This California company made its 4-day workweek permanent. Do fewer hours help or hurt?

If every weekend was a long one, would we all be happier? While some companies, and California lawmakers, pursue a four-day workweek, experts told The Bee it’s not about the hours — it’s the flexibility that ultimately creates a more balanced workplace.

In early May, a bill that would institute a four-day week for some California workers was shelved after it failed to advance in the state Legislature due to implementation concerns. Assembly Bill 2932 suggests companies would have to pay workers the same amount of pay for 32 hours as they were paying for 40.

While some groups worried about the bill significantly increasing labor costs, one lawmaker expressed how a shortened workweek and broader conversation on better work-life balance is “long overdue.”

The Bee spoke with tech startup Bolt, which recently made the switch to a four-day week, about the adjustment, and experts at UC Davis and Berkeley about the benefits and drawbacks of a shortened schedule. Here’s what we learned:

What does a four-day workweek look like?

A handful of private companies in California have already made the switch to four-day workweek, according to Business Insider.

Bolt, a tech startup based in San Francisco, piloted a three-month trial for a four-day workweek in September. After noting some productivity levels increase during the trial, the company decided to make the switch permanent for all of its employees — most of who are salaried.

In order to maintain productivity and prevent employee burnout, the startup has reexamined the way it works. Bolt is a company that aims to make the checkout process more efficient for retailers.

“We had to start zeroing in on what’s really important and what we should be doing and kind of eliminate some of the noise,” Adam McBain, Bolt’s vice president of human resources, said.

He said the “optionality” that a four-day workweek provides is the reason for its success. It allows people to log on Friday, rather that Saturday, to complete any lingering tasks, and still have two weekend days off.

“I think it makes for a happier worker, and it gives people balance,” McBain said.

He added the company has had to find ways for employees to have some balance Mondays to Thursdays, so that their schedules are not completely stacked with work and meetings.

“I think it’s attainable with hourly positions,” McBain said of the shortened model. “It takes a commitment from the company to do what you need to do to make it work.”

Does a shorter workweek help or hurt?

According to nonprofit 4 Day Week Global, which launched a pilot project with 38 companies to test the four-day schedule, 78% of employees with a four-day workweek said they were happier and less stressed.

However, Chief Wellness Officer at UC Davis Dr. Peter Yellowlees said flexible work options are most beneficial for people’s well being — not necessarily reduced hours. After the start of the pandemic, many companies allowed workers to decide where they wanted to work.

“We can work both in the office and at home and other places, and what I think employers are starting to understand is that those are very positive for most people’s well being and their mental health,” Yellowlees said.

He added that the ability for people to work from home and integrate their personal and work lives is a “much healthier way” to achieve work-life balance.

Financial disadvantage for some

Other factors that can create a happier worker include better pay and sick leave benefits, opportunities for growth and a more consistent schedule, especially for hourly employees, said Enrique Lopezlira, a labor economist at UC Berkeley.

“I think employers who are treating employees as valuable partners in work, and see them as an asset rather than some cost that they just have to minimize, I think those workers … are happier and more productive,” he said.

Lopezlira, director of the low-wage program at the university’s labor center, said that the four-day week would most likely put hourly workers at a financial disadvantage. Most of them are looking to work more hours during the week.

He added that proposal could potentially aggravate the inequalities that already exist between white-collar employees and low wage workers, who are predominantly in minority groups.

“One of the reasons why women, Black and Hispanic workers were hit so hard by the pandemic is because they are overrepresented in those low wage industries,” he said.

Due to the higher costs of labor under the model, the economist said employers might reclassify full-time hourly workers to part-time ones or even contractors, which can cause them to lose benefits and negatively affect their earning potential.

But beyond reduced hours and flexible work options, wellness expert Yellowlees said that making work more meaningful for a wider range of people is the best way improve workers’ mental health.

“It’s not so much the number of hours they work,” he said, “but the meaning they have from their work — what they’re achieving and what they’re contributing.”

While shelved for now, the proposal for a four-day workweek could later resurface in the Legislature, according to The Wall Street Journal. One lawmaker said he intends to hear from stakeholders to know what needs to be changed in the bill.

This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.