Implementing a Four-Day Workweek: Best Practices for Making the Transition Smooth and Successful

Four-day workweeks used to be a daydream away for many employees. Now, this work schedule has been gaining more popularity in the UK and the US. More and more companies shift and experiment with the different ways they can conduct business while supporting and empowering their employees’ success.

How can business leaders successfully transition their companies to a four-day workweek? They need a sound strategy to support their employees’ needs and foster positive business growth. These are just a few pointers that they can follow:

Shift your mindset about success
Determine business goals and metrics
Consult your employees
Set clear guidelines and parameters
Prioritize smart scheduling
Update the company’s automation and AI services
Promote a healthy work culture
Test run and assess a pilot stage

Workplace norms have shifted and transformed to keep up with the changing business landscape. Implementing a four-day workweek can create more opportunities for your company to scale upwards. In this article, we talk about the practices you can do to ensure a successful shift to ti this work schedule.

A Four-Day Workweek’s Recipe for Success

The pandemic moved people to rethink the traditional way of work and productivity. Because of the global situation, this was the only way we can achieve outcomes and success. The recent popularity of the four-day workweek is just one of the many strategies companies found to work well with their business. Here are our suggestions to help make it work for your business too.

Shift Your Mindset About Success

How you transform your company’s structure and culture depends on your mindset. According to a Harvard Business Review article, research suggests that most people are inclined to measure success in terms of hours worked rather than productivity or well-being. But one of the many benefits of a four-day workweek is empowering employees to become more productive by having a better work-life balance.

For a four-day workweek to succeed, business leaders need to shift their mindset. The number of hours your employees worked should not be a KPI. You need to value the productivity they bring to the company.

Putting your employees first will always lead to your company’s long-term success. A four-day workweek ensures that employees are highly focused and productive at work. Cody Pennell, an associate campaign marketer, says it best in his comment on how companies should pay attention to their employees’ welfare:

By providing employees with more flexibility and autonomy, companies can foster a more positive work environment that promotes creativity, productivity, and job satisfaction. Ultimately, this can lead to better business outcomes and improved employee retention rates. It’s essential to recognize that employee empowerment is a critical factor in building a successful and sustainable company culture.

Determine Business Goals and Metrics

A four-day workweek is a big change that comes with various benefits and challenges. It is beneficial to outline the overall purpose and long-term business goals you want to achieve. By defining these elements, you can develop metrics and strategies for a smooth transition. Likewise, keep your company values and vision in mind when building these goals.

It is also essential that you can measure the efficiency and success of this program concerning your business goals. Strategize ways to measure productivity beyond traditional metrics, such as hours in the office. Metrics such as the following can help you figure out how to make the implementation easier:

Employee retention
Employee satisfaction
Workplace productivity
Customer satisfaction

Consult Your Employees

There is always the question of: “Will all employees be open and accept this initiative?” Luckily, the solution is as simple including every stakeholder — employers and employees — in the conversation.

Identifying what your employees need. Consult or interview them about their opinions and suggestions on how to make it happen. The data you gather will help get the needle moving in making this approach work.

Questions to consider while creating ways to implement a four-day workweek

It’s important to consider potential questions when implementing such a big change in the workplace. Here are a few to think about:

Does a four-day workweek mean doing 40 hours of work within four days or having a 32-hour workweek?
Which days or hours can employees take off without negatively impacting their productivity?
What kind of support do employees need to make this approach a success?
How should employees share their points for improvements throughout this process?
What are the changes in the operating costs and holiday allowance in the company?

These questions will lead to better solutions and approaches to implementing a four-day workweek in your company. As part of this conversation, it is important to clarify what changes will happen and how they will be implemented within the company. The end goal is to plan actionable steps to ensure the proposed workweek runs smoothly.

Set Clear Guidelines and Parameters

Everyone needs to be on the same page with the rules for a four-day workweek. Defining the expectations and guidelines can create a clearer picture of how to implement this change thoughtfully. It also prevents confusion and miscommunication. These instructions should provide strategic support for the internal and external needs of your employees. Performance expectations and communication structures should also be disseminated along with the new guidelines.

There are many ways to implement a four-day workweek. Your company’s approach can look different from other workplaces. Jen Fisher, chief well-being officer at Deloitte, writes:

I don’t believe there is a one size fits all model now or in the future. But I absolutely believe that for certain workforce models, a four-day workweek is and can be possible. But I also recognize there are people that would also prefer having more flexibility across a five-day workweek. So I think workforce models will adapt and people will find roles that suit their needs and preferences. But it’s not going to be all one way or another.

Prioritize Smart Scheduling

Scheduling is an essential factor that will affect the success of a four-day workweek. Reducing work hours will cause big changes in the regular company schedule. Your company can have a standardized or flexible schedule, depending on your needs. Either way, these decisions should prioritize optimal productivity for your employees. For example, you can start having staggered off-work days to ensure essential company functions remain uncompromised. You might also need to think about hiring additional staff in case a shortened workweek will need more personnel. This all depends on your needs.

It’s also a good idea to evaluate where you can trim the fat in a normal work schedule. For example, you can adjust long meetings to shorter team catch-ups. You can also discuss with your employees their own proposed schedules based on their workload. Every company is different. It is up to you how to prioritize within a shorter time frame.

Unnecessary meetings can affect your employees’ work experience. Our article “Ways To Improve Meetings for Your Employees and Make Them Fun” can help your company refresh and update workplace meetings.

Update the Company’s Automation and AI Services

Explore different technologies to streamline your company processes. Tech can significantly make implementing a four-day workweek easier. Various automation services are already popular with companies offering a work-from-anywhere option to their employees. For instance, there are many team management softwares from which you can choose. Integrating updated automation and AI services makes can help your employees can focus on more strategic and complex work during their four-day workweek.

You can automate mundane and repetitive tasks. For example, using an AI-operated chatbot on your company’s website. AI applications can also help your company gain insight into emerging patterns and trends through your company’s data. AI communication tools can also provide secure channels for sensitive company information.

A data-fluent workplace can increase your company’s efficiency and contribute to the success of a four-day workweek. Want to know more about how automation can transform internal company processes? Check out “4 Ways the Machine Intelligence Affects the Workplace.”

Promote a Healthy Work Culture

A positive working relationship between employees and employers is necessary for the success of a four-day workweek. Entrepreneur Jyoti Bansal writes, “The right framework and a little humility can foster that spirit of productive debate, leading to more effective decisions and better outcomes.”

A culture of accountability and trust is the foundation of successful company shifts to four-day workweeks. When employers and employees alike are empowered to voice their opinions and are eager to learn from each other, innovation and success are likely to follow.

A healthy workplace also respects each other’s off-work days. Fostering a workplace that respects each other’s flexibility and boundaries creates opportunities for business growth. Interested to find out more about this topic? Read Workplace Ethics: Creating a Culture of Integrity and Respect.

Test Run and Assess a Pilot Stage

Rather than a complete company overhaul, try to test the waters with small changes. A pilot stage will help you identify the tools and processes you need to put in place to make a complete transition to a four-day workweek. When problems arise within your trial period, you have ample time to think of solutions for full-scale operations. Interviewing employees involved in the trial period and making quantitative assessments can also paint a clearer picture of how to move forward with the implementation.

Weeks to months of pilot testing before fully committing to the transition can provide you with enough data to conclude whether this system of work fits your company. However, it’s possible that you still have hesitations after the pilot stage. You can consider offering it as a part-time option to your employees instead. This can be especially beneficial for months when you can expect lower customer engagement.

It’s expected to encounter a few hiccups when implementing a four-day workweek, even after months of preparation. John Hopkins, Ph.D., academic and entrepreneur, says:

While transitioning to a 4DWW will require a monumental shift for the staff, it shouldn’t be considered without a bit of scrutiny, reflection, and a willingness to adapt. For most, the benefits outweigh the downsides, but that’s no reason to ignore the adjustments that would need to be made. The balance between the pros and cons of the four-day workweek still needs to be weighed by each individual company to see if it will fit their culture.

Benefits of a Four-day Workweek

It’s important to consider what your company can get from a four-day workweek. Reduced work hours can boost your employees’ productivity and physical health. When they can clock out early, employees can recharge and focus longer at work. A four-day workweek can also affect employee retention and satisfaction, creating a more stable workplace. One of the more practical benefits of a four-day workweek is the potential to reduce operating costs such as maintenance and rent.

Lastly, implementing a four-day workweek can change the way employees balance their professional and personal priorities. As Emma Buckley, Group Head of Talent at MRL Consulting Group, describes it, “Employees who have a better work-life balance and less stress are less likely to take time off work due to sickness or burnout, which can result in reduced absenteeism and higher employee retention rates.”

For more information on how you can support workplace flexibility and work-life balance, our article details different ways you can support your employees’ growth in and out of the office.

To Wrap it Up

The four-day workweek is undoubtedly part of the future of work. Case studies show that many companies have found considerable success with it. Shira Kalfa, the founding partner at Kalfa Law, shares,

Since we implemented this arrangement in the summer of 2022, our revenues have increased, which in and of itself, is the most telling of productivity outputs. Loyalty has increased. Mental health increased. People are happier and healthier. They’re spending more quality time doing the things they love outside of the office, so they’re able to produce more inside, on a shorter timeline.

It’s important to remember, however, that every business runs differently. There’s no guarantee that a four-day workweek is the best fit for your company. But consistent experimentation and deliberation are essential in the successful rollout of a four-day workweek. Remodeling and updating the way we view and measure productivity is key in ushering in a better, healthier workplace for all.