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Four-Day Workweek —— The Choice of the Future
Just as the Ford Motor Company pioneered the five-day workweek a century ago, the
four-day workweek is now becoming a reality in many countries. Although each country’s
approach may vary ,the definition of a four day workweek is that the work hours is usually 32
to 36 with no reduction in pay .A common model,often called the “100:80:100” approach
,means that the employee is paid 100% for 80% of the time in exchange for the 100%
productivity (Grecek , 2025) This system is premised on the reduction of actual working
hours, coupled with a paradigm shift in evaluation—from rigid time-based assessment to one
focused on the achievement of specific objectives and output. As a result, a shift towards a
four-day working week with no change in the salary is not only feasible but also
advantageous. The benefits of a four-day workweek will be outlined in terms of three
aspects: enhanced productivity，improved employee well-being, and a positive
environmental impact, respectively.
Contrary to traditional belief, shortening the workweek does not decrease productivity but
often enhances it. The traditional model of five days based on performance of the employees
considered the hours worked to be the primary of the evaluation. This inflexible structure had
a tendency of rewarding physical presence in the office other than real accomplishment of
assignments. Therefore, the number of hours on record was long; however, the stock
productivity was low in reality: a 2019 survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed an
average office worker is active merely 2 hours and 53 minutes in an 8-hour day, the rest of
the time is spent on interventions or non-productive work (Bureau of Labor Statistics,2019).
The four-day workweek, in its turn, with its shorter length, is associated with the evaluation
based on material achievement and the completion of tasks. This has resulted in the data
that the efficiency improvement is actually high as compared to the five-day model. In the
case of the 4 Day Week Global pilot study in the UK from 2022 to 2023 which included more
than 60 companies and approximately 3,000 employees, employees productivity either
stayed the same, or increased on average by 92 percent in the companies that participated
in the trial, and the average company revenue also increased by 1.4 percent (Autonomy
Institute,2023). Ultimately, the evidence strongly suggests that a four-day week enhances
productivity by focusing on outcomes and fostering a more energized workforce.
Beyond the gains in productivity, the four-day week's most significant impact is a drastic
improvement in employee [Link] four day model is a boost to mental well being
resulting in motivation and eventually leading to increased productivity. Most directly, the
additional day off will grant much-needed reprieve after hours of work against
office-associated illness traps, including sedentary sitting, lack of airflow, and deficiency in
meaningful contribution of work to personal commitment (World Health Organization,2021).
Furthermore, by substituting hours worked with an actual job completed, the model will
enable employees to draw a lively sense of mission to their beauty irrespective of the work.
They are known to bring real value not just working time standards and look to make the
working plan more meaningful by the way of working time. In the UK’s case,71% of the
workers have experienced reduced levels of burnout and increased job
satisfaction(Autonomy Institute,2023).Most importantly, it is not only a decrease in the
number of hours in this model, usually more flexibility is invented. The employees will be
able to optimize the work schedule according to their energy peak, so that they work
optimally. The four-day workweek, in a way, will provide employees with more free time and
autonomy. It substitutes the outmoded performance measure with an actual impact and
accomplishment goals. Consequently, work is no longer viewed as a stiff, boring need.
Rather, it becomes an interesting and satisfying process that the employees will take with a
sense of zeal and devotion.
Critics state that more staff working four days per week will result in a lack of customer
service or client unavailability in the industries that must be constantly covered avoiding lag
time or other forms of inconveniences(4 Day Week Global ,2023).Staggered scheduling can
resolve this issue. A four day workweek does not imply a stiff schedule as one day off, as
described earlier, however companies with staggered schedules are fully capable of
providing basic customer [Link] Bank and Iceland Foods have adopted the rotation
systems where their employees take off different days, and thus cover all services during the
week. According to research conducted in the UK on Global trail of 4 Day Week, almost all
organizations involved managed to maintain or increase the level of customer satisfaction,
which confirms that it is possible to sustain the continuity of service with careful planning and
no longer with additional time to work (Nocchi,2025).This evidence demonstrates that the
four-day workweek can successfully maintain service standards when it is implemented
strategically.
In conclusion,the four-day workweek is a progressive movement in current labor practices. It
increases productivity and the well-being of the employees by substituting the old methods
of evaluation based on time with those driven by results. International trials prove that
shortening of working hours does not impair performance, it promotes efficiency, motivation,
and health. The four-day workweek can not only be possible, but also preferable, with
attentive execution, such as arranging the schedules in such a way that the work would be
covered throughout all the four days. Finally, it provides a long-term chart between
professional and personal satisfaction- a necessary step to healthier and more productive
workplaces in the future.
Reference list
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020, June 25). American Time Use Survey News Release.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[Link]
Nocchi, M. (2025a, September 4). The four-day workweek: Lessons from Belgium & Iceland.
IRIS. [Link]
The results are in: The UK’s four-Day Week pilot. The Autonomy Institute. (2024, April 24).
[Link]
Grecek, M. (2025, July 29). Which countries have four-day workweeks? A full list. Global HR
Solutions & Employment Tools for Distributed Teams.
[Link]
World Health Organization. (2021, May 17). *Long working hours increasing deaths from
heart disease and stroke: WHO, ILO.* World Health Organization.
[[Link]
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List of changes made
● Missing essay title
I added “Four-Day workweek—the choice of the future ”as the title
● APA style
(Medeline Grecek , 2025) to (Grecek,2025) (Marta Nocchi,2025) to (Nocchi 2025)
(BLS,2019) to (Bureau of Labor Statistics,2019)
● Topic sentence in the second paragraph
The original sentence is too complicated in structure and didn’t make the thesis of
the paragraph clear. I made it shorter and more clear about the productivity point which is
the thesis of the paragraph.
● The ending of the second paragraph was not very relevant with the productivity
thesis,so I put it into the middle of the following paragraph to serve as an evidence of
how the four day model improves employees’ mental health and their sense of
meaning in [Link] since there would be a cite-end after removing the sentence I
added a sentence to summarize the paragraph.
● The beginning of the third paragraph
This one is basically the same as what I did in the second paragraph,to make the
thesis more clear and direct.
● “Fewer staff “
Should be more staff here
● I added a summary sentence in the end of the fourth paragraph so it won’t end with a
citation.
● The reference list is added.