4-Day Workweek Pros and Cons: What Employers Need to Know

The idea of a 4-day workweek isn’t new, though it’s gained popularity recently as some U.S. companies like Kickstarter and Basecamp implement the option, and the U.K. starts the biggest 4-day experiment in the world. With all the new attention, you may be wondering if the 4-day workweek is coming to the workplace everywhere soon. While it’s ultimately up to you whether you want to use this type of schedule, it’s helpful to examine the 4-day workweek pros and cons. Are there benefits of a 4-day workweek, or is it not worth the switch?

What is a 4-Day Workweek?

A 4-day work schedule consists of a workweek in which the employee only comes to work on four days instead of the typical five days. It reduces the number of days employees come to work, but it doesn’t add hours to the days like some businesses may do. As a result, it reduces the total weekly hours they’ll be at work without impacting their salary. Employees will go to work four days a week for eight hours a day, totaling 32 hours a week. Here are some 4-day workweek schedule examples:

• Monday–Thursday, 8:00 am–5:00 pm, or 7:00 am–4:00 pm
• Tuesday–Friday, 8:00 am–5:00 pm, or 7:00 am–4:00 pm
• Wednesday–Saturday, 8:00 am–5:00 pm, or 7:00 am–4:00 pm

There are plenty of other 4-day workweek schedule examples an employer could experiment with to see which one fits everyone’s schedule.

Businesses also may want to take into consideration the needs of their customers and clients when deciding how (or if) they want to do a 4-day workweek. It would be helpful to examine what days and times are most busy, so you’ll have plenty of staff on hand.

Some businesses may have seasonal bursts in business traffic and need to consider this when planning out a 4-day workweek.

Benefits of a 4-Day Workweek

As you consider a new schedule for employees, you may wish to analyze the benefits of a 4-day workweek, so you’ll know if the pros outweigh the cons. Here are a few of the benefits:

• Allows employee flexibility. Employees often need more flexibility in their schedules. Research indicates that employees highly value flexibility at work. When you provide them with more choices in their schedules, you create greater flexibility. According to a recent survey, employees stated that workplace flexibility is a desirable feature of a company, and could boost employee retention.
• Expands the talent pool. The flexibility 4-day workweeks give employees will enable you to attract top talent for your open positions.
• Reduces overhead costs. When the work hours get reduced, so do building costs and other related expenses due to reduced operating hours.
• Creates a more positive work environment. Employees may be more upbeat knowing they will have an additional day off per week to focus on priorities outside of work.
• Potential increases in productivity. When Iceland tried a 4-day workweek program, studies found that at worst, productivity remained the same, and in some cases it even increased.

Cons of a 4-Day Workweek

With the benefits of this 4-day schedule, you may wonder if there are any cons to a 4-day workweek. Let’s examine the 4-day work schedule to see what the cons are:

• May affect customer relations. If your customers rely on a 5-day-a-week work crew, they may be disappointed with the change. If they can’t get the service or product they are expecting due to the company being short-handed one day a week, it could affect customer relations. Also, if the company completely shuts down one day a week, it could limit substantial traffic.
• Scheduling conflicts could arise. In addition to disrupting the workflow with customers, settling on a schedule that satisfies your employees’ preferences may be challenging. Deciding on the right day to drop will require careful planning.
• Managing tasks may be difficult at first. Switching from five days to four could leave staff feeling uncomfortable at first with being able to accomplish what they need in the shorter period. Managers will have to be ready to reevaluate priorities or shift tasks around to ensure everything gets done.

Should You Implement the 4-Day Workweek?

When deciding if you should implement the 4-day workweek, you’ll need to take into consideration how it may affect your specific company. Take time to weigh the pros and cons of your specific business model. Since every business is set up differently, has different needs, and has a different customer base, you may or may not be impacted by a change. So, it’s vital to take time to review the 4-day workweek pros and cons for your business.

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