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33 B C B U S I N E S S . C A J U N E 2 0 24 A li a Yo u s s e f a 40-hour workweek and smashing it into four days. And the trials are really clear on this. This is about an eight-hour day, four days a week, to really achieve that quality of life improvement." Hanington says not all employees kick back on the extra day. "There are a lot of people who use their extra day to do other work. I used to teach at Douglas College on my Mondays. I've also used my days off to do freelance work. I know a lot of people that teach or do other work on their fourth or fifth day." Hanington points to a few environmen- tal upsides, too. "Less commuting means fewer emissions," he says. "It can mean less emissions from the building itself where people are working—it depends on the kind of organization. But a lot of studies have shown some real environmental benefits to shifting to a shorter workweek." "In the first year we added 30 percent to our revenues. In the following two years we doubled in size and doubled our net profits. Our retention rate has skyrocketed. We don't have people leaving our firm unless it's a family emergency and they have to move. Mental health, happiness, loyalty, productivity, focus are all much higher." –Leena Yousefi, CEO, YLaw "It hasn't been a fairy tale," Yousefi says. "I don't think it's a one-size-fits-all solution. There have been challenges." Among them are working out vacation time (three weeks of vacation means three calendar weeks, rather than 15 workdays spread out over four four-day weeks) and establishing that urgent circumstances can require extra days. But the benefits, Yousefi insists, far outweigh the difficulties, and she believes that a four-day week is, at the very least, worth a trial run. "If you're not seeing reduced profit," she says, "what's holding you back?" Healthier, happier employees do better work, she adds. The old description of an automotive lemon as a "Friday car," built when weary workers just wanted to get out the door, still applies. "You don't want a Friday car, or a Friday lawyer," Yousefi says. "You want a Friday drink." FOUR YOUR INFORMATION Belgium In 2022, Belgium became the first European country to legislate a four-day workweek. There was a catch, though: workers could choose between 9.5 hours a day over four days or the regular 8-hour, five-day week. In late 2023, the Brussels Times reported that, according to a survey by HR services company Acerta, only 0.8 percent of Belgian employees had transitioned to the full-time four-day week. Several countries across the globe have implemented or are experimenting with a four-day workweek. These include: Iceland Between 2015 to 2019, Iceland conducted the world's largest pilot of a 35- to 36-hour workweek, according to Forbes. The study, which was heralded as a success, led to change in the country— some 90 percent of the working population now has reduced hours or other accommodations. Japan In 2021, according to CNBC, the Japanese government's yearly economic policy guidelines included a recommendation that companies let employees opt for a four-day workweek. Microsoft Japan tested it out and saw a reported 40-percent increase in productivity, according to NPR.

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