While the concept of a four-day workweek isn't new, it's not very common across workplaces. In 2020, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found only 32% of U.S. employers offered a four-day workweek.
But as employees have begun centering work-life balance as a priority in their jobs and employers face historic talent shortages, the idea of shorter workweeks has gained traction. Workplace leaders have only recently had the opportunity to test its efficacy in large-scale trials. Last summer, the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter tested the four-day workweek. This past summer, thousands of U.K. workers piloted a four-day workweek and reported positive results across multiple industry segments.
DNSFilter, a cybersecurity company, piloted a four-day workweek in the summer of 2021 and then decided to keep an alternating four-day week as a permanent policy. Employees are permitted to work a 4-day week one week, then a 5-day week, and the next two groups alternate four-day weeks—thus ensuring five-day coverage every week while still giving the workforce two three-day weekends per month.