4-Day Workweek: Is This the Future of Work?

Could fewer work days be in more people's future?

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Key points

• Tech company Bolt has officially reduced its work week from five days to four.
• As employers rethink their schedules in light of the pandemic, we could see more companies adopt a similar approach.

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Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, it wasn't unusual for companies to adhere to a pretty rigid work schedule. For many, that meant having workers report to an office five days a week at preset hours.

But things have changed over the past two years. Not only have many companies adopted remote work policies out of necessity, but many are making plans to keep that option on the table even once safety concerns about office returns subside. And many companies have gotten more flexible with things like working hours -- due in part to some workers having to juggle their jobs with remote school, but also, due to a general desire to retain employees and keep them happy.

Now, one tech company is officially moving from a standard five-day work week to a four-day week. And more companies could follow in its lead.

Better scheduling for workers

Bolt, a tech company based in San Francisco, has decided to implement a four-day work week on a permanent basis. And while you'd think that would result in less employee output, since piloting a shorter work week a few months ago, the opposite has held true.

Specifically, after three months with a shorter schedule, 84% of Bolt employees reported being more productive, while 86% have managed to get more efficient with their time. Just as importantly, 84% of workers saw a marked improvement in their work-life balance. That’s more important than ever right now.

Many workers have gotten dangerously close to burnout during the pandemic. Parents may have been more susceptible as a result of juggling work responsibilities with childcare-related ones.

But either way, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is important for people's mental and physical wellbeing. It's something companies are apt to pay attention to, especially at a time when work schedules are evolving and so many employees are resigning from their jobs in search of better offers.

As such, we could, in time, see more companies adopt a four-day work week. And that could benefit employees in more ways than one.

What could a shorter work week do for you?

In addition to a better work-life balance, a shorter work week could improve your finances. If you pay to commute to work, having one less day to do it will mean spending less.

Having a more flexible schedule could also mean having more opportunities to cook your own meals, handle home repairs yourself, and tackle other responsibilities you may have previously outsourced due to a glaring lack of time. In fact, it's fair to say a shorter work week could work wonders for your savings account and financial picture on a whole.

Now before we get ahead of ourselves, let's take a step back and recognize that the standard five-day work week will probably remain in place for most companies in the near term. But over time, we could see more companies put a shorter week in place. Even those that don't might still grow increasingly flexible in their scheduling demands. That alone would be a huge win for workers on a whole.