Much has been written about the benefits of a four-day workweek, but there is one forgotten perk of this arrangement that could help businesses become more sustainable.
According to advocates of the model, transitioning to a shorter workweek can help businesses achieve climate-related goals.
With employees cutting down on their commutes and time spent working, businesses can reduce their carbon footprint, energy usage and adopt a proper ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) strategy.
Studies have supported these claims too, with one study finding that countries who reduced their work hours by 10% could see their carbon footprint and carbon dioxide emissions fall by 14.6% and 4.2%, respectively.
“The one thing we do know from lots of years of data and various papers and so forth is that the countries with short hours of work tend to be the ones with low emissions, and work time reductions tend to be associated with emission reduction,” said Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College.
Not only do decreased commutes eliminate carbon emissions, it also encourages employees to consume less when they are working from the comfort of their homes. This means less energy usage and more reusable products.
However, this makes the assumption that these workers will spend their reduced work time participating in environmentally-friendly practices, which may not always be the case.
“There’s no one arguing that the four-day workweek is a silver bullet that will address all of our environmental concerns in one go — far from it,” said Joe O’Connor, CEO of nonprofit group 4 Day Week Global. “But can it be a very powerful enabler and a very powerful contributor? I think absolutely it can.”