How does a four-day work week sound?
During his State of the City address last month, Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk mentioned something that would be a pretty big deal if he could pull it off.
He floated the possibility of city employees working four days a week instead of five.
Tuerk said giving workers another day off would create a better work-life balance. He said the city has been struggling to fill more than 100 jobs, and a survey showed employee morale is low.
“We have to start actively acknowledging the importance of our workers as both employees and human beings,” Tuerk said during his speech Jan. 26 at the Renaissance Allentown Hotel.
A shorter work week certainly is controversial. But working only 40 hours a week once was unheard of, too.
A four-day work week sounds wonderful from a worker’s perspective. But it raises lots of questions on the employer’s end.
Could we stay open for the same number of hours, serve the same number of clients or get the same amount of work done if we don’t have all of our people on duty every business day? Would we have to hire more workers, which could end up costing us more?
And then there’s the big question: how do you define a four-day work week?
Are we talking about four 10-hour days? That could raise concerns about workers becoming tired and less productive at the end of those days.
Or, are we talking about four eight-hour days? That means people are getting a raise because they are working fewer hours for the same pay.
Newsweek reported last year about 31 businesses, many of them in the creative and technology fields, that shortened work weeks, many to 32 hours at the same pay. Some governments were on the list, too. Restaurant chain Shake Shack did it for a while before pausing the program at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Forty percent of the businesses surveyed in last year’s EY Future Workplace Index said they started using a four-day work week or were implementing one. The survey, by Ernst & Young LLP, tracks executive sentiment and behavioral data about the future of workplaces.
In 2019, Microsoft Japan experimented with a four-day work week. For a month, it closed on Fridays and paid full-time employees for that day. The result? About a 40% increase in productivity compared to the same month the previous year.
That makes me wonder why it hasn’t been implemented full time.
An experiment with a four-day work week involving about 2,900 workers at 61 businesses in the United Kingdom wrapped up in December. The results were released Tuesday.
During the six-month study, participating employees worked 20% fewer hours per week but committed to delivering the same level of productivity. The companies agreed to continue paying their full salaries.
In what came as a shock to me, nearly all of the companies were satisfied with the results. Fifty-six are continuing with the four-day work week, 18 permanently.
Revenue rose on average by 1.4% during the trial. Staff turnover dropped by 57% and daily absenteeism decreased. The results generally were the same across industries and regardless of business size..
“Overall satisfaction with work and life is higher, with employees reporting lower rates of burnout and better physical and mental health. People also have fewer problems with sleep and are exercising more,” the study concluded.
It was organized by 4 Day Week Global, an advocacy group. The data was analyzed by researchers at several universities and colleges, including Boston College and the University of Cambridge, and research organization Autonomy.
Participating businesses were in manufacturing, construction, arts and entertainment, engineering, health care, insurance, finance, marketing and advertising, professional services and technology. Charities and nonprofits also participated.
One business had more than 1,000 employees but most were smaller. Twelve percent had more than 101 employees, 22% had 26-100 employees and 66% had fewer than 25 employees.
The companies implemented the shorter work weeks in different ways. Some shut down for an extra day. Others stayed open the usual number of days and staggered shifts. A digital marketing agency paired employees with similar knowledge and skills. They alternated their extra day off to ensure there was sufficient coverage to handle the work.
Now, back to Allentown.
Tuerk didn’t offer specifics about his vision when he mentioned it during his State of the City presentation. I talked to him Tuesday to ask for details.
He told me he envisions employees working four 10-hour days.
“I think it allows people to structure their lives in ways that are more consistent with modern lives,” Tuerk told me.
Workers’ shifts would be staggered to ensure there are an adequate number to provide services, he said. The public could benefit because it may be possible for city facilities such as City Hall to be open for longer hours.
Some work could even be scheduled on weekends when it would be timely for their duties, such as inspectors being able to scout out illegal operations.
Creating a better work-life balance would make it easier for Allentown to recruit employees and retain them, Tuerk said. That also would benefit the public.
“What I want to signal to our employees is that we’re willing to get creative,” he said.
The city could not impose a new work schedule on all workers. Some, including police officers, firefighters and paramedics, are in unions and have contracts that dictate their working hours and conditions.
Tuerk told me he intends to seek buy-in from Allentown City Council.
This week, North Whitehall Township employees started a four-day work week. Township offices are closed Fridays. Through the end of the year, the township’s 20 employees will work four ninehour days, for the same pay. The program will be reevaluated after the trial period.
Township Manager Randy Cope told me a township supervisor brought up the idea last fall. Cope researched it.
“I found more benefits than negatives,” he said.
He’s hoping the township will have an easier time recruiting and retaining workers. Employees will have a better worklife balance, and the township should save money on costs such as electricity.
The supervisors unanimously approved the trial and the township negotiated an amendment to the union contract of the 11 public works employees.
Cope told me it’s up to employees and managers to make the new schedule successful.
“It’s our job to show we can be just as productive, if not more,” Cope said.
It was only a few generations ago that people regularly worked more than 40 hours and five days a week. It wasn’t until 1940 that laws were passed to make 40 hours the norm. Henry Ford created the model in 1926 when he instituted a schedule of five eight-hour days for his car-building workforce.
Technology has made some jobs easier to do since the 40-hour work week was established, Cope noted when we talked Wednesday.
I doubt a four-day work week, either at 32 or 40 hours, will ever become mainstream in the United States, at least not anytime soon. Some privately held smaller firms, and some visionary governments, may experiment with it because they recognize the potential value.
But corporate greed, the bottom line and the prioritization of shareholders are what dictates how most commerce occurs in America. The opinions and needs of workers sadly aren’t a consideration. .
So, what do you think? I’m looking for thoughts from employees and from business owners and managers, especially from any local businesses that already have implemented a four-day work week.
If I get enough responses, I will share them in a future column.