The four-day workweek has yet to go mainstream in the U.S. Instead, a growing number of tech companies, especially AI startups, have embraced the brutal “996” schedule, a practice borrowed from China’s tech industry: working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. But while many employees can only dream of a Saturday off, schools across the country are giving students a reprieve from the Monday morning blues with three-day weekends.
More than 2,100 schools in more than 850 districts across 26 states have made the switch to a four-day week, according to researchers at Oregon State University. Most are rural districts dealing with tight budgets and ongoing struggles to recruit and retain teachers. Now the war in Iran and the resulting surge in oil prices could push even more cash-strapped districts to consider the schedule, even though research suggests it can come at a cost to students.
