LiveCareer, a career service dedicated to resumes and cover letters, has released findings from its Four-Day Work Week Report. The report polled 1,130 American workers on their feelings about four-day workweeks and assessed the potential productivity gains from compressing a 40-hour workweek into fewer days.
Key findings from the report include the following.
- More than half (67%) of respondents believe they would be more productive with a four-day workweek, working, 10-hour days.
- About three-quarters of women (76%) support the shift to a four-day workweek, compared to 57% of men.
- More than three-quarters (78%) believe AI or automation could enable a four-day workweek, with men being more optimistic (86%) than women (71%), revealing a strong reliance on technology to reshape work structures.
- Men are significantly more concerned than women about the schedule’s impact on reduced collaboration time (48% versus 28%).
- Women place greater emphasis on fewer meetings and remote work options as productivity boosters (50% and 39%, compared to 39% and 22% for men).
“The strong support for a four-day workweek, especially among women, highlights the prioritization of work-life balance and flexibility—a consistent theme in research on the needs of female workers,” says Jasmine Escalara, a career expert for LiveCareer.
The report finds that workers want a four-day workweek, with 67% of those surveyed feeling they would be most productive working four 10-hour shifts compared to a third who say they prefer a five-day, 40-hour schedule.
A four-day workweek has broad support among women who value better work-life balance and flexibility. Men are more likely to prefer a traditional schedule (43%) than women (24%).
Part of the appeal of a four-day, 40-hour workweek is the perceived benefits of this type of schedule. Of those surveyed, the top benefits include:
- better work-life balance (61%);
- increased productivity (59%); and
- increased job satisfaction (59%).
Women are interested in a four-day schedule’s ability to help them prioritize work-life balance (69%) and lower commuting costs (40%), compared to 52% and 21% of men, respectively.
When asked what they predict would be the biggest challenges to staying productive in a four-day workweek, workers did cite several of the trade-offs they envisioned having to make if they adopt a condensed work schedule. More than half (63%) say they believe a four-day workweek would result in longer workdays, leading to fatigue. Approximately 59% believe a condensed schedule can potentially increase their workload or expectations. Men are more concerned about a four-day workweek creating an increased workload (69%) than women (58%). Men also worry that an abbreviated work week would mean less time for collaboration (48%) compared to women (28%).
“While longer workdays and increased workloads are significant concerns—particularly for men—the optimism surrounding automation and AI shows promise that a four-day workweek could become a reality for more workers,” Escalara says. “These tools could enable employees to maintain productivity and achieve even more in a four-day workweek than in a traditional workweek.”
Surveyed workers shared the top tools and strategies they believe will support productivity in a four-day week. Top strategies include:
- better time management or productivity tools (54%);
- setting clearer priorities and goals (51%); and
- shifting focus onto professional outcomes over the number of hours worked (45%).
Women put greater emphasis on fewer meetings and remote work options as productivity boosters, shedding light on how different groups prioritize work practices and improve efficiency.
Additionally, most of those polled say that they believe AI and automation will significantly improve the productivity of a four-day workweek. Over three-quarters (78%) believe AI or automation could enable a four-day workweek. Men are more optimistic (86%) about AI’s role in a shortened workweek than women (71%).
