‘There has to be a practical application’

As the debate over productivity and talent retention continues to dominate the future of Canada’s workplaces, the four-day work week is a concept that is increasingly moving from a fringe theory to a serious option – especially among those employed in professional services, tech, and knowledge-based fields.

Advocates of the shorter work week believe working the traditional five-day period is an outdated concept, but human resources leaders caution that any workplace shift must take into account business realities, sectoral differences, and performance outcomes.

Jared Lindzon, co-author of Do More in Four: Why it’s time for a shorter workweek, says the five-day model feels unshakable mainly because of its history, after Henry Ford standardized the schedule at Ford assembly plants.

“Once we accept it’s not set in stone, we give ourselves permission to ask whether it still serves our modern needs and whether it will serve us in the future.”

This question is increasingly relevant in a world where workplace models are shifting away from Monday-to-Friday and a nine-to-five workday. Thanks to near-unlimited access to email, mobile technology, and remote working arrangements, traditional workplace rules are fading away, allowing employees to work outside of their formal schedule.

“The idea that work is contained within five days just doesn’t exist in reality anymore,” says Lindzon.

Not a one-size-fits-all solution

Still, the four-day work week shouldn’t be viewed as a one-size-fits-all concept that businesses should adopt, according to Paola Accettola, CEO of Toronto-based True North HR Consulting.

“I’m a huge proponent of ‘If you can do it, do it,’” she says. “If you can find work-life balance, find work-life balance. But there has to be a practical application.”

Accettola compares a four-day work week to remote work – it may be viable for certain roles or sectors, but untenable for others.

“Manufacturing is a good example,” she says. “If you have production lines and output targets, it has to make sense for the business. The first question has to be: ‘Does this work for us, and will we remain profitable?’”

Accettola notes that an employer’s primary responsibility is its economic sustainability: “Your job is to make sure people are gainfully employed and the organization stays busy,” she says.

Productivity vs. hours worked

Lindzon says that when it comes to measuring the impact of a shorter work week on productivity, data shows that a significant part of each workday involves tasks that don’t improve business performance, such as unnecessary meetings and administrative obstacles.

According to a report by workforce management platform Asana, knowledge workers spend about 60 per cent of their time on “busy work” such as attending meetings, chasing updates, and conducting check-ins. Globally, the average knowledge worker spends 103 hours in unnecessary meetings, 209 hours on duplicative work, and 352 hours just talking about work each year.

That may be why 88 per cent of workers surveyed say they’re falling behind on time-sensitive projects and major initiatives.

“The four-day work week at its core is really a challenge for everybody to stop defaulting to hours and hours they spend at a desk and refocus their time and attention on what actually drives results,” says Lindzon.

It’s a perspective that Accettola shares, especially when it comes to the more extreme work environments seen in tech start-ups, where employees are encouraged to adopt the “996” system – where employees work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.

 “Are people still productive at that point?” she says. “They’re not. Once you cross a certain threshold, the quality of output drops.”

Tread carefully when implementing

Lindzon believes businesses shouldn’t adopt a four-day work week outright but allow employees to take that schedule on as an incentive rather than an entitlement.

“We’ve talked to organizations that used [a shortened work week] as a shared reward in improving organizational outcomes,” he says. “But if you just say the four-day work week is a requirement now across the board, a lot of the benefits and motivation you’d expect from employees goes away when it becomes an expectation.”

Meanwhile, Accettola advises that business leaders who are examining scheduling changes keep employee fatigue and retention in mind before making any formal decisions.

“The real question for leaders is: ‘What do you want your legacy to be?’” she says. “‘Do you want to be known for burning people out, or for building a sustainable, high-performing organization?’”