A company that switched to a 4-day work week to stop employees quitting in droves says business has never been better

• Economist Juliet Schor consulted with nonprofit Healthwise to set up a four-day workweek in 2021.
• Healthwise employees were more productive and the company retained more workers, Schor said at the TED2022 conference.

After employees of an education nonprofit began "quitting in droves," the CEO implemented a four-day workweek — and now the workers have never been more productive.

That's according to Juliet Schor, an economist who has studied the nature of work since the 1980s, and who consulted with the Boise-based nonprofit Healthwise to set up a four-day workweek trial for its employees in August 2021.

Like many companies dealing with burnout and economic stresses from the pandemic, Healthwise was struggling last year, Schor said. Six months after trialing a new system, where employees are paid for five days of work but only clock in for four, she said workers are "dramatically happier," revenue has increased, and customer satisfaction scores are "outstanding."

"Healthwise employees are spending their Fridays off doing family activities like sports or errands," Schor said at the TED2022 conference in Vancouver, Canada on Tuesday. "One mother of young children reported that now she can occasionally manage a guilt-free pedicure."

Healthwise is one of a growing number of companies who are encouraging employees to work less hours in order to retain workers. More than 38 million workers quit their jobs during 2021, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down, as a near-record 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in February.

The COVID-19 pandemic's devastating toll on the country led many workers to reconsider whether their jobs are serving them, leading to mass quits, according to the organizational psychologist Anthony Klotz who coined the trend the "Great Resignation."

Schor said research indicates shorter workweeks can reduce mental stress while improving job satisfaction and productivity. European countries with shorter average work days, like France and Germany, have higher productivity than compared to countries with longer workweeks, such as the UK and Italy.

Healthwise CEO Adam Husney told the Idaho Statesman his company he has seen "very little attrition" since switching to a four-day workweek. Husney did not change the amount of work that needed to get done in a week, leading to employees maximizing fewer work hours.

Schor said Healthwise employees save time by messaging their colleagues rather than making phone calls, thereby limiting small talk.

"They shifted personal tasks, like doctor's appointments, to the off day. And yes, the pace of work at the office does go up," Schor added. "People have adapted and they prefer getting their downtime as a whole day off, rather than in snippets."

Iceland has already trialed four-day workweeks and 85% of the population are either currently working shorter hours or on their way to. States in the US might follow suit: California's state assembly are proposing a bill that would create a shortened workweek for non-union, hourly workers at companies with 500 or more employees.

"There's a lot of talk these days about the future of work and the opportunities that it offers, but there's more at stake here than opportunity," Schor said. "We have an imperative to face the challenges of our current moment, the pandemic burnout and depression, inequalities of race and income."