Town of Canton, Connecticut, the population 10,124, has been judging a four working days a week for its employees for nearly a month — and so far, it's been a success.
On September 16non-union city employees working in city hall, social services and senior services began taking Fridays off.
“I wanted to find a work-life balance for my employees because I think if you can take care of your personal belongings at home and not worry about meetings and taking care of your kids etc, then you'll be more laser focused at work,” Canton First Selectman Kevin Witkos told WTNH News on monday.
He added that city employees on the four-day schedule “love it” and “the response has been great” from residents.
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Council staff now work from 8am to 5pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and work an extra hour on Wednesdays from 8am to 6pm New senior and social services hours it's from 7:30 to 4:15. afternoons Monday through Thursday.
Administrators in the city's Department of Public Works and Police Department are also participating in the four-day work week, according to Witko. The trial period lasts four months, until January.
Canton BECOME UNITED other Connecticut towns, including Plainville, Redand Mansfield in implementing a four-day work week.
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Meanwhile, Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor told Kevin O'Leary in July that the company implemented a 4-day work week and they are “very productive” within these four days.
“I like the fact that people in our company have interests,” Taylor said.
Most people are willing to work more hours Monday through Thursday if they take Friday off. According to one Gallup Poll November 202377% of the US workforce are in favor of a 40-hour, 4-day work week and say it would positively affect their well-being.
The four-day work week has also had proven results. In June 2021, 70 companies in the UK experimented with it for six months. Most found that business productivity was about the same or slightly higher than it was with a standard five-day week.
Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said threshold in June, AI could help cut the work week down to three or four days.
“Why not spend more time with your family?” Yuan said. “Why not focus on some more creative things, giving back your time, giving back to the community and society to help others, right? Today, the reason we can't do that is because every day is busy, five days a week. It's boring.”
Related: Can't afford a 4-day work week? Instead, try a 35-hour