Will a four-day workweek ever become standard corporate practice?

Question

Wouldn't it be great if the Monday-Friday grind became the Monday-Thursday grind? I don't just mean for one or two industries, but across the board. Some companies do it now, but will it ever catch on as a standard practice?

Answer 1

it really IS possible with the increased cost of travel/commuting, and the Internet creates all kinds of possibilities for a Virtual Office environment.

Answer 2

Boy, you read my mind this morning. I sent an answer to someone the other day and ranted about this. Our families are going down the drain emotionally because in order to be considered "part of the team" and/or "promotable" most people are expected to work 45-60 hours a week not including commute time. I am a single Mom. I have no problem with working hard to provide for my girls and myself. But it is becoming a catch 22-if a job is lost then the family goes down the drain financially and if we do what is unspoken but certainly expected, then the family loses MUCH needed time together. In Europe-France to be exact, they have 30 hour work weeks and six weeks of vacation. Which country is doing better financially, morally, and stress-wise? I will give you one guess. Thanks for listening and for the question that more people should ask.

Answer 3

We still need to work as much as the rest of the world, you know, otherwise our economy will collapse and Americans will try to sneak into Belgium under the cover of night to work in fast food. But it would be nice to have one day of telecommute what with computers and all.

Answer 4

Never. As people get older, a 10-hour workday becomes increasingly more difficult to handle. Also, I don't think commerce would be able to handle 3 days of inactivity.

Answer 5

It would be nice, but I don't think it will catch on because we depend on businesses being open 5 days a week. Nice thought though.