IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jadmsc/v15y2025i3p114-d1616368.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From Five to Four: Examining Employee Perspectives Towards the Four-Day Workweek

Author

Listed:
  • Mahek Jitendra Jain

    (School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK)

  • Niki Chouliara

    (School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Holly Blake

    (School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2HA, UK
    NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK)

Abstract

The concept of a four-day workweek (4DWW) has gained traction as organisations explore ways to improve employee well-being and productivity. This study investigates the opportunities, challenges, and perceived feasibility of adopting a 4DWW in the UK, from the perspective of employees on five-day schedules. A qualitative research design was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with 14 participants from diverse sectors, including education, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. A thematic analysis identified the key benefits, concerns, and contextual influences at an employee, organisational, and wider system level. Switching to a 4DWW was seen as an opportunity to enhance work–life balance and promote employees’ well-being and job satisfaction. Concerns were raised about increased workload pressure, coordination difficulties, and financial viability, particularly in roles requiring continuous operations. Findings highlighted the role of strong leadership and clear governmental policy frameworks to support 4DWW adoption and sustained implementation.

Suggested Citation

  • Mahek Jitendra Jain & Niki Chouliara & Holly Blake, 2025. "From Five to Four: Examining Employee Perspectives Towards the Four-Day Workweek," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-13, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:114-:d:1616368
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/3/114/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/3/114/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Timothy T. Campbell, 2024. "The four-day work week: a chronological, systematic review of the academic literature," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 1791-1807, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:114-:d:1616368. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.