Four the Better
The five-day, 40-hour workweek is a way of life most of us don’t get to question, but it wasn’t always like this. It’s actually the lingering result of industrialization and struggles between moneyed interests and workers’ rights, meaning it’s not necessarily the best for us as individuals or a society. There’s been a recent groundswell of support for four-day schedules based on the notion they would bring boosted productivity, lower costs, and higher satisfaction levels among clients and staff, and the COVID pandemic’s shift toward remote work and flexible schedules gave it a boost. Here are companies — and a few public agencies — experimenting with a four-day approach, and how it’s worked out.
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