Between 2015 and 2019, several large-scale trials in the public sector of a four-day workweek were carried out in Iceland. The results showed that the trials turned out to be an “overwhelming success,” with many workers shifting to shorter hours without affecting their productivity. Some of the trials’ key findings showed that a shorter week translated into increased well-being of employees among a range of indicators, from stress and burnout to health and work-life balance. The idea of the four-day week has been gaining ground in countries like New Zealand, Spain and Germany. In the U.S. and Canada, a small but growing number of firms are moving to a four-day workweek that runs from Monday to Thursday. In addition, the pandemic created a situation where employers began to experiment with alternative working arrangements, ranging from remote work to a variety of hybrid work routines including a four-day workweek. Employers are expected to continue offering alternative working arrangements as a means to retain existing employees and to recruit new workers, especially given the tight labour markets found in most countries.
Now, there is not really anything new about employers implementing a four-day workweek for interested employees. Long before the pandemic, I can recall several employers, especially in the public sector, who instituted policies allowing for some employees, where applicable, to work for four days a week and with the same number of weekly hours and wages. For certain employees, the additional day off meant that they could spend more time with their families and use the extra free time to improve work-life balance.
More recently, there are those that would argue that a four-day workweek would help to reduce our carbon footprint. For example, one or more fewer commutes to and from work would be required each week. Transportation is the biggest contributor to greenhouse emissions, especially for vehicles using gas or diesel. In 2020, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the transportation sector accounted for about 27 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Commuting is a big part of that. It’s noteworthy that global emissions plunged an unprecedented 17 percent during the coronavirus pandemic and the air quality in cities around the world showed a marked improvement. In North America, the high cost of housing in urban cores has meant that many workers have bought more affordable homes in the outskirts, a trend increased during the pandemic by a significant percentage of workers working remotely from home.
In addition, Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College who researches work, consumption and climate change, noted that energy could also be conserved if less resources are needed to heat and cool large office buildings. However, to reduce demands on electricity, buildings would have to be pretty well shut down entirely for a day. According to Scientific American, when the Utah state government launched a four-day workweek trial among its employees in 2008, one report projected that shutting down buildings on Fridays would lead to a decrease of at least 6,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. However, any potential energy-saving gains hinge on how companies and individuals use resources. At a time when many companies are looking at ways to incur cost savings, the implementation of a four-day workweek might be appealing.
As more and more white-collar workers across the country settle into hybrid work routines, one thing is becoming clear: Nobody wants to be in the office on Fridays. This premise came up time and time again in several related articles. With hybrid working routines becoming more of a fixture in workplaces, it’s easy to see why employers are increasingly looking for more adaptable offices with more communal spaces and gathering areas instead of traditional cubicles or walled-in offices. Issues surrounding work-life balance and healthy workplaces will continue to surface in the post-pandemic era. Businesses and their workers will no doubt have to be more creative in developing appropriate alternative working arrangements, including possibly a four-day workweek.
FROLITICKS 
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