For my research essay, I will be determining why a work week should only consist of 4 days. The 5 day work week is something we are all accustomed to and something we never question. Yet at one point, people would be working for six or seven days a week thinking the same about their work week and never questioning it. Though it’s not regarded as the first widespread use of a 5 day workweek, in 1908, a five day work week was implemented at a New England cotton mill so that Jewish workers would not have to work on the Sabbath. Later on in 1922, Henry Ford would create a 5 day 40 hour work week as a trail of concept, that would later be institutionalized throughout the country with the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938.

There has never seemingly been an issue with the five day work week since it’s introduction. But now that technology and advancements in society are vastly different than that of the early 20th century, some have started to doubt whether it is necessary to have a five day work week. In recent news, some facilities are even out on strike demanding 4 day work weeks with the same salary and same hour long days, essentially cutting work time and keeping the same benefits. I agree with these people in the regard that this day-in-age, we are able to work less and since the productivity has increased in the last hundred years, still receive the benefits that were previously given while working five days a week.

Source 1 – Hedges, Janice Neipert. “A Look at the 4-Day Workweek.” Monthly Labor Review, vol. 94, no. 10, 1971, pp. 33–37

Background – This source from google scholar is a history and argumentative piece written in 1971 about the 4 day work week. It goes in depth on the topic of why hours of a work day are the way they are and how they have changed throughout the years. It also goes into what appears to be the first years that people have began to push for a 4 day workweek instead of five and pros and cons for either side of the argument.

How I plan to use this – I plan to use the historical evidence given in this paper as grounds for my argument and details that will help in establishing an understanding of my side to the reader. I will use this to dive into the background of the workweek and how it was set up in order to connect it with the changes that should be happening today.

Source 2 – Peirce , Philip S, et al. “The 4-Day Work Week – ProQuest.” Www.proquest.com, 1 Feb. 1974,

Background – This article from google scholar is a case study done by nurses in mental hospitals. In the study, nurses were broken into groups, and divided into seperate wings in the hospital. For one wing, nurses would work regular 5 day 40 hour weeks, and the other would be 4 day 40 hour work weeks. In the study that took place for five month, interesting results came out such as the amount of sick days were taken, overtime done, and performance increases.

How i plan to use it – I plan to use this case study as evidence to strengthen my argument. In the case study, there were enough participants and time for it to be a solid source to refute the other side of the argument and add facts that will back up what I plan to present.

Source 3 – Bird, Robert C. “Four Day Work Week, Old Lessons, New Questions”

Background – This is a paper written in 2009 that goes in depth on the new age style of work and benefits of the shortened work weeks. If brings up the styles of 4/32 and 3/36 style work weeks referring to the days and hours per week. HE goes into the different meanings of 4 day work week and how it could be 4/36 or 4/40 and what people may think is the difference. He then goes into some history and how in the 1700s people would work a 6 day 96 hour work week.

How I plan to use it- I plan to pull information from this paper as I see fit in my paper. If there is something lacking in my paper due to lack of historical evidence, I will be able to refrance back to this article and gather the evidence needed to strengthen my side.

Source 4 – Liu, Jennifer. “Workers Report a 4-Day Workweek Improves Health, Finances and Relationships: It “Simply Makes You Happy.”” CNBC, 24 Feb. 2023,

Background – This article is from CNBC, not from google scholar. This article goes into studies and trials done in the UK in 2022 experimenting with 4 day work weeks. It goes into details such as carbon footprint, workers health and companies level of success while performing in the study. The basis of the study was to work 80 percent of the time while reciving 100 percent of the pay from before and keeping productivity at 100 percent of the previous 5 day work schedule. When the study was over 59 of the 61 companies who participated said they would be continuing the 4 day work schedule.

How I plan to use this – This is the most recent study performed with a vastly large pool of information regarding the benefits of a 4 day work week. I will use the study to go into the modern effects of a 4 day schedule and be able to provide evidence of companies that have and will continue to use this. This will also be able to provide a grounds to the modern workers in america that are on strike to work less while receive the same benefits.

Source 5 – Samuel Crowther “Henry Ford – Why I Favor 5 Days Work with 6 Days Pay”

Background – This was written in 1926 detailing the plan that Henry Ford had set out to create with the five day work week. HE goes into the jobs it will apply to and the workers hours and pay. It is a plan in which he details over every aspect of what he believes the 5 day work week should look like and presented this to the Labor Association which was later published in a lit of proposals of what a shortened work week should consist of at the time.

How I plan to use this – I will use this a baseline of my argument, comparing his thoughts of how a week should be planned out back then to the differences that can be made up due to modern advancement. This will be a good source to further expand on as he was the one proposing a shortened week just as I am. If I can use this to further strengthen my paper, It will be of great use to this paper.

Source 6 – “25+ Warehouse Energy Consumption Statistics – Meteor Space.” Www.meteorspace.com, 5 Jan. 2023, http://www.meteorspace.com/25-warehouse-energy-consumption-statistics-you-need-to-know/.

Background – This article is a general overview of power consumption statistics of many companies throughout the US that use warehoused or other large facilities. It gives percentages in comparison to money spent throughout the year for energy of specific buildings that may be used for large companies.

How I plan to use this – I have used this to further back my claim in which having less work day will greatly reduce the power consumed by a company that operates on a large scale. In doing so, the company would save a substantial amount of money on operating costs due to nearly a quarter reduction of the money spent on electricity.

Source 7 – Vittert, Liberty. “A Four-Day Workweek Would Destroy Everything That Made America Great.” The Hill, 4 Oct. 2023, thehill.com/opinion/finance/4228933-a-four-day-work-week-would-destroy-everything-that-made-america-great/.

Background – This article is one that disputes having a four day work week. In the article, the author goes over a few different scenarios such as the japan economic crisis in the last 1980s and the trial run of a four day work week in Microsoft. The claim of this autho is that ahving a four day work week would cause an influx of companies going bankrupt and overall an economic crisis in the US.

How I plan to use this – I plan to make this my leading claim in the rebuttal argument. I will use the claim that having less work days would cause companies to spiral into a downfall and further cause economic problems as my leading counter than dispute these claims using other articles.

Source 8 – Gatlin-Keener, Courtney, and Ryan Lunsford. Four-Day Workweek: The Microsoft Japan Experience. 2019.

Background – This paper is a detailed analysis on the trial that was run by Microsoft in a Japanese branch. It details the trial very closely, taking in account the financial impact, impact on the workers, and overall impact on the companies ability to operate.

How I plan to use this – I will pull directly from the data presented in this analysis such as price impact and cost saved by decreasing the amount of days spent operating the office. It will be a main counter to that of the previous article claiming a day off would negatively impact the finances of a company.

Source 9 – Orr, Evelyn. “Microsoft’s Latest Innovation: The 4-Day Workweek.” Www.kornferry.com, http://www.kornferry.com/insights/this-week-in-leadership/microsoft-four-day-workweek-employee-engagement.

Background – This article is written from a reporter point of view on that same trial from Microsoft Japan. In the article, it is presented as less of a fact based article while still using the data concluded from the previous analysis. The article allows for the readers speculation on the subject and points them in the direction of the future of the four day work week and how it will progress over time.

How I plan to use this – I will use this to backup the claims of the analysis while gathering multiple sources of the same subject so that the information can be reliably traced and backup further claims that can be drawn from the trial.

Source 10 – Cooper, Kenneth . “The $2,000 Hour: How Managers Influence Project Performance through the Rework Cycle.” Project Management Journal, vol. XXV, no. 1, Mar. 1994.

Background – This article goes over the rework cycle and how important it is to have valuable work time instead of just clocking in and clocking out. It goes over different business models and how someone can work long hours and get no work done and at the same time, someone else can work only a few hours and get a days worth of work done. This is where the 2000 dollar hour comes in to play, as a person is only as valuable as the amount of work they can produce, not so much the amount of time they spent producing that work.

How I plan to use this – I plan to use this as a supporting claim in why working less hours per week will not hinder the production or ability a company has to complete their tasks. It is rarely the case that everyone is working at 100 percent efficiency for the time that they are at work. Along with other supporting evidence, I will use this claim to back the claim of working more efficiently will keep and even further the growth of a company, as less time at work will also motivate the workers to want to stay at that company and continue work there.