California Congressman Mark Takano Introduces Legislation For A Four-Day Workweek

Democratic Congressman Mark Takano introduced legislation on Wednesday that would reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours.

According to Takano’s press release about his proposed legislation, “A shorter workweek would benefit both employers and employees alike.” He pointed out, “Pilot programs run by governments and businesses across the globe have shown promising results, as productivity climbed and workers reported better work-life balance, less need to take sick days, heightened morale and lower childcare expenses because they had more time with their family and children.”

Takano added, “Shorter workweeks have also been shown to further reduce healthcare premiums for employers, lower operational costs for businesses and have a positive environmental impact in some of these studies.”

The congressman asserts that the workers would benefit from this change, as his proposal will allow non-exempt employees to receive overtime compensation for any hours worked over 32 hours.

Takano said, “At a time when the nature of work is rapidly changing, it’s incumbent upon us to explore all possible means of ensuring our modern business model prioritizes productivity, fair pay, and an improved quality of life for workers.”

He said, “I am introducing this legislation to reduce the standard workweek to 32 hours because—now more than ever—people continue to work longer hours while their pay remains stagnant. We cannot continue to accept this as our reality. Many countries and businesses that have experimented with a four-day workweek found it to be an overwhelming success, as productivity grew and wages increased.”

There have been a number of companies and countries experimenting with the four-day workweek. Microsoft Japan tried a shorter workweek program, called “Work-Life Choice Challenge 2019 Summer.” The company gave its 2,300 employees the opportunity to “choose a variety of flexible work styles, according to the circumstances of work and life.” The goal of management was to see if there would be a corresponding increase in productivity and morale when hours are cut down. The results of the experiment were extremely positive, indicative that workers were both happier and 40% more productive.

Spain previously announced that it would experiment with a trial four-day workweek. The Spanish government agreed to a 32-hour workweek over three years without cutting workers’ compensation. The pilot program was intended to reduce employers’ risk by having the government make up the difference in salary when workers switch to a four-day schedule.

Íñigo Errejón Galván, a Spanish political scientist and politician, serving as a member of the 14th Congress of Deputies, said, “With the four-day workweek (32 hours), we’re launching into the real debate of our times.” Galván added, “It’s an idea whose time has come. Spain is one of the countries where workers put in more hours than the European average. But we’re not among the most productive countries. I maintain that working more hours does not mean working better.”

Japan is following Spain’s lead. The country is considering implementing a four-day workweek. It’s somewhat surprising given Japan’s hustle-porn work culture—as bad or worse than America’s propensity to work incredibly long hours with little or no vacation time.

The strenuously long hours that salarymen put in led to death by overwork. It’s so commonplace that Japan has a term for it, karōshi. In 2014, Japanese parliament passed a law to promote countermeasures against the phenomenon and concerning trend of suicide. “The government is really very keen for this change in attitude to take root at Japanese companies,” said Martin Schulz, chief policy economist at Fujitsu’s global market intelligence unit. The recommendation that companies adopt an optional shorter workweek is meant to support employees who want to further their education, take care of family members or simply to go out, spend money and even meet others, as Japan’s population ages and shrinks.

Sanna Marin, a Finnish politician who has been the prime minister of Finland since December 2019, previously promoted shortening the amount of time people work. Marin put forth the idea of companies adopting a flexible six-hour day and a four-day workweek at a panel discussion before she became prime minister. Marin said, “I believe people deserve to spend more time with their families, loved ones, hobbies and other aspects of life, such as culture. This could be the next step for us in working life.”

Unilever, a British multinational consumer goods company, headquartered in London, previously embarked upon a test of the four-day workweek. The food and consumer-staples giant chose New Zealand as the test-case location. This study is the natural progression of experimenting with different types of work and life accommodations at the company. The employees will be compensated for a full five days, although they’re only working for four. Nick Bangs, the managing director of Unilever in New Zealand, said, “We hope the trial will result in Unilever being the first global company to embrace ways of working that provide tangible benefits for staff and for business.”

A recent study of 2,500 workers in Iceland, more than 1% of the workforce, was conducted to see if shortened work days leads to more productivity and a happier workforce. The trials were made across an array of different types of workplaces. Iceland, similar to nordic countries such as Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, offers generous social services for their citizens. They have a strong healthcare system, income equality and paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers. Iceland differs from their neighbors as the country has longer working hours.

Between 2015-2019, Iceland conducted test cases of a 35-36 hours workweek without any calls for a commensurate cut in pay. To ensure quality control, the results were analyzed by Autonomy and the Association for Sustainability and Democracy. Based upon the stellar results, Icelandic trade unions negotiated for a reduction in working hours. The study also led to a significant change in Iceland. Nearly 90% of the working population now have reduced hours or other accommodations. Worker stress and burnout lessened. There was an improvement in work-life balance among the respondents.

Andrew Barnes is the founder of New Zealand-based financial services firm Perpetual Guardian. Barnes previously implemented a four-day-workweek at his company. The results were so positive that he embarked upon a campaign to get other companies to join him.

Barnes and his partner, Charlotte Lockhart, started a movement to get corporations to change the traditional workweek to only four days. Barnes and Lockhart are in the forefront of the four-day-workweek revolution. The forward-thinking executives established the 4 Day Week Global Foundation to fund research into the future of work and workplace wellbeing. It’s intended to be a multinational coalition moving companies towards widespread adoption of a four-day workweek.

The duo pointed out that last year shattered the myth of people needing to trek into the office every single day. It’s high time that we confront other work taboos too. In addition to the four-day workweek, the two leaders of the movement say that companies can be creative and innovative. The post-pandemic future of work could also include four or five-hour workdays, half days and staggered flexible schedules where people come and go based on their lifestyle needs, as well as hybrid and remote models.

Aziz Hasan, the CEO of crowdsourcing platform Kickstarter, is one of the first companies to commit to the pilot program. “Kickstarter has a history of thoughtfully approaching the way we design our workplace. As we build a future that is flexible, we see testing a four-day workweek as a continuation of that spirit and intention,” Hasan said in a company statement.

“As workers become more and more productive, we deserve better pay and more time off,” said Richard Trumka, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). “Reducing overall working time without any reduction in pay—through shorter workdays and a four-day workweek—makes all the sense in the world because it spreads work hours to more workers and minimizes unemployment. This could be a key mechanism to help ensure that the benefits of technological progress are shared broadly by working people.”

This bill has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO, the Economic Policy Institute, Service Employees International Union, the National Employment Law Project and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Original cosponsors of this legislation include Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), and Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.).

It’s highly likely that companies will push back on this movement, as it will cost more money in worker compensation. The act itself is groundbreaking. It’s an example of how our collective mindset has changed over the pandemic. Once, remote work seemed only for a small fringe group.

A year-and-a-half experiment in working remotely clearly demonstrated that it was successful for both workers and companies. A shortened workweek would go a long way in helping people lead a better balance of work and life. We’ll also see pushes for 6-hour workdays, staggered and flexible work arrangements, more people choosing remote-work options, hybrid models and other programs.

Companies will benefit, as they’ll have a happier workforce that’s appreciative and motivated. Employees who are treated well will likely work harder, which would then enhance productivity and profits.

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