How To Have A Month Of 4-Day Workweeks By Only Taking One Day Off
It's been proven that a four-day workweek is beneficial to both employees and employers.
Zamrznuti tonovi / Shutterstock Having a four-day workweek is something that many adults have been vocal about initiating across companies in the United States.
However, a content creator named Nate might have cracked the code to a life hack that many people could use at work to gain a month of four-day workweeks, especially with the upcoming holiday season approaching.
He explained that employees should request a specific day off in January.
"You didn't hear this from me but a hot tip for [the] holiday season coming up right now. Go in and request January 8th off from work," Nate began in his video. He explained that by doing so, you could secure a whole month of only four-day workweeks.
He pointed out that January 8th is a Monday, and people are already given Christmas Day off, New Year's Day, and January 15th, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
So, if employees were to take off on this specific day in January, for the entire month, they would only have to work four days each week.
"I'm not saying you have to have some crazy excuse to take it off," he continued. "I just want an extra three-day weekend. We all deserve it. I'm literally on my computer about to put in my PTO request right now. If we can't completely break the system of capitalism, we can at least hack it and use it to our own advantage. Get that extra four-day workweek!"
Most full-time workers have admitted to wanting their companies to enact a four-day workweek.
According to a survey from Bankrate, a majority of employees and job seekers, 81%, support a four-day work week versus a traditional five-day schedule. Of those workers, 89% said they would be willing to make sacrifices to work just four days.
More than half, 54%, would be willing to work longer hours, and more than a third, 37%, would be willing to change jobs or industries. While more than a quarter, 27%, said they would be willing to come to their office or job location more days or work fully in person.
Similarly, in a six-month trial in the UK, run by a nonprofit called 4 Day Week Global and the think tank Autonomy, which included nearly 3,000 workers at 61 companies and ran from June to December 2022, the biggest four-day workweek experiment was created.
Through that experiment, 92% of companies say they’re continuing with the four-day week permanently. Companies rated their overall experience well, saying business performance and productivity remained high, revenue increased and turnover dropped.
On the employee side, 90% said they definitely want to continue with a four-day week, 55% reported an increase in their ability at work, and 15% said no amount of money would make them go back to a five-day schedule. Of the trial participants, many of them noticed reduced work stress and extra personal time due to having a four-day workweek.
Nate's work hack, coupled with the data and statistics of the successful findings from four-day workweeks, prove that employees just want to feel as if their entire lives don't revolve around their work schedules.
There is a potential positive impact here, and it's up to organizations to seize the opportunity.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.