salary when workers switch to a four-day schedule.

Japan

Japan is following Spain’s lead. The country is considering implementing a four-day workweek. The government of Japan is leading the charge. It’s somewhat surprising  given Japan’s hustle-porn work culture, as bad or worse than America’s propensity to work incredibly long hours with little or no vacation time. The strenuously long hours that salarymen put in led to death by overwork. It’s so commonplace that Japan has a term for it, “karōshi.”

Microsoft Japan previously tried a shorter workweek program, called “Work-Life Choice Challenge 2019 Summer.” The company gave its 2,300 employees the opportunity to “choose a variety of flexible work styles, according to the circumstances of work and life.” The goal of management was to see if there would be a corresponding increase in productivity and morale when hours are cut down. The results of the experiment were extremely positive, indicative that workers were both happier and 40% more productive.

Unilever

Unilever, a British multinational consumer goods company, headquartered in London, previously embarked upon a test of the four-day workweek. The food and consumer-staples giant chose New Zealand as the test-case location. This study is the natural progression of experimenting with different types of work and life accommodations at the company. The employees will be compensated for a full five days, although they’re only working for four. Nick Bangs, the managing director of Unilever in New Zealand, said, “We hope the trial will result in Unilever being the first global company to embrace ways of working that provide tangible benefits for staff and for business.”

Iceland

Scotland pointed to Iceland and its strong results as a big reason for taking a chance with the four-day workweek. A recent study of 2,500 workers in Iceland, more than 1% of the workforce, was conducted to see if shortened work days lead to more productivity and a happier workforce. The trials were made across an array of different types of workplaces. Between 2015 and 2019, Iceland conducted test cases of a 35 to 36-hour workweeks, without any calls for a commensurate cut in pay. To ensure quality control, the results were analyzed by Autonomy and the Association for Sustainability and Democracy. Based upon the stellar results, Icelandic trade unions negotiated for a reduction in working hours. The study also led to a significant change in Iceland, nearly 90% of the working population now have reduced hours or other accommodations. Worker stress and burnout lessened. There was an improvement in work-life balance. 

The United Arab Emirates

The UAE started 2022 as the first nation in the world to adopt a four-and-a-half-day workweek. “All federal government entities in the country will operate four-and-a-half days per week, with the weekend starting midday Friday and lasting through Sunday.”  The work hours are 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, and 7:30 am to noon on Friday.

Belgium

Belgium is considering a four-day working week, as part of an overall government discussion of labor reforms. A spokesperson said about the potential change in working hours, “The corona crisis has radically changed the way we work. The idea is to give a worker more flexibility to organize their working week.”

As of now, in the proposal, the number of working hours would remain the same. To receive the extra day off, employees would be required to work around 9.5 hours per day, assuming a full-time workload of 38 to 40 hours per week.

New Four-Day Workweek Bill Brought To Congress

Recently, Democratic Congressman Mark Takano introduced legislation that would reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours. Takano said in a press release, “A shorter workweek would benefit both employers and employees alike.” Takano added, “Pilot programs run by governments and businesses across the globe have shown promising results, as productivity climbed and workers reported better work-life balance, less need to take sick days, heightened morale and lower childcare expenses because they had more time with their family and children.”

The congressman said, “Shorter workweeks have also been shown to further reduce healthcare premiums for employers, lower operational costs for businesses and have a positive environmental impact in some of these studies.” Takano asserts that the workers would benefit from this change, as his proposal will allow nonexempt employees to receive overtime compensation for any hours worked over 32 hours.

A shortened workweek would go a long way in helping people lead a better balance of work and life. We’ll also likely see pushes for five-hour workdays, staggered flexible work arrangements, more people choosing remote-work options, hybrid models and other programs. Companies will benefit, as they’ll have a happier workforce that’s appreciative and motivated. Employees who are treated well will likely work harder, which would enhance productivity and profits.

Charlotte Lockhart, CEO of 4 Day Week Global, says of the U.S. and Canada pilot, “With a target of onboarding 20 North American companies into this pilot, we’ve exceeded expectations, which shows that organizations across a variety of industries are ready to adapt to the future of work.” Lockhart added, “This first-phase trial will connect businesses with training and mentoring support from international experts who have previously implemented similar programs. We already have the advantage of a significant amount of data amassed in multiple jurisdictions since the first 4 Day Week trial of its type at Perpetual Guardian in New Zealand in early 2018.”

Andrew Barnes, 4 Day Week Global founder and architect, said, “Following the advances made by Perpetual Guardian in New Zealand and various political and business leaders in Spain, Japan, Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and elsewhere, this next cohort of businesses trialing the model in North America and Ireland in the first half of 2022 is laying the foundation for the future of work.”

Alongside 4 Day Week Global, they are gathering and sharing expanded data and helping build a template that will make it possible for many more businesses to trial, adapt and reap the benefits of emphasizing productivity over time–and in doing so, comprehensively change how people engage in the world of work.

Source: Forbes