What if working less could actually mean achieving more? The four-day workweek has emerged from pandemic-era workplace experiments as perhaps the most promising innovation in how we structure our professional lives in decades. But misconceptions abound about what this shift really means and whether it's sustainable for businesses beyond a temporary feel-good measure.

Professor Juliet Schor, economist and sociologist at Boston College, joins us to share groundbreaking research from hundreds of companies that have implemented four-day workweeks without cutting pay. Her findings challenge everything we thought we knew about productivity, burnout, and work culture. Most companies aren't just compressing the same work into fewer days—they're fundamentally rethinking how work gets done.

The data tells a compelling story: 70% of employees report reduced burnout, while companies see dramatically lower turnover rates and maintained or improved productivity metrics. Perhaps most surprising is that 90% of organizations continue with four-day schedules a year after implementation. We explore the "100-80-100 model" (100% of pay for 80% of the time, delivering 100% of productivity) and how it creates what Professor Schor calls a "forcing function" that eliminates inefficient workplace practices many organizations have tolerated for decades.

From manufacturing floors to professional services, from startups to established institutions, the four-day workweek is proving viable across industries—though with important variations in implementation. We examine how companies make the transition, common pitfalls to avoid, and why Europe is leading this global movement. Professor Schor also addresses concerns about equity, sharing how shortened workweeks are actually improving gender equality at home and work.

As AI threatens to displace workers across industries, could reducing hours per job rather than eliminating positions be our best path forward? Join us for a fascinating exploration of how rethinking our relationship with work time might be the key to a more productive, sustainable, and humane future of work.

Link to Professor Schor's latest book: Four Days a Week. The Life-Changing Solution for Reducing Employee Stress, Improving Well-Being, and Working Smarter.

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