The demand for flexibility and balance among today’s workforce has led many companies to consider new alternatives to long-standing work models and norms. This includes considering a four-day workweek. But shifting to a shortened workweek introduces thorny questions and issues that must be addressed before moving forward.

In “The Four-Day Workweek Paradox,” we examined why organizations might consider this change, some practical examples for structuring shorter weeks, and strategic insights into how to increase the likelihood of getting a productivity payoff. In the current article, we examine some important nitty-gritty details that need to be worked through before and during your pilot phase.

In almost every case, these three overarching principles will help you hit the mark, while avoiding compliance and productivity pitfalls:

• Collaborating closely across human resources, legal departments, and operational leaders
• Testing your decisions and assumptions with a solid pilot program in which you capture good data on the results
• Over-communicating with employees about changes, reasoning, and results throughout the process

With those principles in mind, here are seven i-dotting, t-crossing, due diligence actions to implement a successful four-day workweek program.

First: Research the many and varied HR and legal implications

1. Double-check applicable labor and disability laws

Non-compliance with labor regulations and laws can lead to legal issues and financial penalties, knocking your four-day workweek test off the rails before it has a chance to get moving. Key areas worth scrutiny include labor and wage laws and anti-discrimination requirements.

Of course, organizations always have to adhere to applicable wage and hour laws, such as the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act or Japan’s Labor Standards Act, which establish requirements for wages and overtime.

Engaging with legal counsel to understand these types of requirements in detail is a must. HR will also need to clearly communicate these laws and their implications to all employees. Training in policies and practices would ensure they’re being applied consistently by all managers in all functions.

The pilot phase is a good time to document and regularly audit the real hours employees work—especially those who are non-exempt—to ensure your compliance plans are being adhered to and match up with business needs as you anticipated. A time-tracking system can ease the administrative burden. Salaried employees who aren’t accustomed to recording hours may need extra communication for why it’s now required.

Compliance with anti-discrimination laws—such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States or Sweden’s Discrimination Act—is also essential to ensure the transition to a four-day workweek does not disproportionately harm a certain group of employees. Employees with mental or physical limitations, for example, may be unable to work longer days or produce the same output in fewer working hours. (Conversely, some employees might claim that a four-day workweek with limited hours is a necessity, as in a 2023 lawsuit filed against Costco.) Again, consultation with legal counsel is wise in this potentially murky area.

2. Evaluate the effect on salaried worker compensation—including pay, benefits, and leaves

Compensation can be a big issue when setting up a four-day workweek, as it directly affects the financial well-being of employees and the overall payroll costs for the organization.

In most cases, businesses do not lower salaries even if hours are reduced. This is because the philosophy behind the reduced hours is that the same level of productivity is expected of each salaried worker, through higher efficiency.

However, in the rare cases in which less productivity is expected, some organizations may determine whether salaries or pay rates will be adjusted accordingly. If possible, though, pay cuts should be avoided to minimize dissatisfaction and turnover, unless employees feel they are receiving an equitable benefit in trade. (See sidebar below for an example.)

Benefits can be more complicated than pay. If benefits such as vacation or sick time are calculated based on the number of hours worked, for example, a reduction in work hours could reduce these benefits. Be sure to review benefits and leave policies and make any necessary adjustments to ensure that employees are not disadvantaged by the transition.

Your Pilot Project Results Might Surprise You

Every company is different.

Finnish mobile game company Fingersoft, with 110 employees in Oulu and Helsinki, wanted to explore flexible work hour options for its employees. The company reported that, through testing, it found “a better alternative” than a four-day workweek for its particular business.

In a year-long experiment in 2021 and 2022, about half of the employees chose to work either four eight-hour days or five six-hour days, with a slight reduction in pay. A third-party company used surveys to get employee feedback, and the results indicated that well-being and work/life balance improved significantly for participants in both models. But, overall, the six-hour workday was the more effective arrangement for Fingersoft. With the six-hour, five-day model, productivity remained almost the same, while the four-day approach saw a decrease in productivity. Based on the results, Fingersoft offered a permanent option for five six-hour days at the beginning of 2023. Employees working these hours are paid at 90% of their full salary.

Notably, Fingersoft’s results differ from other companies’ findings. Research by The Josh Bersin Company, for example, indicates that most organizations incur no loss of productivity when they reduce the number of hours worked per week, including in a four-day model. All of this illustrates the need for each organization to consider their own unique circumstances and employee needs when seeking to offer more flexibility.

3. Repeat this review for part-time and hourly employees

Since hourly workers’ compensation—including pay and benefits—is entirely based on hours worked, the effect of a four-day workweek may be quite different for them than for salaried workers. Questions to consider include the following:

• Will employees need to work longer shifts to achieve the required number of hours in fewer days?
• Will workers’ hourly rates need to be adjusted to ensure their total pay remains the same—as, for example, the United Auto Workers union has proposed?
• How will you handle overtime? Some hourly employees want more overtime, rather than less. How will their ability to achieve this extra time be affected by any policy or schedule changes?

To add more complexity, the definition and legal requirements around “overtime”—and even the definition used to calculate “time worked”—can differ not only by country, but even by region or state. In California, overtime starts after eight working hours in any single day, whereas it’s after 12 hours in Colorado. Other states start counting above 40 hours per week, rather than by day.

In addition to schedules, hourly pay, and overtime, you’ll also want to consider leave, sick pay, time off, and any other benefits, particularly those based on the number of hours accrued.

4. Review the effect on visas, such as the H-1B

Changes to the workweek could potentially affect the status of employees who are on visas.

For example, the H-1B visa in the United States requires full-time employment for the holder, and Department of Labor documents state that “in no event would less than 35 hours per week be considered full-time employment.” Other visas—including the L-I visa for intra-company transferees, the E-3 visa for Australian professionals, and the TN visa for Canadian and Mexican professionals under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—also all have specific requirements related to the nature and duration of employment.

It’s important to ensure that employees with visas are still in compliance with visa requirements, even with a reduced workweek. The shift may result in changes to your staffing, recruitment, or visa sponsorship programs.

Next: Take further actions in light of the information and decisions above

5. Review policies, employment contracts, and job descriptions

Based on the information from legal and policy reviews, you may need to modify current employee contracts as well as your workplace policies.

For example,

• Some contracts could specify a number of working hours or days that conflict with the planned four-day workweek.
• Vacation and sick leave policies also need to be synced with the new schedule.
• Official holidays may need consideration, again depending on the workweek structure you’ve chosen. If a holiday falls on a day when most or all four-day workers would already be off, you may choose to offer an additional day of paid leave, or reduce the working hours across the remaining days of that week.

Depending on your business, contractual agreements with external individual service providers and freelance workers are less likely to be affected, but still warrant a review. In some scenarios, for example, an outside contributor’s ability to complete tasks could be affected by a change in your employees’ schedules.

6. Assess potential cost savings and productivity gains

Once you have a handle on any potential changes to employee pay, benefits, and schedules, you can begin to draw a realistic bead on the overall financial implications for your company.

The transition to a four-day workweek could result in cost savings and productivity gains. For example, organizations may save on utilities and office supplies if the office is closed for an additional day each week. However, lost productivity could potentially offset these savings, as could a four-day option that’s taken by some employees but not others.

In addition, scheduling shifts and cutbacks in hours could lead to the need for hiring additional workers to fill gaps. And, in another twist, these changes may create opportunities for new revenue as well as improved operations. All in all, there are a wide variety of outcomes to assess, prepare for, and monitor.

• A BBC piece notes that Citizens Advice in Gateshead, England, invested in the equivalent of three additional full-time employees so that 45 contact-center staff could join the four-day workweek trial.
• At social media software company Buffer, a seemingly complex rejigging of customer support employee schedules ultimately resulted in narrower hours for support availability, but also higher customer satisfaction scores.
• In a study cited by Bamboo HR, the orthopedics department of a Swedish healthcare organization switched nurses to six-hour shifts, resulting in $123,000 in extra monthly costs. But, by bringing in 15 new employees to fill gaps, the department was able to extend surgical hours, boosting operations by 20% and cutting surgical wait times from months to weeks.

Clearly, the assessment of overall effect can be complex, incorporating a variety of positive and negative results.

Early, often, and throughout

7. Engage with employees—asynchronously, repeatedly, and empathetically

Employees will naturally have concerns about the effect on their workload, pay, and work-life balance. To address this, organizations must engage with employees early in the process, seek their input, and address their concerns. This could involve conducting surveys, holding town hall meetings, and providing opportunities for employees to ask questions and provide feedback.

Clear and effective communication is crucial as soon as planning begins. This includes communicating the reasons and goals for the change, the benefits for employees, and (eventually) the expectations for employees during the transition. Organizations should establish clear communication channels—e-mail, team meetings, and intranet updates—and ensure that all employees have access to the information they need, wherever and whenever they need it.

Interestingly, research by The Josh Bersin Company indicates that in condensed workweek settings, asynchronous communication becomes essential because different employees may be working different days or hours. This means that workers are likely to need additional communications support—not just about the four-day workweek, but in the course of their everyday work processes.

Allowing employees to control their notification preferences through project management tools can aid project-specific communications. Creating and documenting new norms about how these tools will be used is also important. “Along with reducing live meetings, embrace written or recorded status updates, which allow employees to consume the information at a time that works for them,” Bersin recommends. In addition, they suggest identifying urgent situations that may require issues to be expedited or escalated—being very specific about what would require an escalation, and who should be notified and when. “Defining what truly requires an escalation is important and can help to preserve employee focus during the workday, as well as employees’ days off if action can wait,” they write.

Pilot, learn, improve, thrive

The pilot phase is where the rubber meets the road. When you’ve done your due diligence, and established strong two-way communication channels, your four-day workweek pilot program will be as follows:

• Less likely to run afoul of regulations
• More data-informed
• Easier to fill with volunteer participants
• More likely to accurately reflect the real benefits and drawbacks of your proposed model
• Easier to evaluate and improve

However, that doesn’t preempt any need to make changes or guarantee that you won’t encounter unexpected hurdles. Indeed, “success” in the pilot phase is better defined by not just validating or invalidating your approach, but by fine-tuning it to offer the best possible outcome for the organization and its employees.

After all, that’s what makes the four-day workweek worth trying in the first place.

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