The four-day workweek: When is less truly more?

A growing number of companies and countries are experimenting with reducing the number of working days per week from five to four. For many organizations and their employees, there can be clear benefits. But reducing the workweek doesn’t affect everyone equally, and that means not everyone wins.

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Featuring

Cassie Werber is a senior reporter with Quartz at Work and the host of Work reconsidered. Cassie spent six days a week one December selling Christmas trees, and can highly recommend the sweet-smelling Fraser fir.

Lila MacLellan is a senior reporter with Quartz at Work. She launched her media career at the age of 12, as a newspaper delivery girl.

Marie-Rose Rioux is the CFO at software company Unito based in Montreal, Canada.

Jana Javornik is an associate professor of work and employment relations at the University of Leeds.

Show notes

Lila’s story on the four day work week (and another)

Background on the great resignation

UK companies testing out the four day work week

Cassie’s 2019 piece about Andrew Barnes of Four Day Global

Juliet Schor, the case four the 4-day work week

This episode uses the following music:

Read the full transcript here.