Four Day Work Week For All

For too long, working people have been asked to do more with less: longer hours, stagnant pay, shrinking benefits, and less time with their families. Meanwhile, productivity has soared — but the people creating that value haven’t seen the return.
It’s time to rebalance the equation.
A four-day work week — without a pay cut — is one of the most transformative ideas in modern labor policy. And it’s not a fantasy. It’s working right now across industries, sectors, and countries. And we’re going to make it a reality here.

The five-day, 40-hour work week was a bold reform… in 1938. It hasn’t changed since. But everything else has — from technology to labor markets to family life.
It’s time our workweek caught up.
Here’s what the research shows:

• - A major 2022 UK study, involving over 60 companies and nearly 3,000 workers, found that a four-day work week:
• - Improved productivity for the majority of firms
• - Reduced burnout by 71%
• - Led to a 65% reduction in sick days
• - And caused no drop in revenue (https://www.4dayweek.com/uk-results)
• - In Iceland, four-day week trials covering 2,500 workers were declared “an overwhelming success,” leading to better work-life balance without loss of output (https://autonomy.work/portfolio/iceland/)
• - U.S. pilot programs are also yielding positive results in sectors from tech to manufacturing to government. Dozens of companies now offer 32-hour workweeks and report higher retention and lower stress.

We’ll push for federal legislation that does three key things:

1. 1. Create a Path to the 32-Hour Workweek
   • - Amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to define the standard workweek as 32 hours, not 40
   • - Require overtime pay for hours beyond 32 — creating a market incentive to shift schedules and reduce overwork
   • - Encourage public and private employers to adopt a 4-day structure voluntarily, with support during the transition
2. 2. Fund Pilots and Transition Support
   • - Establish a Four-Day Transition Fund to help small businesses pilot new schedules
   • - Provide grants for public sector trials (cities, school districts, agencies)
   • - Offer technical assistance to track productivity, worker satisfaction, and economic outcomes
3. 3. Protect Pay and Prevent Exploitation
   • - Require that pay and benefits are maintained in 4-day transitions
   • - Prohibit employers from cutting pay while increasing daily workload
   • - Enforce transparency and worker input in how new schedules are implemented

We are a district of educators, caregivers, transit workers, creatives, tech workers, and parents. We’re doing our best with the time we have — but time is exactly what’s been taken from us. A four-day work week would:

• - Reduce burnout and stress, especially for working parents and essential workers
• - Improve mental health and productivity
• - Create jobs by spreading hours more equitably across the workforce
• - Lower emissions through reduced commutes and office energy use
• - Give people their time back — to rest, to parent, to build, to live

Let’s be honest: not every job can compress hours easily. Nurses can’t just do 12-hour shifts forever. Some retail and service roles need coverage.

Instead, we’ll:

• - Set the 32-hour week as a standard, not a rigid requirement
• - Provide flexibility for sectors to design sustainable shifts
• - Incentivize innovation in scheduling, staffing, and training

This Is How We Build a Future That Works The economy doesn’t exist to serve spreadsheets. It exists to serve people.

A four-day work week isn’t about doing less — it’s about doing better. It’s about making work smarter, fairer, and more human. And it’s about using the gains of technology and productivity to benefit the people who create them — not just the CEOs. Let’s be bold. Let’s lead. Let’s win back our time.