The five-day grind is dying. Honestly, it’s about time. For decades, we’ve treated the 40-hour week like a law of physics, but it was basically just a deal struck by labor unions in the early 20th century to stop people from working 16-hour shifts in factories. Now, things are shifting. You’ve probably seen the headlines about a 32 hour work week approved in various pockets of the globe, and while we aren't at a universal tipping point yet, the momentum is undeniable.
It isn't just a dream for the lazy. It's a massive structural shift.
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Bernie Sanders brought this to the Senate floor recently with the "Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act." His argument? Productivity has skyrocketed since the 1940s, but wages haven't kept pace, and workers are burning out at record rates. If machines are doing more of the heavy lifting, why are we still tethered to our desks for the same amount of time our grandparents were?
Where is the 32 hour work week approved right now?
It’s not a single "yes" or "no" across the board. It's messy. Some countries are legislating it, while others are just letting companies experiment. Take Iceland. They ran a massive trial between 2015 and 2019. It was a huge success. Researchers found that productivity stayed the same or actually improved in most workplaces. Now, about 86% of Iceland’s workforce either has reduced hours or the right to negotiate them.
Belgium took a different route. In 2022, they passed a law that technically allows for a four-day week, but there is a catch. You still have to work 38 to 40 hours; you just cram them into four days. That’s not really what the movement is after. People want the hours cut, not the days compressed.
Then you have the 4 Day Week Global pilot programs. These are the gold standard. They use a "100-80-100" model: 100% pay, 80% time, 100% productivity. In their UK trial, which was the largest of its kind, 61 companies participated. When it ended, 56 of them decided to keep the shorter week. That’s a 92% retention rate. Managers didn't just do it to be nice; they did it because their employees stopped quitting and started actually getting their work done faster.
The math of the shorter week
Let's talk about Parkinson’s Law. It basically says that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. If you give yourself eight hours to write a report, it’ll take eight hours. If you give yourself six? You’ll probably find a way to get it done in six by cutting out the fluff, the pointless "reply-all" emails, and the third coffee break.
When a 32 hour work week approved status hits a company, the first thing to go is the meeting culture. We spend an ungodly amount of time in meetings that could have been an email. In the UK pilot, companies reported that they tightened up agendas and cut meeting times significantly.
- Reduced absenteeism: People don't need to "call in sick" to go to the dentist or handle a burst pipe.
- Lower turnover: It’s hard to quit a job that gives you every Friday off.
- Better mental health: Burnout is expensive for companies. Replacing an employee costs about 1.5x to 2x their annual salary. Shorter weeks save that cash.
Why some people are still terrified of it
It isn't all sunshine. If you’re a surgeon, you can’t exactly "innovate" your way into a 20% faster heart transplant. If you run a retail shop, you need bodies on the floor for the hours you’re open. This creates a divide. The "knowledge economy"—tech workers, marketers, consultants—can adapt easily. The "service economy" struggles.
Critics like the US Chamber of Commerce argue that a mandatory 32-hour week would kill small businesses. They claim it would force employers to hire more staff to cover the gap, driving up prices and fueling inflation. It's a valid concern. If a small restaurant is forced to pay full-time wages for 32 hours, their margins, which are already razor-thin, might just evaporate.
There is also the "intensity" problem. Some workers in these trials reported feeling more stressed. Because they had to squeeze five days of output into four, their lunch breaks disappeared. They felt they couldn't chat with coworkers. The "social capital" of the office started to erode. Work became a sprint, and sprints are exhausting.
Real world examples of the shift
Microsoft Japan tried this out back in 2019. They closed their offices every Friday for a month. Productivity, measured by sales per employee, jumped by 40%. They also saved 23% on electricity costs and printed 59% fewer pages. It was a win-win-win.
In the US, companies like Kickstarter and Panasonic have moved toward shorter weeks. Even some school districts are doing it to attract teachers. In Missouri, over 25% of school districts have moved to a four-day week. They aren't doing it to be "progressive"—they’re doing it because they can’t afford to pay teachers more, so they’re paying them in time instead. It’s a survival tactic.
The legislative hurdle
In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) hasn't been significantly touched in terms of the workweek since 1940. Senator Sanders' bill seeks to lower the threshold for overtime pay from 40 hours to 32 hours over a four-year period. This would effectively make the 32 hour work week approved as the national standard.
Will it pass? Probably not this year. The political divide is too wide. But the conversation has shifted from "this is a crazy idea" to "how would we actually implement this?" Even the UAW (United Auto Workers) made the 32-hour week a key demand during their 2023 strikes. When the big unions start talking, the policy follows eventually.
What you can do if you want this for yourself
You don't have to wait for Congress to act. If you’re looking to move toward a shorter week, the burden of proof is on you to show it works for the bottom line.
1. Track your output, not your hours.
Most bosses care about results. If you can prove that you’re hitting your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) by Thursday afternoon, you have leverage. Use tools like RescueTime or simply a spreadsheet to show where your time goes.
2. Propose a trial.
Don't ask for a permanent change. Ask for a 90-day pilot. It's much harder for a manager to say no to a "test" than a permanent policy change. Set clear metrics for success. If productivity dips, you go back to 40. If it stays the same, you keep the Friday off.
3. Audit your meetings.
Look at your calendar. How many of those invites are you just "lurking" in? Start declining meetings where you aren't an active participant. Use that recovered time to finish your deep work. This is the only way to make 32 hours feel like enough time.
4. Focus on the "High-Value" tasks.
The Pareto Principle suggests that 80% of your results come from 20% of your activities. Identify that 20%. If you can knock those out with total focus, the other stuff—the busy work—can usually be delegated, automated, or ignored.
The 40-hour work week isn't a law of nature. It's a social construct. As AI and automation continue to eat up the repetitive parts of our jobs, the value of a human "hour" changes. We are moving toward a world where what you produce matters far more than how long you sat in a swivel chair.
The move toward a 32 hour work week approved by more institutions is inevitable because the current pace is unsustainable. People are tired. Families are stressed. If we can get the same amount of work done in less time, there is no logical reason to keep staring at a screen just to satisfy a century-old rule.
Start by looking at your own schedule. Where is the waste? If you can eliminate the fluff, you're already halfway to a 32-hour week, whether your boss knows it yet or not.
Focus on outcome over presence. That is the future of work.
Actionable Steps for the Shift
- Conduct a Time Audit: For one week, log every activity in 15-minute increments. You’ll likely find 5-10 hours of "leakage" in the form of unnecessary emails and social media.
- The "Yellow Card" Meeting Rule: Propose a rule where any meeting without a written agenda can be declined without penalty.
- Async First: Move status updates to Slack or Teams. If you don't need a real-time back-and-forth, don't have a meeting.
- Batch Your Work: Group similar tasks together. Switching between tasks (context switching) can cost you up to 40% of your productive time.
- Negotiate Based on Value: When asking for a shorter week, frame it as a way for the company to save on overhead and retain your expertise, rather than a "benefit" for you.