Image at right: An eight-hour day rally in the 1860s, when people sometimes worked ten-to-twelve hours a day in a five, six, or even seven-day week.
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Background information
The information below was abbreviated from a Wikipedia entry titled 'Four-day workweek'. The full entry can be accessed at
A four-day workweek is an arrangement where a workplace has its employees work over the course of four days per week rather than the more customary five. This arrangement can be part of flexible working hours and is sometimes used to cut costs.
The four-day week movement has grown rapidly in recent years, with increasing numbers of businesses and organisations around the world trialling and many moving permanently to a four-day working week of around 32 hours, with no loss of pay for workers. Most of these businesses and organisations have involved white collar work and found that a four-day week benefits both employees and employers, as trials have indicated that it leads to a better work-life balance, lower stress-levels, and increased productivity, mainly by eliminating wasted work time.
An overwhelming majority of studies report that a four-day week leads to increased productivity and decreased stress, though experts question whether this arrangement is possible in blue collar work, where there may be little wasted time. Critics have wondered whether workers would be required to work faster to maintain the same productivity, potentially increasing stress levels and reducing safety.
Variations in the model
Most advocates for a four-day working week argue for a fixed work schedule, resulting in shorter weeks (e.g., four 8-hour workdays for a total of 32 hours). This follows the 100-80-100 model: 100 percent pay for 80 percent of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintain at least 100 percent productivity.
However, some companies have introduced a four-day week based on a compressed work schedule: in the so-called '4/10 work week,' the 40 weekly workhours are distributed across four days instead of five, resulting in 10-hour-long workdays.
4 Day Week Global trials
In 2022, the not-for-profit advocacy group 4 Day Week Global launched a series of six-month trials for companies in the following countries:
Ireland (17 companies, February 2022 to August 2023);
the United States and Canada (38 companies, April 2022 to October 2023);
the United Kingdom (UK) (61 companies with around 2,900 employees, June 2022 to December 2023);
Australia and New Zealand (20 companies, August 2022 to February 2023).
Government-initiated trials
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, several governments have proposed and launched four-day working week trials:
Scotland announced it is putting £10 million towards a trial, as part of its promise to pursue a wellbeing economy.
Spain announced a voluntary, nationwide, three-year trial of a 32-hour workweek.
The Japanese government's 2021 annual economic policy guidelines recommended that companies allow their workers to opt for a four-day work week, as part of an initiative aimed at improving work-life balance in the country.
Belgium allowed employees the ability to request a four-day work week through the compression of their 38-hour week.