Four Day Week, an article by Kaveeshan Gnanarajah

 Four Day Week by Kaveeshan Gnanarajah

Imagine getting every Friday off. Whether for school or for work, I’m sure a lot of you would love this idea. Well, for thousands of workers and millions of students, it's already happening. The largest study on a four-day workweek included over 140 companies. Companies ranging from tech startups to government offices. They are all testing whether cutting a full day from the workweek actually benefits both the employees and employers. Companies that have implemented this method have reported sleeping better, having more time for family and hobbies, and also feel way less stressed.

But how does this actually work? Companies will have to restructure their operations. Before making this change, each company in the study was given roughly 8 weeks to change while also maintaining its productivity at 80% of its previous work hours. That means cutting random and pointless meetings and getting rid of busywork. Famously, Tokyo implemented this idea earlier this year to encourage more workforce participation.

Additionally, Dubai’s government reported employee satisfaction increasing to the high 90%. Obviously, not every company in every industry can make this work. But the trend is most definitely growing, especially as us current students priotizie a more work-life balance over traditional career paths. Whether this becomes the new norm, or stays as a privilege in companies thinking towards the future, the topic. of workers working too much isnt going away. So I guess this is something to look forward to when we start working.

Abrams, Zara. “The Rise of the 4-Day Workweek.” American Psychological Association, 1 Jan. 2025, www.apa.org/monitor/2025/01/rise-of-4-day-workweek.