Could a four-day work week be in your future?

Imagine a world where you work four days a week instead of five. California has the opportunity to make that a reality.

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On February 22, assembly members Cristina Garcia and Evan Low proposed Assembly Bill #2932. This bill would amend Section 510 of the Labor Code, relating to employment.

The bill proposes that companies with more than 500 employees should cut the 40-hour workweek to 32 hours. Employees who work any longer than that are to be paid time and a half.

Odessa Jenkins, president of Emtrain, speaks on her decision to transition to the 4-day work week.

ODESSA JENKINS: We started the four-day workweek in July and we operate on a four-day workweek. Although our office is technically open from nine to five, we really work in all time zones according to the needs of our clients.

In our work-centered world, burnout is a common and ever-increasing phenomenon. With employees spending less time at work and more time doing what they want to, life may become just a bit more bearable.

4dayweek Global, a nonprofit that assists companies in transitioning into the 4-day workweek model, says “78% of employees with 4 day work weeks are happier and less stressed.”

JENKINS: When I talk about Work-Life Balance, I just think about bringing as much of my healthy, optimistic self to work, I am more likely to be able to achieve the thing the company is asking me to.

Aside from the obvious benefit of having to spend less time at work, there is an argument made that employees can be more productive within the shorter hours.

JENKINS: There’s been hundreds of hundreds of studies on people who are more optimistic in more control that are happier and that are passionate about a thing.

Some companies have already implemented the 4-day work week into their corporate structure.

One such company is Emtrain, a bay area based company that offers online HR, Compliance, and Harassment training.

JENKINS: Frankly, we were trying to be proactive. So it was it was even less about the symptoms we saw and more about what we wanted to deliver to and train employees, which we wanted to show them in our policies and show them in the way we operate the business, that we respect them, that we respect their time, that we want them to have work more work-life balance.

However, the execution of the four-day workweek also presents some challenges.

JENKINS: We work in a really flexible environment when it comes to servicing our clients. So there are some cases that don’t fit into our standard workweek where we have to have hard conversations with clients about not meeting on a Friday or coming back to them on a Monday.

At the end of the day, the bill’s fate has yet to be decided. So, in the meantime, enjoy your work-filled Fridays and stay posted if that changes.