Impact of the Four-Day Workweek

The acronym TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) may soon lose its popularity, being replaced by TGIT (Thank God It’s Thursday). The change is due to a growing popularity of four-day workweeks which have become the standard for many companies and municipalities. The benefits of the four-day workweek appear to extend far beyond the organization to the employee and society in general. In an effort to illustrate this point, the current investigation considers the benefits and drawbacks of four-day workweeks, examining the issue from the perspective of the organization, employer, and society. Through a careful review of viewpoints from each stakeholder it will be possible to demonstrate the value of the four-day workweek and what recommendations should be made to make TGIT the standard over TGIF.

Implications of the Four-Day Workweek

For Organizations

The development of the four-day workweek actually began in the 1970s as a theoretical practice to help organizations optimize operations while saving resources and improving worker quality of life (Poor, 2010). Beginning in the 1980s, the use of the four-day workweek began to accelerate and the Department of Labor began keeping records regarding outcomes for companies using this work arrangement (Poor, 2010). Although the Department of Labor continues to track alternative work arrangements, Poor contends that four-hour workweeks have morphed into flexible work arrangements with companies offering workers a wide range of programs to acquire time-off from the traditional 5/40 schedule. Even though efforts to evaluate the impact of the four-day workweek have shifted to a general classification of outcomes for flextime, the four day-workweek remains the principle tool used by organizations to offer ...

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