30% Companies in USA might introduce 4 Day Work Week Soon

A recent survey conducted by KPMG revealed that around 30% of large U.S. companies are considering new work schedule arrangements, including four-day or four-and-a-half-day workweeks.

A lot of employees have reported being over burdened with work and not being able to maintain work-life balance. 77% of US workers said a four-day work week would have a positive impact on their wellbeing, according to a Gallup poll released in November. Some studies of four-day workweeks in the United States and Europe have found positive results for well-being and productivity among workers.

CEOs of various companies are still figuring out how this approach would function, how it would affect employees’ mental and physical health, and whether it would lower costs by making workplaces healthier.

Recently, a trial was conducted wherein employees were allowed to work 4 day per week. In the United Kingdom, most companies that participated in the trial continued to allow employees to work fewer hours a year later. More than half of them had decided to make this change permanent.

There is one more important factor that should be considered – Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI may allow companies to embrace 4 day work week as the daily routine works can be easily done by AI in a short period of time. The KPMG survey found that 61% of US CEOs are encouraging employees to use generative AI to automate daily tasks to relieve stress and manage their workloads.