American adults back 4-day workweek
NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES — A new survey by CNBC/Generation Lab revealed that 81% of American adults aged 18 to 34 believe a four-day workweek would increase their company’s productivity.
Only 19% of respondents said productivity would decline under a shorter workweek.
The “Youth & Current Affairs in the USA” survey, which polled 1,033 individuals from April 26-May 2, 2024, comes amid growing discussions around the potential benefits of transitioning from the standard five-day U.S. workweek to a four-day schedule without a pay cut.
The report stated, “Some companies have begun testing the arrangement and say it has mitigated employee burnout and strengthened business performance.”
It cited Exos, a U.S. coaching company that recently reported positive results from its ongoing four-day workweek experiment.
While there is substantial agreement on the benefits of a shorter workweek, opinions on the optimal work setting remain divided. The survey found that 60% of young workers perform best in an office environment, whereas 40% prefer working from home.
This split highlights the varying preferences that employers need to consider in the evolving landscape of workplace arrangements.
Lawmakers and business leaders weigh in on 4-day workweek
Beyond the workplace, the reduced workweek has also gained support from lawmakers and prominent business leaders. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced a bill in March that would establish a 32-hour standard workweek without a pay cut, while Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) reintroduced a companion bill in the House.
Meanwhile, IAC and Expedia chairman Barry Diller predicted that companies would adopt a policy of four days in the office followed by a flexible Friday, telling CNBC, “I think that is going to be the sensible evolution of all this, but it has to be standardized.”
New York Mets owner and billionaire financier Steven Cohen also expressed his belief in the inevitability of a widespread four-day workweek, citing the rise of artificial intelligence and generally lower productivity on Fridays.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Christopher Pissarides and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon also predicted that AI advancements could enable shorter workweeks for future generations.
This echoes a study by think tank Autonomy that suggested that AI might pave the way for approximately 30% of employees in both the UK and the U.S. to transition to a four-day workweek by the year 2033.
UK firms adopt 4-day week after successful trial
Most UK companies participating in a six-month trial of a four-day workweek in 2022 have made it permanent.
According to research by Autonomy, 89% of the 61 companies in the trial still have a four-day week policy one year later. Over half or 51%, have formally made the shortened week permanent.
The companies involved spanned a range of industries, including marketing/advertising, arts/entertainment, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, social work, architecture, and professional services, among others.
They reduced employee working hours by 6.6 hours on average to reach an average of 31.6 hours a week, usually through an additional day off.
The study found overwhelmingly positive impacts from the four-day week, such as reducing staff turnover and improving recruitment. Employees also reported it benefited their personal lives, made them perform better at work, and reduced their stress levels.
