After the shift to remote work, new hope for a four-day workweek
The global shift over the past two years to remote work has led to something unexpected: an uptick in the adoption of a four-day workweek, raising hopes that a tipping point could come soon.
In a number of industries, calls for a change to the standard five-day, 40-hour week grew after many companies began to rethink how work is done in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. “This has given organizations the confidence they need to consider adopting flexible work arrangements such as the four-day week,” said Raúl Castañón, senior analyst at 451 Research, a division of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
There are a variety of recent examples of companies trying out a four-day week or moving toward one permanently. Bolt, a fintech startup, recently committed to a four-day week long term, as did social media software firm Buffer last year. Crowd-funding company Kickstarter is due to start a trial this year, Unilever ran a pilot for staffers in New Zealand last year, Panasonic pledged last month to give workers a four-day-week option, and real estate management firm JLL hinted at similar intentions.