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We first wrote about the 4/10 work week decades ago. It was being tested in Portland, Maine, where a wholesale distributor scheduled warehouse workers to work 10 hours per day four days per week, allowing everyone to have a long weekend.
In Maine, a significant percentage of the population enjoy having a “camp”, a getaway place on the seashore or in the woods. Additionally, geography causes an unusual number of people to commute some distance between home and work. The four-day week made it possible for workers to eliminate one day of driving to and from work and to enjoy a long weekend on a regular basis. The result was that people were standing in line to find a job that offered the 4/10 schedule.
After years of silence on four-day work weeks, food distributor Sysco announced a couple of years ago that delivery truck drivers and warehouse associates will now work four days instead of five. The company claims that this change will improve employee retention and make the company “an even more preferred employer.”
Adding to this, research in Britain reveals that a four-day work week makes most people more productive.
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