4 Day Week Global runs pilot programs that enable businesses to try out reduced working hours.
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The Monday-to-Friday grind is outdated, argues the nonprofit behind a raft of studies of what happens when workers drop a day without losing pay. Productivity doesn’t fall, says CEO Dale Whelehan, because rested people perform better. During a six-month pilot last year, attrition went down and revenues held; 92% of participating businesses said they’d stick with the schedule. The group’s studies also inspired legislation: an Australian Senate committee called for its govern­ment to back a trial, and in March U.S. Congressman Mark Takano reintroduced a 32-hour-workweek bill. Future research will focus on implications for sustainability, equity, and civic participation, says Whelehan: “We’ve only scratched the surface.”

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