The Economic, Social, and Environmental Impact of a Four-Day Workweek
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its corresponding effects on work, such as increased burnout, the four-day work week has re-emerged as a way to promote work-life balance, productivity, and a reduction in companies’ carbon footprint. Economist Juliet Schor and sociologists Wen Fan and Phyllis Moen will examine the effect of a four-day work week schedule on job quality, worker productivity, workers’ quality of life, and the environment. They will partner with 4Day Week Global, a nonprofit organization that recruits employers to run six-month coordinated trials of a four-day work week model with no loss in pay to employees for their study. They will conduct surveys with employees over the course of one year.