Is A Four-Day Workweek Feasible Option For Your Business?

It’s difficult to find many positive aspects about the last year and a half, but if there is one thing to be grateful for, it’s that most people were able to use that time to reflect on their own lives. Getting caught up in the rat race of work life in America is easy to do, especially considering now with remote/hybrid environments making the line between work and home life harder to distinguish.

40 hour work weeks have become so common that we hardly ever stop to consider that it may not really be necessary. In the business world, we often discuss how advancements in digital technology, like automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, are allowing humans to do less work while simultaneously improving productivity. Yet, even though we have these capabilities, nothing has changed in terms of how many hours humans are putting in.

For a long time, it seemed as if society simply accepted the fact that the workweek was set in stone. But thanks to the pandemic, the workforce had time to contemplate how much work is actually accomplished during the week, with many realizing that it doesn’t necessitate 40 hours to accomplish tasks. Now that the economy is coming back to life, business leaders should consider trimming down the weekly schedule for the benefit of both employees and future business success.

With a four-day work schedule, employees have an extra day to rest and take care of personal tasks, which helps relieve stress so that they can perform better while on the job. Businesses will also be able to save money on real estate costs by shutting down the office for an extra day a week, which amounts to significant savings on a yearly basis. And thanks to remote technology, employees can become more efficient with their time by reducing travel times, which can allow them to use that time to focus on actual work tasks from wherever they are.

Now that the dust from the pandemic has finally started to settle, business leaders should ask themselves: is the five day workweek actually needed? Employers should consider this option as a logical solution to not only boost the well-being of employees, but  to also improve the overall productivity of the company completely.