Studies highlight benefits of 4-day workweek

Forget TGIF. What if Thank Goodness It's Thursday was the new norm?

• That's the case for at least one Northeast Ohio company.

Driving the news: Recently released results of the world's largest four-day workweek trial show how roughly 3,000 workers across 61 companies in the U.K. benefited in areas of stress, burnout and work-life balance.

What they found: The study, organized by nonprofit group 4 Day Week Global, found that 39% of workers reported feeling less stressed, compared with 13% who experienced an increase.

• 71% reported reduced levels of burnout over a period from June to December last year, compared with 22% who felt it increased.
• 92% of the participating companies plan to continue with a four-day workweek.

Zoom in: 4 Day Week Global conducted a similar study from April through October 2022 with 33 businesses in Ireland and the U.S., including Advanced RV in Northeast Ohio.

• During that study, participating businesses reported an 8% increase in revenue on average; none of them plan to go back to a five-day model.

What they're saying: Mike Neundorfer, owner of Advanced RV in Willoughby, tells Axios the study was a chance to make an "incredible impact" on his employees' lives.

• "Some months we're doing better than others, but we're achieving our goals," Neundorfer says. "If you ask anyone on staff whether we'll be able to continue with this long term, they'd all say yes."

The intrigue: 4 Day Week Global utilizes a 100-80-100 model, meaning workers get 100% of the pay for working 80% of the time in exchange for maintaining 100% of their output.

• But some companies could opt for reduced pay to match reduced hours.

Zoom out: Lawmakers in states like Pennsylvania and Maryland are considering legislation that would incentivize companies to participate in a four-day, 32-hour workweek.

The bottom line: Neundorfer says it comes down to individual companies and their cultures.

• "There are a lot of different companies who serve communities and shareholders in different ways," he says. "It may be more difficult for some, but the potential benefits are there."