New management tools could make 4-day workweek a feasible option, study finds

The pandemic forced businesses to reevaluate how, where and when employees work. New research has found that the long-discussed four-day workweek may be an idea whose time has come.

“Driven by the ever-increasing march of automation, the working week has evolved from six or even seven days a week in the early 1800s to today’s 40-hour, five-day week,” said Josh Bersin, CEO of the Josh Bersin Co. “Now, driven by highly connected new work tools, the world is shifting toward an even more flexible environment — four days of scheduled work, eight hours per day.”

A four-day week can be a practical and powerful model, according to research by the Josh Bersin Co. and the Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence. The study points to three important innovations: Measuring work through outcomes instead of more time-based metrics; introducing practices to boost employee focus and productivity; and leaders fostering a new approach to flexibility and employee autonomy.

Researchers identified several best practices for moving to a four-day week:

• Reprioritize what’s urgent, and let non-essential work fall away. This starts with getting clear about business goals, assessing which work contributes to outcomes, clearly assigning accountability for each task or project and removing obstacles so employees can contribute most meaningfully.
• Allow employees to operate “top of license. Enable people to focus on what they are most qualified for instead of being distracted by administration or meetings that get in the way.
• Understand each employee’s passion and career goals. This hallmark approach of dynamic organizations enables each employee to self-optimize their time for optimum productivity in fewer days.
• Embrace asynchronous communication. Project management tools can be helpful for project-specific communications, and employees easily can control their notification preferences. Defining new norms around how communication tools are used will also be important.
• Empower employees to adopt their own productivity practices. Some organizations involved in the study created a list of best practices around work habits, even offering training to employees. Others may leave it up to the individual to determine what works for them.
• Create a clear policy for action in emergency escalations. Identify urgent situations that typically need to be addressed quickly, and define the expected response.

Related: Employers are finding a middle ground between remote and onsite work

“The market leaders of tomorrow will not be the organizations that prioritize hustling harder and working longer,” said Joe O’Connor, CEO of the Work Time Center of Excellence. “They will create a virtuous circle by offering a greater quality of life to attract and retain top talent, and reinforce this competitive advantage by embracing AI and new technologies to streamline their processes.”