As Singapore releases new guidelines for flexible work arrangements, the call for a four-day or 32-hour workweek is spreading across the globe
Is a three-day weekend going to become the new standard?
In Singapore, new guidelines about flexible work arrangements has just been announced, and will take effect in December 2024. These new guidelines require employers to consider flexi-time, four-day workweeks, and work-from-home requests. While flexible work arrangements have been available across many sectors, many organisations now offer employees opportunities to reduce work time without reducing pay. Many national and regional governments, including California, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Spain, Wales, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, are debating, legislating or encouraging shorter workweeks, indicating a shift in official attitudes.
Just last Thursday, March 14, United States Senator Bernie Sanders led a hearing in committee to discuss the need for a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay. Sanders noted in his prepared statements that it was not a new idea: “In 1933, the United States Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation to establish a 30-hour workweek by a vote of 53-30. That was 1933. While that legislation ultimately failed as a result of intense opposition from corporate America, a few years later President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act into law and a 40-hour workweek was established in 1940.”
Join me LIVE NOW for a hearing to discuss why we must move to a 32-hour workweek – with no loss in pay. https://t.co/RO842pvqQK
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 14, 2024
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Inside the international trials for the four-day workweek
Cultural shifts after the COVID-19 pandemic have fuelled interest in reduced work hours. Organisational innovations during successive lockdowns proved that flexible work arrangements can be implemented quickly and on a large scale. The pandemic also sparked a shift in societal values, with Gen Z and Millennials valuing work-life balance and flexibility more than ever as they juggle jobs and personal lives.
The widespread international participation in the four-day week trials is a testament to private sector interest in experimenting with reduced work time arrangements. The trials, launched in 2021, are a series of pilot programs led by 4 Day Week Global (4DWG), a non-profit organisation advocating for a shorter workweek with no reduction in pay. They are designed to assess the impact of a four-day week on employee well-being, productivity, and company performance.
Almost 200 companies and 3,000 employees from various industries in Ireland, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have completed the trials, which required a commitment to the ‘100-80-100’ model, where employees work 80 percent of their usual hours while maintaining 100 percent pay and output.
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While not all the companies implemented a four-day week schedule, the majority (88 percent) did. The remaining 12 percent implemented an alternative reduced worktime schedule such as two half-days off. The trials have been accompanied by rigorous academic research led by Boston College in collaboration with academic partners, including the University College Dublin to evaluate their impact.
Most early adopters in the trial reported positive impacts of worktime reduction arrangements. Most companies have been able to implement the changes without sacrificing productivity. They have continued reduced worktime models after the trial ended. Organisations that successfully implemented a four-day week tended to adjust workflows and scheduling, reduced unnecessary meetings and embraced new ways of working with the help of new tech such as artificial intelligence. Usually, embracing a shorter workweek also reflects a shift towards a more flexible and results-oriented workplace culture, where employees are judged on the quality of their work rather than the number of hours spent in the office. Organisations not investing in the necessary work reorganisation planning can struggle to coordinate projects and team responsibilities, increasing employee stress as they pack the same workload into fewer days.