San Diego company implements fourday work week as concept gains traction globally
Oct 29, 2024
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A new study out of Iceland is highlighting the success of a four-day work week.
That concept has never been widely implemented here in the United States, but one San Diego company recently made the change.
After employment in the COVID-era kept so many people at home, Ludo Boinnard knew being back in the building full-time wouldn’t work for everyone. This summer, his company 100Percent, a leader in sports performance goggles and sunglasses, implemented a four-day work week.
"Increased communication, collaboration, and people are really feeling more responsible with their time. For their Friday they can go ride their bikes, do some sports, spend some time with family," said Boinnard, CEO and cofounder of 100Percent.
The shorter work week is gaining traction across the globe. A study by the Autonomy Institute in the United Kingdom and Iceland’s Association for Sustainability and Democracy found the country’s economy is outperforming most others in Europe after introducing the four-day model with no change in pay.
Most people believe this results in four, 10-hour days, but in Iceland and at 100Percent workers are putting in 32 hours. Employee benefits and time off stay the same.
"We are profitable anyway and it’s not changing anything. We are still able to do the job in four days, it for sure puts a responsibility on every team and everybody is responsible for their job to be done," Boinnard said.
The four-day work week has been experimented with around the world, including a successful trial in 2022 that involved 33 companies mostly in the United States and Ireland.
Many wonder if the idea will ever catch on long term here in the U.S. Boinnard weighed in on the future of the concept.
"Maybe if we get the pure bottom line profit out of the way and say 'yeah, we’re profitable and yes, the owners and shareholders are happy. Do they need more money to be happy or is that good?'"
A bill to introduce a 32-hour, four-day work week has been introduced in Congress, but never garnered any substantial support from lawmakers.