The 4 day week:

12 months on
with new US and Canadian research
JULY 2023
Contents

Introduction 03

One year on 04

Consolidated US and Canadian results 06

Business outcomes 08

Health and well-being 09

Work-life balance 09

Environmental outcomes 09

A note from the founders 10

The 4 day week: 12 months on – with new US and Canadian research 02

Introduction

This publication is the fourth The research was carried out by

installment in a series of research Professor Juliet B. Schor, Professor
reports by 4 Day Week Global, Wen Fan and Guolin Gu of Boston
which examine the feasibility and College.
benefits of reduced work time.
Not only does this edition gather 4 Day Week Global is a not-for-
evidence from a range of profit organisation which runs pilot
companies in the United States programs, works with governments
and Canada to demonstrate the to form policy and facilitates
impact of reduced work time on research, such as this report.
the North American market, but it
provides insight into the longer
term impact of the 4 day week
beyond the trials’ conclusion.

The 4 day week: 12 months on – with new US and Canadian research 03

One year on
4 Day Week Global’s standard pilot program Findings are positive across the board, with
is six months long and until now, we’ve only this new evidence helping to counter
been able to provide a short-term analysis of concerns that previous successes were
the impact reduced work time has. This new down to novelty and couldn’t be sustained
data compares employee experiences from long-term. Respondents are from
baseline (pre-trial) to 12 months after their 4 organizations across the US, Canada, the
day week launched, effectively doubling our UK and Ireland.
previous comparison period.

Key findings
Working hours Work intensity
The average number of hours worked per People are continuing to work more
week continued to fall beyond the six-month efficiently as opposed to speeding up and
mark, bringing employees even closer to the cramming the same work into four days
target of 32 hours after one year. rather than five.

Burnout Physical and mental health

While burnout levels increased slightly in Self-rated physical and mental health
the six months after the trial concluded, scores increased from baseline to the end
most of the improvement was sustained. of the trial and continued improving over
12 months.

Life satisfaction Job satisfaction

Life satisfaction remained stable with no Job satisfaction showed a slight regression
significant change from endpoint to the 12- after 12 months but remains higher than
month mark. the baseline rating. This suggests the
positive effects of a 4 day week on life
satisfaction may be more deeply
embedded in individuals' overall well-being
than in job satisfaction alone.

Work-life balance Overall experience

Participants reported an improvement in The overall experience with the 4 day week
their ability to combine paid work with their remained highly positive, with an
social lives. Scores increased significantly unchanged rating of 9/10.
from baseline to endpoint and continued to
improve over the full 12 months.

The 4 day week: 12 months on – with new US and Canadian research 04

Key findings
Figure 1

Trial endpoint from 12 months Endpoint vs

Variable Measure Baseline N¹
six month baseline from baseline 12 months ²

Average number of hours

Work hours 38.00 33.85 32.97 239 *
worked per week

2 items: Working at very high

Work speeds, working to tight
3.35 3.36 3.28 379 *
intensity deadlines, never to all the
time (1-5)

7 items: Exhaustion,
frustration, “burnt out” from
Burnout 2.77 2.25 2.30 379 *
work, etc. never to always (1-
5) over the past four weeks

Physical Self-rated, poor to excellent

3.05 3.36 3.41 375
health (1-5)

Mental Self-rated, poor to excellent

2.92 3.36 3.42 375
health (1-5)

Life Not satisfied at all to

6.58 7.61 7.60 375
satisfaction completely satisfied (0-10)

Job Not satisfied at all to

7.26 7.95 7.57 375 ***
satisfaction completely satisfied (0-10)

Ability to combine paid work

Work-life
with social life: Very difficult 2.93 3.86 3.97 375 *
balance
to very easy (1-5)

Overall Not significant,

Very bad to very good (0-10) NA 9.05 8.87 419
experience i.e. no change

¹ Respondents who answered all three surveys

² Paired-sample t tests for whether endpoint and 12 month values are significantly different: +p<0.1, *p<0.05, **<0.01, ***p<0.001

The 4 day week: 12 months on – with new US and Canadian research 05

Consolidated US and Canadian results
Throughout 2022, 4 Day Week Global was recruiting companies in the United States
and Canada to participate in various waves of its six-month pilot program. In total, 41
companies across the two countries self-selected to trial a 4 day week, commencing
at different times of year. The following information details their collective
experiences, giving insights into the impact of reduced work time over the course of
six months. While some companies from this cohort are included in the earlier 12-
month findings, this research uses a larger sample and provides more information
over a shorter period.

Trial format
The design of 4 Day Week
Global's pilot involved two
months of preparation, with
workshops, coaching,
mentoring and peer support
once the trials got underway.
The research consists of two parts:

• Administrative data from companies

• Survey data from employees.

For both types of data, a pre- and post-

methodology approach was employed. In
the pre-trial phase, companies completed
an “onboarding” survey with basic details
about themselves.

The employee surveys at baseline and

endpoint included questions covering work
experience, well-being, family and personal
life, and energy use.

To participate in one of the programs,

companies were not required to institute a
particular type of 4 day week. They were
able to join, so long as they maintained pay
at 100% and gave employees a meaningful
reduction in work time.

The 4 day week: 12 months on – with new US and Canadian research 06

Consolidated US and Canadian results

Sample information

In total, 41 companies Figure 3

participated in these pilot Company size

programs which took place
Employees Number of companies % of total
between February 2022 and
April 2023 (fig 2). 1-10 11 27%

11-25 20 49%
The majority of companies were situated in
the United States (32), with the remainder 26-100 7 17%

in Canada. The most common size of

101+ 3 7%
organization had between 11-25 employees
(fig 3), with professional services and
marketing, non-profit, and IT being the
Figure 4
most represented industries (fig 4).

988 people took part in the trial and 630

Participant industries
people completed both the baseline and
Industry Number of companies % of total
endpoint surveys, producing a response
rate of 64%. Employee findings set out in
Professional
this report rely on that sample. services and 17 41%
marketing

Figure 2 Non-profit 8 20%

Trial start date IT 6 15%

Construction 3 7%
Month trial began Number of companies

Other 7 17%
Feb 2022 3

Apr 2022 14
Figure 5
Jun or Jul 2022 4
Work practices
Aug or Sep 2022 3
Employees Number of companies % of total
Oct or Nov 2022 17
Fully remote 18 44%

Not fully remote 23 56%

The 4 day week: 12 months on – with new US and Canadian research 07

Business outcomes

Company findings
On a scale of 1-10, from very As for plans post-trial⁵, no organization
expressed a desire to return to five days.
negative to very positive, 89% of respondents are definitely or
companies rated the overall planning on continuing, with the remaining
11% leaning towards continuing their 4 day
impact of the trial an 8.7/10.¹ week.

Companies rated the impact of the 4 day

week to attract new employees an 8.7/10²,
with both productivity and performance

100%
scoring a 7.7/10³ on separate scales.

Revenue⁴ increased by 15% over the

course of the trial, weighted in accordance
with company size. Employees seriously
definitely, planning
considering leaving their jobs fell
or leaning towards
significantly, with 32% saying they were continuing their
now less likely to leave. 4 day week

Employee findings
Employees rated the trial a
9.1/10, with 95% wanting to
continue their 4 day week. 95%
of employees want
Meanwhile, there was a big improvement
in self-reported productivity, with a 57% to continue their
increase in workers’ current work ability 4 day week
compared to their lifetime best. Over half
(51%) of people said they felt more in
control of their schedules.
When asked how much additional pay
Almost all participants (95%) reduced their they’d require in their next job to go back to
work time, with average hours falling by 5.3 five days, 32.8% of employees said 26-50%
per week from 40.1 to 35.6. more, 12.2% would require more than 50%,
and over one in ten (13.8%) said no amount
of money would induce them to go back to
¹ Based on 35 respondents five days.
² Based on 21 respondents
³ Based on 35 respondents
⁴ Based on 20 respondents
⁵ Based on 35 respondents

The 4 day week: 12 months on – with new US and Canadian research 08

Health and well-being
Almost seven in ten (69%) employees
experienced reductions in burnout, while
40% felt less stressed on a 4 day week.
59% reported a decline in negative
emotions, with significant increases
observed in people’s physical and mental
69%of employees
health. 45% felt less fatigued and 40% experienced
experienced fewer sleep problems. reductions in
Anxiety fell for 39% of the sample.
burnout

Work-life balance
Three in four (74%) employees
were more satisfied with their
time on a 4 day week.
Work-to-family and work-to-life conflict
declined for six in ten people (61% and
74%
of employees were
60% respectively). more satisfied with
their time whilst on a
Overall life satisfaction rose by a whopping 4 day week
full point on a 0-10 scale.

Environmental outcomes
Fewer people are commuting
to work by car.

42%
There was no ‘travel rebound’ identified,
which is a common concern among
critics, who assert people will increase
their carbon footprint by spending their
extra free time travelling.
of employees did
42% of employees did more more environmentally
environmentally friendly activities during friendly activities
the trial, such as recycling, buying eco- during the trial
friendly items and walking and cycling,
rather than driving.

The 4 day week: 12 months on – with new US and Canadian research 09

A note from the founders

We are delighted to bring you this latest report by 4 Day Week

Global, which continues to explore the feasibility and benefits of
reduced work time.
Not only do these findings expand our understanding of how the 4 day week works in the
United States and Canada, by consolidating our participant outcomes from those countries,
but we also get our first glimpse at how well it functions long-term. The 12-month insights are
remarkably positive and contribute to building a robust body of evidence showcasing the
enduring positive effects of reduced work time.

These results demonstrate the continued positive trends in business benefits, health and
well-being gains, and environmental impacts, providing a strong foundation for the
widespread adoption of a 4 day week. By building upon the research presented in this report,
we aim to inspire more companies, governments, and individuals to make the transition.

We are grateful for the dedication of our world-class academic team in Boston College, Prof.
Juliet Schor, Prof. Wen Fan, and Guolin Gu. Thanks also to our wonderful in-house team, Dr
Dale Whelehan, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, Hazel Gavigan, Gabriela Brasil, Karen Lowe, Jack
Lockhart, Nasr Bitar and Rebecca Roberts. We couldn’t do this without you all.

Charlotte Lockhart and Andrew Barnes

Co-founders – 4 Day Week Global

4 Day Week Global is a not-for-profit

organisation which runs pilot programs,
works with governments to form policy and
conducts research, such as this report.

The 4 day week: 12 months on – with new US and Canadian research 10

www.4dayweek.com