“It is high time to rid ourselves of the notion that leisure time for the worker is either lost time or class privilege.” –Henry Ford (1926)
How did the five-day work week come to be?
And is it ideal for people and companies?
I’m glad you asked.
A Brief History of the Five-Day Work Week
Back in the 1800’s during the Industrial Revolution, it was common for people to work really long hours for six days a week. Most workplaces were closed on Sundays for religious observance.
As the labor movement grew, workers became more bold in asking employers for increased work-life balance for their health and family lives.
In 1908, the New England Cotton Mill became the first U.S. business to also close on Saturdays so that Jewish workers could observe a Saturday Sabbath, thus creating one of the first five-day workplaces.
The biggest shift came in 1926 when Henry Ford famously instituted the five-day and 40-hour work week at the Ford Motor Company, which was one of the largest manufacturers in the world.
He did this after demonstrating that workers had increased productivity following two days of time off in a row. His decision came from the data, not purely from empathy for his employees. His survey showed reduced worker fatigue, lower turnover, and less workplace accidents. He also reasoned that more of his workers might buy cars if they had more leisure time.
Shortly after, in 1938 the United States passed the Fair Labor Standards Act which officially established the 40-hour week as the norm and began requiring overtime pay. By the 1970s, this was the global norm.
But as pay shifted from hourly to salary, the lines became blurred again. And the rise of computers in the 1980’s along with global competition created pressure to work longer hours or respond to email outside the typical workday.
Smartphones dumped rocket fuel on this trend and by the 2000’s, many workplaces seemed to offer greater flexibility in work hours but also had the curse of the 24/7 and “always on” culture where workers felt pressure to respond immediately at all hours of the day or night.
But now the pendulum is swinging back in the other direction again.
The 2020’s have brought momentum to challenge even the practice of the five-day work week.
But is a four-day work week just lazy and crazy?
Beginning in 2022, economist and sociologist Juliet B. Schor began the largest study of the four-day work week so far, including 8,700 employees at 245 organizations across a range of industries.
They used 20 different measures for employee well-being—and all of them showed improvement. After a year, 90% of the companies in the study were still using the four-day work model.
Her new book was published in June of 2025 entitled, Four Days a Week: The Life-Changing Solution for Reducing Employee Stress, Improving Well-Being, and Working Smarter.
In the book she reveals the findings from her study which suggest that a four-day workweek may be more doable than companies think, and provide life-giving benefits for employees.
One consistent response in their survey they heard, “Two days off is just not enough.” Employees with young families felt even more demands on their time. Things like impaired sleep, daycare schedules, getting sick, or sports are all part of raising young children.
And when workers are stressed, it hurts the company’s bottom line through disengagement, lowered productivity, and turnover.
The results from the study over the past three years show that regardless of country or remote and non-remote work, the four-day work week showed substantial benefits.
One marketing team in the study reduced turnover by 35% by implementing the four-day work week. This not only saved money, but may have saved the company.
Many companies are instituting what is called the 100-80-100 model.
This means that employees get 100% of their pay, work 80% of the hours, and must maintain 100% of their work product. In order to do this smoothly, managers must work closely with workers to precisely identify key deliverables, highest priorities, and time wasters—in order to maximize productivity. Eliminating unnecessary meetings and low-value time-sucking tasks is vital to success.
Several key findings were surprising:
- Work intensity stayed the same.
- Very few people got second jobs on that fifth day.
- Social connections at work remained strong.
- The bigger the work hours reduction, the greater the well-being increase.
- It didn’t matter which three days people took off, the benefits still held.
Like other studies have shown, companies would do better to target things like workload and work hours instead of band-aid solutions like employee wellness programs that don’t solve the root cause of ongoing company burnout.
If your Monday through Friday job completely burns you out, there is only so much you can do to recover on evenings and weekends before you are faced with five more days of onslaught.
Some companies split staff into groups to cover days when other employees were off work. Others put people on an emergency call schedule on days off.
One of the greatest findings of the study was that this incredibly beneficial strategy was very cheap to implement.
“I especially hope that people in positions to make changes at their organizations read the book…and think ‘Maybe I should try this out.” (Schor in an interview with MIT, May 2025).
Take action now
This study presents compelling data that a four-day work week is not only doable, but can dramatically reduce turnover, improve company profit, and enhance employee well-being across many industries.
Don’t wait to try it. If you are a manager or leader, find ways to experiment with this right away.
Have a great weekend!
Parker
Resources
- The Surprising Viability of the Four-Day Work Week, https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-surprising-viability-of-the-four-day-workweek/
