How Soon Could the 4-Day Work Week Arrive?
In recent years the popularity of the 4-day work week has gained traction and even asked everyone if this could actually happen on a federal level. Once the pandemic hit us, we were all faced with a very different reality or should I say re-imagined idea of a “work schedule.”
4-day Work Week On The Way?
With a number of companies exploring more flexible work hours and shorter workweeks, some experts are estimating a 4-day workweek. Senator Bernie Sanders has been advocating for the 32-hour workweek and has even submitted proposals to push the idea forward.
The popularity of more flexible work schedules is mainly due to the fact that many families are desiring work-life balance. We are seeing this as a growing trend with an additional focus on mental health, as of this week, in California there’s a bill being pushed to protect workers from answering their boss’s work calls and emails after work hours.
When I worked in insurance, which is a highly administrative field, I definitely felt as if I worked 24/7 in order to keep up with the demands of answering emails timely and having time to complete special projects that were outside of my daily tasks. Even with the move to more remote jobs becoming available, professionals are loving the flexibility and the decrease in social anxiety that sometimes can be an issue for those working in an office setting.
The history of the 4-day workweek dates back to the 1960s and 1970s mostly in the manufacturing sector, it faced some setbacks due to the economic situation and unions. The younger generations are determined to resurface the idea and if it means better mental health, I’m all for it too! Can you imagine life if we only had to go to work 4 days out of the week? Yeah, sign me up!
