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Last Updated on May 5, 2023 by Daniella
Gone are the days of humans being overworked while chained to a desk.
People are no longer putting up with less than ideal working conditions, horrible bosses with more horrible pay, or companies throwing them empty promises. They are looking for more flexible work like remote work, freelance work, and work that allows them to have more of their time back while making a living.
We saw in the The Great Resignation that started in late 2020 and is still continuing on with a total of 47.8 million workers quit their jobs in 2021 alone. Workers are burnt out, and so are their leaders. It’s time to make a change in how we work.
Table of Contents
40 Hour Work Weeks vs. 4 Day Work Weeks
The 40 hour work week was created as a norm by The Great Depression. The government needed a shorter workweek as a way to fight the unemployment crisis. They would spread the remaining labor across more people which led to a series of laws for America’s workweek in 1940.
A lot has changed since 1940, including the jobs available and the technology we use to perform our jobs. We can now do more in less time, from wherever we are in the world. The 4 day work week proposes just that- a way for employees to reduce their work week to 4 days a week while getting paid the same and receiving that same benefits.
This environment would promote more independent work with fewer meetings, to boost productivity so the same workload can be achieved in 4 days a week. It would also promote better mental health across companies as employees get more time back for their mind to rest, spend time with their families, travel, and live their lives.
Countries like Belgium and the U.K. are just now piloting 4 day work weeks countrywide. Iceland has been a leading country in the 4 day work week movement since 2015.
Just a couple of months ago, a new bill AB-2932 Workweek was introduced in California for 3.6 million people to move to a 4 day work week.
Scotland and Wales will join in the 4 day work week movement in 2023.
The point is, the 4 day work week movement is catching on- and fast.
Is a 4 day work week still 40 hours?
In America, it currently depends on the company what the terms are of their specific 4 day work week policy.
Normally, the 4 day work week structure should be 32 hour weeks with no loss in pay nor benefits. However, you will see on 4dayweek.io, a site dedicated to searching for remote jobs at companies that have 4 day work weeks, they list jobs with a variety of policies.
Some companies offer 32 hour work weeks for 4 days of work with the same pay and benefits. Others offer 80% of pay with the same benefits for 32 hour work weeks.
Then, other companies listed will indicate 4 10 hour days and same pay with benefits. Others even list 3 day work weeks with 60% pay, which would be technically part-time work.
You can browse all of the companies currently hiring with 4 day work weeks on 4dayweek.io. Each will indicate their hours and pay in the job listing. For any other 4 day work week companies you apply to work at, be sure to read their 4 day work week policy to see what the hours are or ask them directly.
4 Day Work Week Companies That Offer Remote & Flexible Work
Awin
Awin as an affiliate marketing platform that we actually use. They trialed 4 day work weeks in December of 2020, and have been at 4 day work weeks ever since with no reduction in salaries. They also offer remote and distributed work.
You can browse their available jobs on their careers page.
Bit.io
Bit.io is a software company based out of San Francisco that trialed their 4 day work weeks back in 2019. Their test did so well, they’ve been at 4 day work weeks ever since. They found their productivity went up with their workload being finished in only 4 days, instead of 5.
Bit.io is not currently hiring, but you can periodically check their career’s page for when new jobs are posted.
Buffer
Buffer is a social media tool that helps you build your audience online. We actually use and love Buffer for our own social media management and scheduling.
They launched their 4 day work week in May 2020 and have been at 4 day work weeks ever since. They offer 32 hour weeks with no reduction in pay, remote work, benefits like health insurance, a home office stipend, 3 weeks vacation, profit sharing, 401k match, and more.
Buffer is not currently hiring but you can periodically check open positions on their careers page.
Basecamp
Basecamp is a software company out of Chicago that piloted 4 day work week as “summer hours” all the way back in 2008. They remain as a 4 day work week company to this day.
You can browse open positions at Basecamp on their jobs board.
DNSFilter
DNSFilter is a cybersecurity company that started experimenting with 4 day work weeks in the summer of 2021. They are not permanently a 4 day work week company offering 32 hour work weeks with no loss in wages or benefits.
They are also a 100% remote company.
You can look at their open jobs hiring using their careers section of their website.
Meilisearch
Meilisearch is an open source search engine and fairly new company. They currently offer 4 day work weeks as a benefit of theirs along with remote work and stock options.
You can browse their open positions on their careers page.
Form3
Form3 is a cloud-native payment processing platform. They’re a remote-first company, meaning they offer fully remote positions, and offer 4 day work weeks with 30 days of paid vacation.
You can browse their open positions on their careers page.
Upstatement
Upstatement is a digital brand and product studio offering 4 day work weeks. They are all about providing a creative environment where you can do your best work, are inclusive, and offer remote work.
You can browse their open positions on their careers page.
Panasonic
Panasonic started offering 4 day work weeks in January of 2022 as an optional benefit for employees. Their CEO Kusumi Yuki noted that their employees are free to use this time for further study, volunteer, or to even explore side hustles.
You can view all open jobs on Panasonic’s job board.
Related: 7 Tech Side Hustles That Pay Well ($50 an hour or more)
ThredUp
ThredUp is an online consignment store and thrift shop that piloted 4 day work weeks for their employees in 2021. And it stuck. The company still has 4 day work weeks to this day with 88 percent of their workers saying it has had a positive impact on the company.
You can browse open jobs on Thredup’s careers page.
The Financial Diet
The Financial Diet is an online financial platform where I’ve actually written a few pieces for. They moved to 4 day work weeks in November 2021 and expressed they are never going back.
They are not currently hiring but you can view any future open jobs on their website.
ElephantVentures
ElephantVentures has piloted 2 benefits that they swear has made their company better; remote work and 4 day work weeks. They are now fully remote and a 4 day work week company.
ElephantVentures is not currently hiring but you can send your resume here.
GooseChase
GooseChase is an app that offers real-world scavenger hunts. They initially offered 4 day work weeks in 2021 while calling them “Flock Fridays”. They allowed their employees to vote on keeping the 4 day work week and the vote was a yes.
Since then, they continue to be a 4 day work week company offering benefits like fully remote work, personal development funds, home office stipend, health benefits, and more.
You can browse open positions at GooseChase on Workable.
GoLinks
GoLinks is an enterprise management link solution that started introducing 4 day work weeks in February of 2022 and is now a benefit offered to all of their employees and future employees. They are also a fully remote company that offers other benefits like unlimited PTO, 401k retirement plan, healthcare coverage, remote work stipends, and more.
You can browse open jobs at GoLinks on their website.
Starship
Starship is a technology company that first dabbled with offering their employees the first Friday off of every month. Since then, they’ve moved on to 4 day work weeks permanently for their employees.
Starship is not currently hiring but you can view any future open positions on their LinkedIn.
Wildbit
Wildbit is a company that offers both remote work and 4 day work weeks as benefits to their employees. They honor 32 hour weeks with full salaries. Other benefits they offer are flexible hours, 20 days of paid vacation, profit sharing, paid family leave, and more.
Wildbit is not currently hiring but you can view all future open positions on their website.
Companies Currently Testing Out 4 Day Work Weeks
Several companies are currently testing out 4 day work weeks with the high likelihood of remaining that way after their trials.
Some of these companies are Kickstarter that started offering 4 day work weeks to their employees in April of 2022 and D’Youville that started their trial in January. They both are doing 32 hour work weeks with no reduction in pay or benefits.
Alternatively, companies are also trialing shorter working weeks in general. Are they doing it in an eventual effort to move to 4 day work weeks permanently? I assume so, but we shall see.
One of these companies are Mastercard that now offer half day fridays if you flex 40 hours throughout the week. You would front load your hours to the beginning of the week in order to get half the day off Friday.
They also offer flexible work with the ability to flex your 40 hours over 4 days and get Friday off if you negotiate it through their flexwork program.
How to Land a Job With a 4 Day Work Week
If you want to land a job with a 4 day work week, there are 2 ways you can go about it:
- Get a job at a 4 day work week company
- Negotiate for 4 day work weeks as a benefit with any new job or current job
To get a job at a 4 day work week company, use job search tools that specifically cater to those job listings like 4dayweek.io and this all inclusive 4 day work week companies list from the himalayas app to refer to for companies to so start searching their careers pages for open positions hiring.
Utilize the Google Job Search widget in your 4 day work week job search too. You can actually do this trick with any job search engine you use, whether it’s LinkedIn, FlexJobs, Indeed, or other.
Search in the search bar “4 day work week companies hiring” and then tweak the date filter on the jobs widget to the “past week” to see the most recent job postings.
In your job search, you can even include how you love their 4 day work week effort and how you also value better mental health among employees and overall company health with initiative like this. They will see you as an excited candidate that is interested in what they are doing as a company, and is also forward thinking like them.
If you want to negotiate for a 4 day work week as a benefit at a new or current employer that doesn’t yet offer it as a company-wide benefit, make sure you are looking for jobs that at least offer flexwork as a benefit. This will increase your chances of being able to negotiate for a benefit like a shorter workweek with being able to flex your hours to 4 days of the week.
Let’s say you try to negotiate for a higher salary but they can’t match it, you can counter negotiate for 4 day work weeks with the lower salary.
Use our negotiation scripts, resume template, and job search guides to help you further in your effort to pivot to remote and flexible work, and land the job.
More remote work articles:
- LGBTQ+ Career Resources
- 31 Best Work From Home Jobs Hiring Today
- Why Working From The Road Will Change Your Life
- 12 Remote Side Hustles and Where to Find Gigs
- How to Spot Work-From-Home Scams
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Daniella is the creator and author of iliketodabble.com. When their wife Alexandra and them aren’t globetrotting or playing with their 7+ animals, they are dabbling and working towards a future of financial freedom.