These days, the topic of a 4-day workweek comes up a lot around me. Listening to friends talk about wanting to hike in the Wasatch Mountains every Friday makes me feel a bit swayed, to be honest.

But I've always wondered: if we work one day less, will everything really get done? What happened to the companies that tried it after about a year?

So, I did some research this time. To cut to the chase, the results are better than expected, but there are quite a few conditions attached.

The most cited example is the pilot program led by the nonprofit organization 4 Day Week Global. The approach involves working only 80% of the usual hours while receiving 100% of the pay and promising to maintain 100% of the performance.

In the initial pilot programs conducted in the U.S. and elsewhere, 33 companies participated, and it lasted for six months. Among the 27 that responded to the final survey, 18 said they would continue, and not a single one leaned toward quitting.

The employees' reactions were even more enthusiastic. 97% of respondents said they wanted to continue, and stress, fatigue, and burnout decreased compared to when they started.

However, there's one thing to clarify. The productivity score given by the companies was 7.7 out of 10, but this was a self-assessed score. It doesn't represent actual output numbers.

So, is there real data from a year later? Yes, there is. This refers to a pilot program in the UK that ran from June to December 2022.

In the UK, 61 companies participated. Then, in February 2024, the UK think tank Autonomy released a follow-up report.

The results showed that at least 54 companies, or 89%, continued the 4-day workweek after a year. At least 31 of them, which is 51% of the total, made it a permanent policy.

Wow, it's quite surprising that more than half made it an official policy. The benefits for employees' physical and mental health and work-life balance also reportedly persisted over the year.

However, this report was issued by the research team involved in the pilot program. So, it might be more accurate to view it as an analysis from the conducting side rather than a completely independent evaluation.

There are also more academic resources available. A study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour in July 2025 tracked 2,896 employees from 141 organizations across various countries for six months.

This study was beneficial because it compared companies that maintained a 5-day workweek. The 4-day workweek group experienced reduced burnout, increased job satisfaction, and improved mental and physical health.

Notably, the improvements in burnout and job satisfaction were greater than those in health indicators. Weekly working hours were reduced by 5 hours.

The researchers themselves acknowledged limitations. The companies that volunteered to try a 4-day workweek likely already cared about employee welfare from the start.

However, there are also contrasting cases nearby. The Utah state government conducted a bold experiment in 2008.

At that time, Governor Jon Huntsman changed the work schedule for many state employees to a 4-day workweek with 10-hour days starting August 4, 2008. The main goals were to reduce energy costs, attract talent, and improve air quality.

However, the results of a 2010 state legislature audit were somewhat disappointing. They had projected savings of $3 million in public utility costs, but the actual savings were just over $500,000.

Assessing productivity was challenging because not many departments had performance data. Still, in employee surveys, 82% reported being as productive or more productive than before.

Ultimately, in 2011, the state legislature revived the 5-day workweek with HB 328. Governor Gary Herbert exercised his veto, but the legislature overturned it.

One reason was the significant complaints from residents about not being able to access administrative services like driver's license tasks on Fridays. So, starting in September 2011, they reopened from Monday to Friday.

The differences observed are interesting. The UK and international pilot programs reduced working hours, while Utah maintained a total of 40 hours and compressed them into 4 days.

This means that even with a 4-day workweek, the outcomes can vary significantly depending on whether hours are reduced or compressed. Additionally, if the work requires daily customer interaction, figuring out how to fill in the off days can be a major challenge.

If you're preparing for a job change or interview, it would be wise to ask specific questions about this aspect. For example, how many hours are worked each day, whether pay remains the same, and if different teams have different days off.

Personally, I would check the actual weekly working hours before the label "4-day workweek." Working 10 hours for 4 days feels entirely different.

Personally, I find the data quite hopeful. If burnout decreases and nearly nine out of ten companies maintain the system after a year, it doesn't seem like just a fleeting trend.

Of course, there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer for every workplace. Still, isn't there enough reason to reconsider how we work? As someone who dreams of mountain trails on Friday mornings, I will quietly cheer for this movement.