More and More People Would Love the 4-Day Work Week

Iceland recently ran an experiment where they had people work four 10-hour days, as opposed to the regular five 8-hour work days they usually put in. The results are what you might expect - most people loved it.

So let's discuss this a little more and see what a recent poll by YouGov shows.

First off, I'd totally be down for a four-day, 10 hour a day workweek. Just to give you a peek behind the curtain, so to speak, I already put in a 10 hour day here at the radio ranch, so times that by 5 and I'm at 50 hours a week. So the extra day off would be very welcomed by me for sure.

There are millions of working Americans who are in the same boat as far as work goes. 10, 11, 12 hour work days are just the norm for a lot of folks out there. In some cases it's just what's needed to put food on the table or to maintain the lifestyle they have.

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YouGov conducted a poll of more than 23,000 people and found that 67% of Americans say that if they were working full time, and it wouldn’t affect their pay, they would prefer a four-day, 10-hour a day workweek.

Only 21% of those polled said they would keep things the same as they are now, five days at eight hours a day.
The numbers change when those currently working full time hours were asked with 72% of those polled saying they would prefer the four-day workweek.

So how about productivity? Most say it wouldn't affect their productivity at all. 41% said the shorter week would lead to more productivity while 27% say it would be the same and only 9% say productivity would decrease.

Ultimately it comes down to this, two thirds of us would prefer a four-day workweek and most feel it wouldn't decrease or productivity. Will this ever happen? Probably not, but it is fun to think about.

One question not asked in this poll that is very important - would our workweek be Monday through Thursday or Tuesday through Friday?