Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?

With many companies experimenting with the idea, the Wall Street Journal decided to ask the people who matter most - the workers themselves. And the results were mixed.
The Wall Street Journal explored the idea of a four-day workweek, with many companies and employees trying out the shortened schedule.

Some found it beneficial for productivity and work-life balance, while others found it difficult to manage their workload and preferred a traditional five-day schedule.

Some companies have found alternative solutions, such as adopting a seven-hour workday or "Flex Fridays," which have improved productivity and retention rates.

While some employees, such as those in consumer-facing roles, found it difficult to manage their workloads on a shortened schedule, others found the benefits to be undeniable.

Mike Groves, CEO of Federal Lock & Safe, implemented a seven-hour workday for his non-customer-facing teams, and productivity and retention rates both improved.

For Chet Guardino, the CEO of Lexon Medical Management, productivity increased across the board when they trialed a four-and-a-half-day workweek, with insurance claims processed per person increasing when employees were given Friday afternoons off.

Brian McNaboe, an adviser at Harvard Business School, also found that productivity could be maintained with a shorter workweek.

In his previous role as CTO at Volt Athletics, "Flex Fridays" became so successful that they decided to make it permanent.

However, some workers prefer the traditional five-day workweek.

Sean Collier, a regional government hydrologist, has worked a four-day, 10-hour schedule for the past 15 years but says he would prefer to work five eight-hour days.

And for some CEOs, hours worked remain the best proxy for productivity.

Roy Eriksson, president and CEO of Eriksson Technologies and Eriksson Software, says that while measuring value by output makes sense, it's hard to get away from measuring work in hours.

So, what's the verdict? As with many things in life, there's no one-size-fits-all solution.

But it's clear that employers who are willing to experiment with alternative schedules are finding success, with productivity and retention rates on the rise.

Could the future of work be a shorter workweek?

The debate between hours worked versus output as a measure of productivity also continues, with some arguing that time is a poor way of measuring value and output should be the only metric that matters.


Please read the full article at the Wall Street Journal here
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×