Can Flexibility and Productivity Coexist? Analyzing the Adoption of a Four - Day Work Week or a Hybrid Work Policy

The discussion of changing the standard work week of five days to four days has been a concept considered since the 1960’s. The general discourse has concerned the tension between productivity of workers increasing enough that a workplace would lose an extra day of work. This alone is a large discussion point, but ever since the advent of home computers, the option of hybrid work has contributed to complicating the discussion as well. These options give workplace managers and government legislators a difficult decision to make about allowing a four-day or hybrid work system. Questions regarding the effectiveness of these options have continued to rise in larger quantities since both of their conceptions. This paper seeks to analyze the benefits and consequences of both systems and provides a definitive answer which may be utilized by legislators and workplace managers when deciding to adopt either of these work options.