Another Take: Is the 4-day week the future of work?

Every Saturday, we revisit a story that’s in the news again. This week, we're revisiting a global study that found a 4-day working week resulted in a high level of satisfaction on the part of both employers and employees.  

This originally aired on May 31, 2023. None of the dates, titles, or other references from that time have been changed. 

Are we on the verge of another workplace revolution? It’s possible to work fewer hours and keep the same level of pay and productivity, according to results of the largest-ever trial of a four-day workweek held in the United Kingdom. Traditional work routines were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there’s increased demand for more flexible schedules. But in many parts of the world, even a five-day week is a luxury. So can a four-day workweek work for everyone?

In this episode: 

Juliet Schor (@JulietSchor), Sociology Professor at Boston College and Lead Researcher, 4-Day Week Global Wen Fan, Associate Professor at Boston College and Researcher, 4-Day Week Global Kıvanç Eliaçık (@Diskinsesi), International Director for the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DISK) Ignacia López, Chilean Labor Lawyer Jaya Dass (@Randstad_SG), Managing Director of Permanent Recruitment in Asia Pacific at Randstad

Episode credits:

This episode was updated by Fahrinisa Campana and Joe Plourde. The original production team was Miranda Lin, Khaled Soltan, Tim St. Clair, and our host, Malika Bilal. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

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