Every Company Doing A 4-Day Work Week: Aug 23, 2021 UPDATE

United States:

"As I write this it’s the first week of May, and there’s an energetic buzz in the air — because it means that Summer Hours are about to start here at Basecamp. 

During summer, we work 4-day work weeks, aka 'summer hours'. Summer hours are in effect from May 1 through August 31 each year."

United Kingdom:

"Since November 2011, our UK team have worked to a 4 Day Week (4DW). At that time, we were one of only a handful of companies in the world to consciously ditch the 5-day work week in favour of a permanent 3-day weekend."

"The trials were conducted between 2015 and 2019, initiated by the Reykjavik City Council and the Icelandic national government.

The trials ultimately involved 2,500 workers, more than 1 percent of the nation’s working population, who moved from working 40 hours a week to a 35- or 36-hour week, without a reduction in pay."

Scotland:

"We found productivity to be unchanged - if not slightly improved - after implementing the four day work week," Peebles said. "Our goal is to build a company that brings success to our customers, team, and investors, and we believe that sustainable work habits are a key piece of that, hence the desire to make sure that our team has balance between work and the rest of their life. We still work incredibly hard - and smart - but only for 32 hours!"

United States:

"While far from common, our San Francisco-based software company, Monograph, has been practicing the four-day workweek since our founding. We’ve seen from firsthand experience how it ultimately continues to be a net positive gain for our business over time."

Norway:

After implementing a four-day work week and seeing success, the restaurant owner "...did something even crazier. So noticeable an impact did the reduction have, that Bang decided to take it further: He cut his staff's schedule to three days. Everyone—back- and front-of-house—would still be putting in about 45 hours a week, but they would always have four days off in a row. And once a month, they'd get five days off in succession, so they'd have time to go visit far-flung family, or travel just for fun.

United States:

Natalie Nagele, Co-Founder and CEO, said in a company blog post, "Starting next week, we’re going to give it a shot. The entire team will work only 4 days a week. We will not be tacking on an extra hour to the other 4 days. We will just be working 32 hours. We’ve time-boxed this experiment to the summer, but we hope we can extend it, so long as there are no significant impacts or consequences."

(This started as a summer experiment and has become permanent since.)

United Kingdom:

In a company blog post, founder Rich Leigh wrote these bullets:
- Staff will be paid the same salary - Post-trial, if it’s something we implement full-time, annual leave would be contractually reduced by 20% to 20 days (staff currently get 25 days, plus bank holidays, plus their birthday off)
- On bank holiday weeks, we will still work four-day weeks (there are eight bank holidays in a year)
- Lunch hours will be reduced to 45 minutes.

New Zealand:

"The New Zealand company behind a landmark trial of a four-day working week has declared it a success and will be adopting the new schedule full time," Eleanor Ainge Roy wrote for The Guardian.

Ireland:

"Everyone moved to the four-day week without any loss of pay. Our days have become slightly longer than they would have been, but overall our working week actually reduced."

United Kingdom:

"MRL will be trialling a 4 day working week as of 13th May 2019.  Our offices will be closed on Fridays.  The trial will run for 6 months and, if successful, will become permanent after this time.  There shall be no alteration to compensation or benefits for any employee of MRL."

Japan: 

"Workers at Microsoft Japan enjoyed an enviable perk this summer: working four days a week, enjoying a three-day weekend — and getting their normal, five-day paycheck. The result, the company says, was a productivity boost of 40%," said Bill Chappell in an NPR article.

Bit.io has done 4-day, 32-hour work weeks since the company was founded in 2019.

"At JAYU, we recently completed a study and found that 86% of our team's mental health improved while 100% noted they had more work-life balance as a result of shifting to a 4-day work week," said Gilad Cohen, Founder and Managing Director, in a tweet.

Spain: 

"Software Delsol is the first company in Spain to introduce the 4-day work week for its 181 employees – without any loss of income. The company in Jaén, a city in southern Spain, is now considered a blueprint for a nationwide model of the 4-day work week in Spain."

United States:

"Nectafy started with half-day Fridays and a 36-hour work week. In early 2020, Nectafy decided to lop off Fridays to give permanent three-day weekends. After more than a year on a four-day work week, productivity and profitability are similar, and all employees have stayed with the company and noted positive impacts on their lives."

United States:

"Many employers aren't just moving to 10-hour shifts, four days a week, as companies like Shake Shack are doing; they're going to a 32-hour week — without cutting pay. In exchange, employers are asking their workers to get their jobs done in a compressed amount of time," Yuki Noguchi said for NPR.

Ireland:

"CEO – Paul McNulty – recently made a bold move, offering the entire 3D Issue team the option of a 20% pay rise or a four-day working week. Everybody opted for the shorter week rather than an increase in pay, so the switch will be made to the new arrangement from the start of April."

United Kingdom:

“Lockdown highlighted the importance of time with family. That’s why we’ve started a new four-day working week – without any reduction in pay – to help support our employees mental health, well-being and give them a healthier work-life balance.”

United States:

"As April comes to a close, and we look ahead to another month where our global team is living in various forms of lockdown and isolation, I decided that for the month of May, Buffer will operate under a 4-day workweek (at full pay) across the whole 89-person team."

(Buffer finished the one-month trial, then a six-month trial, then made the policy permanent.)

Japan:

"Technology group Toshiba will begin a four-day workweek in June for employees on the plant floor, giving them one more day in exchange for longer hours while on site, maintaining the annual work hours."

"This summer, we’re launching an experiment to try out a 4-day workweek. Everyone’s salary is staying the same, but our team will work 32 hours every week between June 1st and August 28th (This is not four 10-hour days. This is four eight-hour days.)."

Canada:

In a tweet by Carl Rivera, VP of Product, said, "Today Shopify announced Fridays off for R&R through August. A response to lower rates of vacation being scheduled, despite the increased mental pressure from the changing times that we’re in. And, we also have no meeting Wednesdays (since before it was cool)."

"The thinking was around emotional and mental wellness,” explains Wilson, but he had practical reasons for the three-day weekends, too. In Chicago, winters are long, and summers are short. There’s not a lot of time to get out and explore."

For the next year a large majority of workers employed by the City of Morgantown will be working four days a week. 
The work week is Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., according to interim Morgantown City Manager Emily Muzzarelli.

'Employees will work their 40 hours in four days or four 10-hour days,' she said."

"Bunny Studio is making a move to determine if a four-day workweek is a feasible option to assist our full-time team members while keeping up the high-quality services that our clients expect."

"As of six weeks ago, Volt switched to a compressed four-day work week and we’re not going back. Friday was declared a flex day, meaning that employees could use that day however they wished. Our team could use Friday to relax, go for a hike, hang out with friends and family, work on projects, catch up on emails, or even write Medium posts like this one!"

United Kingdom:

"Morrisons is reportedly set to shake-up its head office working practices by introducing four day weeks – although staff will still be required to work one Saturday a month.

The changes include a reduction of weekly hours from 40 to 37.5 – working nine instead of eight hours a day over four days, plus a six-hour day one Saturday per month."

United States:

"The software and data engineering company is testing out a compressed four-day workweek starting this week. Employees will have 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday," Kathryn Vasel wrote for CNN Business.

Canada:

"In the end, a four-day week has a positive impact on employee happiness and retention that outweighs our concerns about production.

So, we opened up optional four-day weeks to employees. Anyone working four days is doing so at 80% of their salary and benefits, while retaining full health coverage. We didn’t want our employees to choose between health care and a healthier work-life balance."

Japan:

"Mizuho, Japan’s third-largest lender by assets, will give about 45,000 employees the option to work three or four days a week, the spokeswoman said. It aims to make the option available from December after holding talks with its labour union," wrote the Reuters staff. 

"We believe that by prioritizing our people, we will be able to build better products and a successful, sustainable business for the long run.

The 4 day work week is something that we see can help us to achieve our goals."

"We initially said it would be a two-month program during July and August. The way it worked was that we would look at all of the client accounts and split the company in half. This way, the clients wouldn’t experience any breakage in services."

New Zealand:

"Unilever said all 81 staff members at its offices across New Zealand would be able to participate in the trial, starting next week and running for 12 months until December next year. The employees would be paid for five days while working just four," - The Guardian.

United States:

"After a successful 6 month 4 ½ day work week pilot, offering increased flexibility and autonomy for its staff during the pandemic, global affiliate network has announced that from early 2021 its entire workforce will move to a 4-day work week with no reduction in salaries," Aithority wrote.

"Six Boulder County offices and departments will begin shifting to a four-day work week beginning in 2021.

The move is part of the county's four-day work week pilot program that will analyze the productivity, public satisfaction and cost savings after the four-month trial concludes in April 2021."

"We've decided to try our most radical experiment yet - 4-day work weeks - aka Flock Fridays! For the next three months (June - August 2021), we'll be modifying our work schedule to see if we can keep our productivity high, while reducing our working hours."

"Our own Status of Young Women in Scotland 2020-2021 report revealed that 16-30 year-old women across the country recognise the importance of a healthier work-life balance, and the specific need for flexible working patterns to ensure a more accessible labour market for women at all stages of their careers. Following our own SYWS20-21 advice, as of this month (July 2021) we are transitioning our working pattern to a 4-day week across the organisation."

Spain:

"When the progressive party Más País launched in 2019, it included the 4-day work week as part of its platform, and went on to propose the trial that won the Spanish government’s approval in January. Although the specifics remain undecided, the pilot, which is expected to launch in September and last three years, will use 50 million euros in European Union funding to compensate an estimated 200 companies for reducing their employees’ work week to 32 hours—without cutting their salaries."

United States:

"Kickstarter plans next year to test a four-day work week with some or all of its employees, though details of that remain to be figured out, including whether all workers will have the same schedule," wrote Ina Fried for Axios.

"As highlighted above, employees feel a 4-day work week allows them to perfectly balance work and life. Thanks to the extra day off, people can better manage their time and approach work with more energy and enthusiasm."

"We understand that life is work, but work doesn’t always have to consume life…And time is needed to recharge batteries and dedicate to the self and family," Barry Patel, CEO, said in a LinkedIn post.

"We have reservations: Can a business news organization really drop a workday?

We’re far from this as a standard but I’m betting for the trend. We’ll report back."

"Scotland plans to launch a trial four-day workweek. The decision was the culmination of a campaign promise made by the ruling Scottish National Party. Workers will have their hours reduced by 20%, but won’t suffer any loss in compensation. The program will be funded by the SNP with a £10 million fund ($13.8 million U.S.)."

"We’ll start on October 1 giving us time to get teams staffed appropriately building off learnings from our pilot in 2020. We’ll have around 70% of our team working Monday through Thursday and 30% working Tuesday through Friday."