Recently, at least 158 school districts across Texas have switched to four-day school weeks, and an additional 46 districts are offering a hybrid schedule that includes four-day weeks for part of the year. Along with that, since 2020, over 51% of workers in Iceland have accepted the offer to work shorter hours along with a 4-day workweek, and in these years, Iceland has logged faster economic growth than most European countries, and its unemployment rate is currently one of the lowest in Europe. Over in the United Kingdom, parliament discussed a petition for a four-day workweek this year and later tabled one that sought to lower the maximum hours in a workweek to 32 instead of 40.
With the growing demand for the four-day workweek, one question arises: is it even beneficial? And could it be coming to us?
A Cambridge study involved 61 participating companies in a six-month trial, following which they conducted extensive interviews with the participants. Here’s what they found:
92% of the companies involved continued with the four-day workweek after the trial, with around 30% confirming it to be a permanent change. At the end of the trial, surveys revealed that 39% of employees felt less stressed, and there was a 71% reduction in burnout levels. It was found that anxiety, fatigue, and sleep issues decreased, while mental and physical health improved. Around 60% of employees reported massive improvements in all sorts of work-life balance. The number of staff choosing to leave these companies also decreased by 57% while the trial was active. For some, this event went above monetary value, with 15% of employees saying no amount of money could convince them to return to a five-day workweek.
On top of that study, Iceland’s economic boost and Texas’ rising employment retention for teachers are clear signs that most workers tend to appreciate the four-day workweek. But is that something that would be valued here at OCSA?
The survey says that, for students, a four-day workweek would be something that 78.6% of students would be interested in. While we do not have the means to measure actual effects, the same survey has shown that perhaps the way in which it’s handled is more important than it being done at all.
This is shown best by the breakdown of how students would like any additional hours to be allocated. For context, most 4-day workweeks cut the 40 hours down to 32; however, for schools, there is an exact number of hours per year students need to be inside schools, not per day, meaning there would be a possible reallocation of said time for there to be fewer days per workweek.
For the students, it seems that the most preferable way of allocating that extra time would be to have class start earlier, with 71.4% of students saying they would be willing to have classes start earlier in trade for a four-day workweek. While the least preferable outcome seems to be that more days are added to the school year, with only 21.4% of participants saying they’d be willing to sacrifice extra days in the year for shorter weeks. However, while the majority seems to want a four-day workweek, the survey also shows only 21.4% of participants find it possible that OCSA would ever implement such a change in a way that would be favorable to them, and most surveyed expressed the belief that it will surely not happen before they graduate.
As for teachers, who are also greatly affected, it seems like school ending later is the most preferable outcome. With Nilma Voit, the chemistry teacher, saying, “Absolutely, I’m already here; I don’t mind more” when asked if she’d be willing to stay longer each day for a four-day workweek. Other teachers echoed a similar mindset, especially saying they wouldn’t mind teaching for an extra hour each day for the four-day workweek. On the inverse, teachers seem strongly opposed to taking a pay cut or losing out on summertime, with Voit calling it a “dealbreaker,” and Laura Golston—one of the biology teachers–saying she “doesn’t make enough as it is!” but that she might take a shorter summer, but not over the other options.
Now, while some are hopeful OCSA could introduce a four-day workweek, most, students and teachers, are unsure, with some distrust arising from the choice being up to the district. “Should be asking if the district will, and the answer is no. District won’t,” Golston said when asked if she believed OCSA may ever consider a four-day workweek. Most students surveyed felt iffy on the concept, and some judged that it is likely not even up to the school. So while some hold out hope, it seems that—realistically—a four-day workweek is still far and away from the OCSA radar.