The climate benefits of a four-day workweek

By Giada Ferraglioni and Sergio Colombo

21st February 2023

There's growing interest in the benefits of a four-day workweek for productivity and employee wellbeing,
but the picture is more complicated when it comes to climate change.

Last year, Tyler Grange, a newly born environmental consultancy, took what some would see as a radical
step towards workers wellbeing by trying out giving all employees a fifth of their workweek off. The
company joined the world's biggest ever four-day workweek trial, which took place in the UK from June
to December 2022. The pilot aimed to assess whether companies could maintain productivity with a
reduced working time – and, importantly, with no loss in pay for employees.

Managers and workers at Tyler Grange celebrated the breakthrough with enthusiasm, with their results
showing daily productivity rose by 22%. But Ursell, one of the co-founders of the company, was also
keen to measure another outcome: the impact of the shorter workweek on the company's carbon footprint.
And the four-day workweek turned out to be surprisingly good for this too, he says.

"On average we saw a 21% reduction in the number of miles travelled by car," he notes with a cheerful
smile. Tyler Grange cut out meetings and travel that were unnecessary. Many employees used their
additional days off to become even more involved in climate volunteering.

The conversation around the four-day workweek is gaining momentum all over the world. The non-profit
which coordinated the UK trial, 4 Day Week Global, had already carried out pilots in the US and Ireland,
while the public sector in Iceland and companies in Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Japan and New Zealand
have all tested the impact of a shorter workweek.

But the UK trial was the biggest yet, involving more than 60 firms and organisations. The final results
were published on 21 February, and some of the companies are making bolder claims supporting what
previous studies suggested: a shorter workweek could help the planet.

Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College and lead researcher at 4 Day Week Global
who worked on both the UK and US pilots, argues that a shorter working week is key to achieving the
carbon emissions reductions the world needs.

"Although climate benefits are the most challenging thing to measure, we have a lot of research showing
that over time, as countries reduce hours of work, their carbon emissions fall," she says. A 10% reduction
in hours is associated to an 8.6% fall in carbon footprint, according to a study co-authored by Schor in
2012.

Both the UK and US trails also found that many people spent the time saved from not commuting or
working engaged in low-carbon activities, such as hiking or stay-at-home hobbies. The UK data also
showed that the shift to a shorter workweek led to an increase in pro-environmental behaviours:
participants in the trial spent more time volunteering for environmental causes and were more careful
with recycling and buying eco-friendly products.
Improving efficiency by avoiding overwork is the point of the four-day workweek. And efficiency is also
about energy. More days off could result in more energy-efficient employees, says Laura White, projects
and research manager at Waterwise. "People are mindful when they're at home, because they're ultimately
paying the bill."

Some experts observe that a reduction in working hours might pose other risks for the environment.

Predicting how all people will use that extra day is tricky. People could jump on a highly polluting
international flight to celebrate their fully paid Friday off. "A three-day weekend could lead to a greater
consumption of carbon-intensive goods and services," says Anupam Nanda, professor of urban economics
and real estate at the University of Manchester, UK. "If you end up taking a plane or driving a hundred
miles for leisure activities, that can hardly help tackle the climate crisis."

That's why underestimating the risk of an increase in leisure-related emissions isn't a good idea, says
Gerold from Brandenburg University. "There is not much empirical evidence, you don't really know how
people would use their extra time."

This means additional policies are needed to frame people's leisure time, says Gerold. Nanda agrees. "We
should invest in green infrastructure," he says. "Eco-friendly facilities and neighbourhood green spaces
should be created across urban areas too in order to encourage people to spend their free time in a
sustainable way."

Still, despite the rising number of trials, there remains too little data to fully understand what the

More pilots are needed to get accurate data, says KT McBratney, founder of OwnTrail, a tech startup that
participated in the US trial. "Firms have a duty to join these initiatives to give a boost to the research."

Sometimes, employers only need a little push, and that's where government action comes into play.
"Political action is needed in order to drive such a big change. National governments must show the way,"
says Frey. The Spanish government recently confirmed it will pay up to €150,000 ($159,000/£133,000) to
small and medium enterprises that test the four-day week.

Government support could materialise in other ways too, says Frey, such as reducing by law the
maximum limit of work hours, or acting as a pioneer itself. "The public sector is one of the biggest
employers in all European countries," he says. "If it offers a four-day week, private companies will have
to stay competitive to attract employees."

Still, the more companies that themselves venture into this territory; the more governments will be
pressed to act. "These pilot programmes are really important to push the political agenda, especially if
climate benefits enter the conversation," says Gerold.

The four-day week also has an edge over many other climate solutions: it's not perceived as a sacrifice.
"A shorter workweek with no loss in pay is joyful, " says Leland. "It's something that we all want."

Adapted from:
Ferraglioni, G. & Colombo, S. (2023, February 21). The climate benefits of a four-day workweek. BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230220-is-a-4-day-workweek-good-for-the-climate