SHRM President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, answers your workplace questions each week. Do you have a work-related question you’d like him to answer? Submit it here.
My company is considering moving to a four-day workweek. While the idea is popular with employees and seems like it could boost productivity and retention, I'm concerned about whether it's truly sustainable long-term. How should organizations evaluate whether a four-day workweek will work for their specific business model without harming performance, customer service, or employee burnout? — River
A four-day workweek sounds appealing in theory, but whether it works in practice depends entirely on the business. There's no universal model. What works well for one organization may create operational strain for another, and leaders need to be honest about that from the start.
The first question organizations should ask is not, "Is a four-day workweek popular?" The question is, "What business problem are we trying to solve?" Is the goal improved productivity? Better retention? A recruitment advantage? Reduced burnout? Operational efficiency? And the second question is just as important: Do we have the data to prove a four-day workweek will solve this problem? Flexibility should be treated as a business strategy, not simply a workplace trend.
Organizations also need clarity around what "four-day workweek" actually means. Are employees working four ten-hour days, or is the organization reducing total weekly hours? Those are fundamentally different models with very different operational, financial, and workforce implications.
And let me be clear: Compressing work into fewer days without changing expectations, workflows, or staffing models can actually increase burnout rather than reduce it. If employees are expected to produce the same output in less time without better systems in place, the pressure simply intensifies.
That's why operational efficiency matters so much in these conversations. Organizations that successfully implement flexible work models are often the ones willing to rethink how work gets done. They reduce unnecessary meetings, streamline approvals, automate repetitive tasks, and eliminate low-value work that consumes employee time without improving outcomes.
Customer expectations also have to remain front and center. Employees may appreciate the flexibility, but if customers experience slower service, inconsistent support, or reduced responsiveness, the model becomes difficult to sustain. Any workplace strategy ultimately has to support both the workforce and the business itself.
And candidly, we still don't have enough long-term data to declare the four-day workweek universally successful or unsuccessful. That's why these decisions should be data-driven, not emotionally driven. Organizations considering a pilot should establish measurable outcomes upfront and track productivity, engagement, turnover, customer satisfaction, operational performance, and financial impact over time.
Most importantly, organizations need to stay flexible themselves. A four-day workweek is not a "set it and forget it" policy. Workforce needs, customer expectations, and business conditions evolve, and leaders have to be willing to adjust if the model stops delivering results.
At the end of the day, the goal is balance. The strongest workplace models are the ones that support employee well-being while also strengthening performance, service, and organizational resilience. Organizations that approach this thoughtfully, measure outcomes carefully, and remain willing to adapt will be in the best position to determine whether a four-day workweek truly works for their business long-term.
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