Having a four-day workweek is beneficial for many people and should become the new norm. By prioritizing employee well-being and harnessing the benefits of a shorter workweek, businesses can unlock a more engaged and happier workforce.

Companies and schools need to have a four-day workweek in order to create a better work-life balance. Implementing a four-day workweek allows people to do other activities outside of work or class, such as spending time with family or going away for a weekend.

Statistics show that with a four-day workweek, there is a 42% decrease in employee resignation, according to 4 Day Week Global. Additionally, 68% of organizations reported a reduction in burnout with a four-day workweek, and 54% of organizations reported an increase in workability.

A decrease in employee resignation can be crucial, especially for businesses that may be short-staffed. Employees should feel like their input and presence at their job matters.

Having a four-day week in schools can also have numerous advantages with the crucial example being more free time. Students that were on a four-day week schedule had on average 3.5 to 4 more hours of free time than students that were on a five-day week schedule, according to the Rand Corporation.

Students deserve to have more free time and should not have their whole lives revolve around school. Students have friends and family to spend time with and hobbies to engage in. Extreme burnout can become prevalent when school takes up all of students’ lives.

Whether working or in-school, burnout is a common feeling. By implementing a four-day workweek, businesses and schools can prevent their employees and students from becoming burned out.

Employers and students do not deserve to be burned out. Employers and students are humans with other commitments and priorities, and they do not deserve to be under an intense amount of stress.

NIU management Professor Mahesh Subramony expressed that a four-day workweek could come with many advantages.

“An advantage is that by offering a four-day workweek you may be able to attract more talent,” Subramony said. “You may be able to get people that may have other commitments, for instance, people that have large families to take care of, aging parents or children.” 

The general public may be more willing to work at a company that offers a four-day workweek compared to a company that has a five-day workweek.

Edye Cowan, associate director of academic strategic planning in the honors program at NIU, said a four-day workweek could convince people to stay at their jobs. 

“Sometimes, when maybe you don’t make the highest salary, there are other perks that make it a good workplace, so giving people a 4-day workweek could really help,” Cowan said. “Of course, people want to make more money, but sometimes that’s just not possible, so giving people a four-day workweek could really motivate people to stay at a job that they may not otherwise.”

Even though money can play a big role in someone’s job, there are many other factors that can make someone happy at their workplace. Money is nice; but at the end of the day, money doesn’t buy happiness. Companies that offer a four-day workweek could make their employees happier, especially if a four-day workweek works better for the employees’ schedules.

Schools throughout the U.S. are also incorporating a four-day workweek in an effort to recruit teachers. Nearly 900 school districts in the U.S. currently use a four-day weekly academic schedule, according to CBS News.

Teachers are needed now more than ever. More schools can recruit new teachers and prevent burnout with the teachers that schools currently have if they enact a four-day workweek.

However, with the thought of a four-day workweek comes the impending threat of earning less income for working fewer hours. For those who are salaried employees, a four-day workweek might mean that they could get more time off while receiving the same pay; but for hourly employees, adjustments to overtime pay may need to be made, according to The Skimm.

Subramony said that, while the thought of a four-day workweek could be beneficial for employees, there are other ways to work around people’s schedules.

“Companies need to be more mindful of people’s individual needs rather than just implementing 32 hours straight on,” Subramony said. “For instance, if I ask people to show up to work Monday through Thursday, that may or may not work with their schedules. It might be better for some people to start at 8 a.m. and go until 3:30 p.m. five days a week so they can go back home and pick up their kids.”

If companies want to keep the employees they have, companies need to be more mindful of employee’s situations and needs. By being aware and understanding of an employee’s needs, employees will be more appreciative and willing to work.

It’s time for businesses and schools to rethink their outdated work structures and pave the way for a transformative future.