Ford's Introduction of the 5-Day Workweek Changed After 100 Years... The 4-Day Workweek Experiment Creates a Stir [Jjinbit]

[The 4-Day Workweek Era①]
100 Years After the Introduction of the 5-Day Workweek, Discussions Ignite Amid COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] "The five-day workweek is not the final form. Even the eight-hour workday is not."

‘Automobile King’ Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, said this on September 25, 1926 (local time) when he announced the eight-hour workday, 40-hour workweek, and five-day workweek system.

He changed the working pattern, which was based on 12 hours a day and six days a week at the time, to expand consumption by guaranteeing workers' leisure time, shortening working hours without reducing wages. The five-day workweek, which started with Saturdays and Sundays off, spread worldwide.

This working environment, which has lasted nearly 100 years, is undergoing change. Detroit Free Press, a local media outlet in Detroit, reported on the 9th that Ford is experimenting with a 10-hour workday, four-day workweek while maintaining the same wages. 'The Era of the Four-Day Workweek'

Workers are operating at the Ford plant in Highland Park, Michigan, USA, in 1913 (left photo), and on the assembly line at the Ford plant in River Rouge, Detroit, Michigan, USA, in 1934. (Photo source = The Henry Ford website)

The concerns surrounding the ‘Future of Work’ that started with COVID-19 have ignited discussions about the four-day workweek. Experiencing various work styles such as remote and hybrid work, and the introduction of new technologies like video conferencing and the metaverse into the workplace, changes in perceptions about work, productivity, and workers’ well-being have become the foundation for discussions on introducing new work systems.

Experiments are ongoing worldwide to introduce a realistic four-day workweek that satisfies the three main stakeholders: government, companies, and workers.

◆ Bursting out in the UK, US, Japan, and around the world

From this month, over 3,300 workers at 70 companies in the UK are experimenting with the four-day workweek. Led by the international nonprofit organization ‘4 Day Week Global,’ large-scale four-day workweek experiments involving thousands of participants will follow in Australia and the Netherlands in August, and in the US and Canada from October.

The core is to reduce working hours to 80% while maintaining productivity and wages as before. This experiment will involve not only companies but also professors from prestigious universities such as Boston University and Oxford University, conducting academic research alongside. Ford, which is considering introducing the four-day workweek, is reportedly paying close attention to these research results.

Scenes from the international conference on the four-day workweek held in Valencia, Spain, on the 27th-28th of last month (Photo source = Non-profit organization 'Four Day Week Global' Twitter)

Experiments to introduce the four-day workweek are also pouring in at the national level. Belgium amended its law in February to allow the introduction of the four-day workweek by adjusting the maximum daily working hours from 8 hours to 9 hours and 30 minutes, changing regulations to allow increasing daily working hours while reducing the number of working days.

In April, a bill was introduced in the California State Assembly to mandate a four-day, 32-hour workweek without wage cuts for workplaces with more than 500 employees. If passed, about 2,600 California companies and one-fifth of the state’s workforce will be affected.

Japan, known for its conservative work environment, also pushed for the ‘selective four-day workweek’ last year, led by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, allowing employees who wish to work four days a week while permitting a 10-20% salary reduction.

With government involvement, large Japanese companies such as Panasonic and Hitachi are also introducing selectable four-day workweek systems for employees who want them. In Spain, a three-year four-day workweek experiment began last year with companies applying to participate, with the government partially subsidizing the costs. Additionally, experiments have been conducted earlier in Iceland and France, and discussions on further reducing weekly working hours are ongoing.

South Korea is no exception. Woowa Brothers, operator of Baedal Minjok, introduced a 32-hour workweek this year. Having led the reduction of working hours domestically since implementing a 35-hour workweek in 2017, Woowa Brothers now starts work at 1 p.m. on Mondays and finishes at 6 p.m., while further reducing daily working hours from Tuesday to Friday compared to before.

Kakao will also implement a four-day workweek from next month, introducing a ‘biweekly Friday off’ system. Large companies like SK Telecom are expanding their ‘Happy Friday’ off-work system, which was held once a month, to twice a month starting this month.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆ Why is the four-day workweek discussion accelerating now?

The reason why discussions to shift from the nearly 100-year-old five-day workweek to a four-day workweek are pouring out like this is that the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for changes in the work environment. Especially during the adoption of remote work, the boundary between work and life blurred, and as more employees complained of burnout symptoms, it became an opportunity to reconsider the relationship between productivity and working hours. Along with the spread of flexible work systems, employees’ demands for well-being have grown.

A survey conducted by the US job site Indeed in April last year of 1,500 American workers found that 52% of respondents experienced burnout. Considering that 43% responded the same before COVID-19, this is an increase of nearly 10 percentage points.

Organizational psychologist Stephanie Bolster McCann told the US economic magazine Fast Company, "Science has gone beyond saying that 40 hours a week is good for physical labor on the human body," adding, "Mental labor is a completely different game. Thinking is very hard and requires a lot of energy."

Additionally, the emergence of various technologies improving the work environment, such as video conferencing platforms like Zoom and IT messengers, has also contributed to discussions on introducing the four-day workweek. These technological improvements can help seek productivity expansion.

Moreover, the background behind companies considering the four-day workweek includes talent acquisition strategies. In response to the Great Resignation movement that started with COVID-19 and employees’ demands for flexible work, companies are actively considering introducing the four-day workweek.

Brian Kropp, head of HR research at Gartner, told Fast Company, "The war for talent is very fierce. Companies are tired of raising wages by 20% every six months," explaining, "Rather, reconsidering the 40-hour workweek and saying, ‘We won’t pay you more, but we will reduce your working hours,’ becomes one way to secure talent."

Editor's Note[Jjinbit] is short for 'Jeong Hyunjin’s Business Trend' and 'Real Business Trend,' a corner that shows trends in corporate management such as organizational culture and personnel systems. Based on analyses from foreign media and major overseas institutions that have not received much attention, we will deliver fresh and differentiated information and perspectives.