According to Business Insider, the four-day workweek movement that gained traction during the pandemic has largely stalled as hiring slows and CEOs demand more office presence. Boston College economist Juliet Schor notes management is pushing back against worker gains from the COVID era, with concepts like China’s “9-9-6” schedule (9am to 9pm, six days a week) emerging as counter-narratives. Despite successful trials showing happier, equally productive workers, the economic reality requires high single-digit or even double-digit growth to make shorter weeks feasible. AI could eventually boost productivity enough to enable four-day schedules, but for now, cost pressures and competitive concerns are keeping the five-day standard firmly in place.
The CEO Reality Check
Here’s the thing about workplace revolutions – they tend to fizzle when the economic winds shift. During the pandemic, companies were desperate to attract and retain talent, so four-day weeks became a shiny recruitment tool. Now? The power dynamic has flipped. CEOs are performing for boards and investors, signaling that everyone’s buckling down. Vishal Reddy from WorkFour calls it exactly what it is: “Part of it, I think, is a performance.” And let’s be honest – in competitive industries like tech, adopting a shorter week could look like you’re not taking the competition seriously enough.
AI as Potential Savior
The most interesting twist in this story is AI’s potential role. Pavel Shynkarenko from Mellow makes a compelling case that if AI can seriously boost productivity, we might finally get our three-day weekends. Basically, the math only works if we can produce the same output in less time. But here’s my question: when has technology ever simply given us more free time? Historically, productivity gains just lead to higher expectations. Still, Shynkarenko envisions AI eventually making even four-day weeks unnecessary, suggesting we might only work two days eventually. That sounds nice, but we’re talking years – maybe decades – before that becomes reality.
The Psychology of Working Less
This is the part nobody talks about enough. Dale Whelehan, formerly of 4 Day Week Global, points out that many workers feel genuine guilt about working less. We’ve been conditioned our entire lives to equate busyness with worth. So even if companies offered shorter weeks, would employees actually take them? Or would they secretly work that fifth day anyway to avoid falling behind? It’s a cultural shift that might be harder than the economic one. The research shows people are happier and less burned out with shorter schedules, but breaking decades of workaholic conditioning? That’s the real challenge.
Where This Is Actually Headed
Look, the four-day workweek isn’t dead – it’s just hibernating. Legislation is still moving forward in states like New York and Maine, and companies that have adopted shorter schedules rarely go back. The fundamental math remains compelling: happier workers who get more done in less time. But we’re in a transitional period where old-school management thinking is clashing with what the data actually shows. Once the current economic uncertainty passes and workers regain some leverage, this conversation will definitely resurface. Until then? Don’t throw out your Friday meeting invites just yet.
