The progressive organization Justice Democrats has adopted a four-day working week, a policy that has received praise from prominent leftwing leaders like Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Justice Democrats, which has helped elect progressive lawmakers like Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, shifted to a four-day working week for its 20 employees starting last August on a six-month trial basis. In March, the group decided to extend the policy indefinitely after its employees reported the change allowed them to better manage the grueling nature of campaign work.
“A big reason why we ultimately decided to do a four-day week indefinitely is because of how much we trust everyone in the organization to prioritize what they need to prioritize,” said Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats. “That extra space has, at least for us, improved productivity and people’s attitudes as they show up to work.”
The shift comes as progressive leaders have embraced the idea of a shorter week, arguing that the 40-hour week established by the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 no longer reflects the reality of Americans’ working lives. In March, congressman Mark Takano of California reintroduced his bill to set the standard working week at 32 hours, and Sanders has now joined the cause.
“It’s time to reduce the work week to 32 hours with no loss in pay,” Sanders wrote in a Guardian op-ed earlier this month. “It’s time to reduce the stress level in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life. It’s time to make sure that working people benefit from rapidly increasing technology, not just large corporations that are already doing phenomenally well.”
Although few American companies have adopted a four-day working week, the idea is not novel. France has mandated a 35-hour work week since 2000, and some French politicians have called for lowering that threshold to 32 hours. Iceland has also seen success in its trials of a four-day, 35-hour working week. In comparison, Americans work an average of 43.1 hours per week, according to a 2022 Gallup survey.
Critics fear that the shift to a 32-hour week could increase employers’ labor costs and further decrease employee productivity at a time when American workers’ output has slumped. Data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows US productivity declined for three straight quarters last year, although labor output has still increased by nearly 500% overall since 1947.
But Justice Democrats employees said the switch to a 32-hour, Monday to Thursday schedule had made them more efficient and focused with their tasks.
“I’m highly productive during my work hours, and honestly I procrastinate less,” said Becca Rast, a managing director at Justice Democrats. “It allows me to have a tighter, more focused work schedule, which I really thrive under.”
Trial studies of companies with 32-hour working weeks have shown similar results. One pilot program launched in the United Kingdom last year found that employees who worked fewer hours per week reported higher levels of job satisfaction while 23 participating companies witnessed an average revenue increase of 1.4%. When the program concluded, 56 out of 61 organizations said they would keep the policy in place at least temporarily.
The reduced stress levels among those with shorter working weeks can also help reduce employee burnout and turnover, ultimately making companies more productive in the long run. The UK pilot program found that 39% of employees with reduced working hours reported feeling less stressed, and 71% said they had reduced levels of burnout by the end of the trial.
“It’s really good for our health – our mental health and our physical health,” Rast said. “When I’m overworked and overrun with thinking about work, I am not able to actually show up for my team and make the kinds of change that we’re talking about. And so it’s been really healthy for me to be able to get there, and I see that for our whole team as well.”
For Becca Rose, a senior strategist at Justice Democrats, the four-day week has given her the time and flexibility to address some chronic health conditions without feeling stretched thin by her other responsibilities at work and at home.
“I need these extra eight hours in a week to be able to feel like I can both do my job and also manage some personal things that came up,” Rose said. “Those trials come up in life, whether it’s chronic health [issues] or something completely different. Those things come up for everyone. So what seems like a luxury quickly becomes something that feels very essential.”
The switch has felt particularly necessary because of the grueling nature of campaign work, Justice Democrats staffers said. Particularly in the immediate run-up to an election, campaigns and their partner organizations are often expected to put in long hours with few days off to get their candidates across the finish line.
“Especially for progressive challengers, because we have to launch so far out to be able to put up a competitive campaign [and] to build the infrastructure, a whole year of just ‘go, go, go’ is not sustainable,” said Supreet Kaur, candidate coordination manager for Justice Democrats.
Justice Democrats first started its four-day week policy last year at the close of the primary season, which is generally the organization’s busiest time in the election cycle as they go toe to toe with more centrist Democratic candidates. Rojas acknowledged that it may be “challenging” to adjust the four-day working week to the demands of the primary season, but she still expressed a commitment to the policy, encouraging other progressive organizations to consider making the change as well.
“It’s better work. It’s healthier workers,” Rojas said. “And when we think about our movement, everybody shows up better.”
