As technology reshapes the workplace, the case for shorter workweeks is getting stronger — and harder to ignore
Dismissing the 4-day workweek misses an increasingly interesting opportunity for business leaders.
New AI technology promises to change the conversation around how we structure work. More efficiency means it’s becoming more possible to work fewer hours — but AI is also changing the value of the work done by human beings.
“When we think about productivity and human performance, the focus will be less on efficiency because we’re just not going to be able to compete with the machine on speed and volume,” says Joe O’Connor, CEO and co-founder of Work Time Revolution, and former CEO of 4 Day Week Global.
The rise of AI means human beings will have to compete on effectiveness — their ability to innovate, to be creative, to problem solve, and to make human connections. Those skills don’t fit neatly into a nine-to-five.
“We know that effectiveness is much more driven by how we manage our energy, our motivation, our well-being,” O’Connor says.
A 4-day workweek might also be a strategic play for companies grappling with AI adoption in Australia. O’Connor suggests offering something like a “time dividend” — the reward employees earn from increasing their productivity with AI tools.
“We’re seeing a lot of fear in the workforce about AI because of the very real concerns that it could displace their job roles,” O’Connor says. “There’s an opportunity for organisations to change the narrative and position AI as a win-win, where if you’re able to accelerate your adoption of AI, you can share the benefit of that growth with workers.”
New research proves shorter weeks drive well-being
On the well-being front, it’s undeniable that less is more.
Wen Fan, associate professor and researcher at Boston College, and her colleagues published research in Nature Human Behaviour on the impact of 4-day workweeks across 141 companies in six countries.
Over six months, the team tracked more than 2,800 employees and a control group of 300 people working a traditional five-day schedule. For workers with a 4-day week, 67% reported reduced levels of burnout, 41% said their mental health improved, and 38% experienced fewer sleep issues.
The increase in well-being didn’t come at a cost to productivity or performance.
The study also monitored key business metrics like absenteeism, sick days, turnover, and even revenue. None of these measures deteriorated — though Fan cautions that these signals were only monitored for six months.
To be considered for the study, companies had to meet two requirements: “Pay has to be maintained at 100%,” Fan explained. “The second requirement is a genuine reduction in work hours.”
For most companies, team members shifted from a 40-hour week to a 30-hour week. In self-assessments, employees said they felt even more productive than before — a win-win for employers and workers.
“This self-assessed productivity is one explanation for the well-being benefits because workers now view themselves as better workers,” Fan says. “They are more capable and more confident, which in turn improves their well-being.”
In Australia, a 2023 Senate Select Committee inquiry into work and care also highlighted the growing pressure for more flexible models, with calls for policy reform to support trials of shorter weeks and flexible work arrangements. For leaders, this puts the 4-day workweek in Australia firmly on the agenda as both a productivity lever and a wellbeing initiative.
Common myths about the 4-day workweek
For leaders who are sceptical about the ability to implement a 4-day workweek in their organisation, O’Connor aims to dispel some misconceptions.
1. Implementing a 4-day workweek means your company can’t stay open to the public
“In these major trials, the majority of organisations adopt some form of split shifts or rosters, or even emergency coverage to maintain service across five days — and in some cases even six or seven,” O’Connor says.
2. The 4-day workweek is inflexible and can’t be adapted
O’Connor says that a shorter workweek is more of a strategic tool to help companies and employees eliminate a common enemy: unproductive busywork. “It’s not one-size-fits-all,” he explains. “It needs to be designed very thoughtfully and intentionally, based on organisational context.”
Fan agrees. “We are not proposing that this is a model that could be automatically applied in every setting,” she says of her research.
3. You can adopt flexible work without fundamental changes in leadership behaviour
One of the biggest barriers to adopting a 4-day week is a traditional “command and control” leadership style that conflates attendance or time spent with meaningful measures of performance, O’Connor says.
To find success, leaders have to change.
Start by listening to employees
Why do companies decide to embrace the 4-day workweek? O’Connor says there are two common reasons: “Organisations do this because they’re looking for a lever to change the game on productivity in their business, or they’re doing it as a talent play.”
Whatever the motivation, success will start by listening to employees and responding to their immediate needs and suggestions.
O’Connor recommends launching a diagnostic audit, either with a consulting partner or internally. This sets two important expectations: the initiative is built on grassroots buy-in, and everyone is involved in the decision-making process.
“It’s just the reality that the people who are closest to the work are those that know where the inefficiencies and the bottlenecks and the gaps usually lie,” O’Connor says.
