U of I expert sees no downside in four-day work week

Posted on March 6, 2023
University of Illinois labor and employment relations professor Bob Bruno says the concept is not new. (WJBC file photo)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The practice of the four-day work week is growing in Europe, and a University of Illinois expert sees no downside. And labor and employment relations professor Bob Bruno says the concept is not new.

“A good third or more of workers do not work Monday-through-Friday, and there is simply no evidence that we work better Monday-through-Friday for forty hours,” said Bruno, “and there is lots of evidence of extreme burnout, high worker dissatisfaction.”

Bruno says the four-day workweek does not harm productivity, and it does encourage employee retention – a couple of things employers embrace.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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