Sen. Bernie Sanders recently introduced a bill to reduce the standard U.S. workweek to 32 hours over four days as opposed to 40 hours over five days.

While the idea is gaining some traction now due to Sanders’ proposal, some companies within pockets of the corporate world have already implemented the move, writes Lizzy McLellan Ravitch for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

In Philadelphia, Insomnia Cookies has started giving its 100 full-time corporate employees Fridays off starting in January, citing mental health and work-life balance benefits.

Its chief marketing officer Tom Carusona has received positive feedback from employees, namely that “productivity is doing great” since the change. 

Philly Marketing Labs switched to a four-day week in 2021 and never looked back. The 12-person company had been a fully remote workplace since its founding in 2009.

However, when everybody went remote during COVID, the company wanted to find another way to stand out.

“We realized our clients were not very active on Fridays anyway,” said CEO Bechara Jaeudeh. 

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Acoustics, whose founder and CEO Felicia Doggett has run her company with a five-day workweek since 1990, is working on transiting to a four-day week.

The reactions throughout have been widely positive.

Read more about companies and employees embracing a four-day workweek at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

_____