# 4 day work week
19 moments across 3 episodes. Click any moment to jump straight to that part of the episode.
2:03Story 1: 200 UK Companies Commit to Permanent 4-Day Work WeekLeanne Elliott: 200 companies in the UK have committed to a 4-day work week. Yay! Al Elliott: That's good news Leanne Elliott: It really is. According to a report I saw in The Guardian, 200 companies across the UK have nEP 168 · 4 Feb 2025·news roundup· 2:03–7:1615:19Tip 3: The 4-Day Work Week Is Not a Fad with Joe O'ConnorAl Elliott: Um, I first got interested in the 4-day week and shorter working weeks more generally all the way back in 2018, back when really the 4-day week, if we're being honest, was more of a philosophical discussion tEP 100 · 23 May 2024·other· 15:19–19:2612:48Why the 4-day work week matters right nowAl Elliott: Yeah, absolutely. Leanne Elliott: perspective, the 4-day work week could have a really big impact on protecting our planet. Al Elliott: Who knew? Well, I'm pretty sure that our guests knew because they're cleEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 12:48–16:4216:42Meet Joe O'Connor — the expert behind the global pilotLeanne Elliott: Oof. Al Elliott: I know. So it's a hot topic. So let's go meet our first guest. Joe O'Connor is the co-founder of the Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence. If you Google the 4-Day Work Week, I guarantEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 16:42–16:4218:05Meet Banks Benitez — CEO who made the leapLeanne Elliott: Our next guest is Banks Benitez. Excellent name. Banks runs Smart Work Week, which helps leaders of small organizations successfully transition to a 4-day work week. He did this himself with his previous EP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 18:05–21:0921:09Meet Fery Kaszoni — the entrepreneur's perspectiveAl Elliott: For the most part, and for the overwhelming majority of participants, employees that took part in these trials were happier and they were healthier. Employers that took part in the trials found that they wereEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 21:09–25:1525:15What kicked off the 4-day work revolution?Al Elliott: Absolutely. So I asked Banks, you know, what, what has kicked off this 4-day work revolution? Because it's something which we've only started— well, I've only started seeing about in the last sort of 18 monthEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 25:15–28:4828:48The operational first step: streamlining and prioritisingLeanne Elliott: Banks agrees with this and also mentions that it all comes down to prioritizing. Al Elliott: One, in my experience, is that the teams that are best able to move to a 4-day work week are ones that are gettEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 28:48–34:0934:09Why "4-day work week" might be the wrong nameAl Elliott: Now, what's interesting is that we always use this term 4-day work week, but Jo seems to think that it doesn't have to be full, like 20% reduction. It can basically be whatever you want it to be. Time reductiEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 34:09–37:1637:41The biggest pushback: "It won't work for my business"Al Elliott: Could not agree more. That is, yes, absolutely. And you know what's funny is one of the biggest pushbacks for the for why you couldn't do or why this person couldn't do the 4-day work week is they go, my busiEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 37:41–45:4645:46The employer brand and retention dividendAl Elliott: Keep that in. One of the things that doesn't seem to be talked about is how this improves the employer brand. We asked Joe what other knock-on effects this 4-day work week could have. One business that I workEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 45:46–50:4150:41The surprising wellbeing and sleep benefitsLeanne Elliott: Joe also found that it had an impact on wellbeing. Al Elliott: So one of the things that was actually observed within the trials was the amount of sleep that everyone participating was getting each night.EP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 50:41–54:2454:24Measuring productivity — and why you're being watchedLeanne Elliott: A couple of things there I think our experts pointed out beautifully. One, we have already gone through one of the most disruptive transformations and changes and shifts in how we work and how we operate EP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 54:24–56:2156:21When it doesn't work: pilots, reversals and lessons learnedAl Elliott: I've seen organizations reverse it temporarily. I've seen organizations trial it and it hasn't worked. I've seen organizations commit to it and even announce it and then get cold feet and not go ahead with thEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 56:21–61:2361:23The misconception about "working less"Al Elliott: You know, I think that this comes to another misconception that we find about the 4-day week, which is we're not talking about something that is really rigid where once you move to a 4-day week, you eliminateEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 61:23–65:5665:56AI, AutoGPT and the future of productivityLeanne Elliott: Yeah. Al Elliott: Here's the links, um, have a nice weekend, right? And that's how we simplify everything. They don't want meetings either, they just don't know it. Leanne Elliott: I remember listening toEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 65:56–70:1570:15"Some people will take advantage" — and why that's okayLeanne Elliott: I find that objection in general quite frustrating from leaders. that some people will take advantage. There'll be a 4-day work week, whether it be working from home, being fully remote, whether it be peoEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 70:15–72:5272:52If you're convinced: where to startAl Elliott: But that's life. Leanne Elliott: Someone's gonna break your heart. Al Elliott: It, do you know what? That's exactly the analogy I was gonna go with. Okay. So, um, if you are convinced at this point that 4, thEP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 72:52–76:4876:50Top takeaways and final thoughtsAl Elliott: Okay, so we have covered an awful lot here. We've talked about the problems with doing it, we've talked about the concerns around it, we've talked about what business models it does and doesn't work for, uh, EP 36 · 25 Apr 2023·other· 76:50–79:58
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