Countries including Iceland and Spain are testing four-day work weeks without cutting workers’ pay. American college students overwhelmingly support four-day work weeks, and are even willing to work longer hours four days a week in order to get an extra day off on the weekend.
A new College Pulse survey of 1,500 undergraduates finds that 9 in 10 (90%) support more U.S. offices moving to four-day work weeks, while just 10% oppose the idea. Black students in particular strongly support a four-day work week, with more than 6 in 10 (62%) strongly in favor compared to 52% of white students.
Two-thirds (66%) of students say it’s not OK for companies to expect employees to put in more than 40 hours per week, and students are willing to work nine-hour days in exchange for a three-day weekend. Across lines of race, gender, and political leaning, a majority (81%) of students would rather work four nine-hour days a week than five eight-hour days a week. More than 8 in 10 Black (89%) and white (81%) students say they would prefer to work longer hours in exchange for a three-day weekend, and more than 7 in 10 Hispanic/Latinx (78%) and Asian (73%) students agree.
Percentage of students who would prefer a full-time job after graduation that requires four 9-hour days a week as opposed to five 8-hour days a week.
What’s more, nearly half of students think four-day work weeks are likely to become the norm. Almost half (45%) of students think it’s at least somewhat likely that four-day work weeks and three-day weekends will become the norm in the U.S. during their lifetime. Sophomores are slightly more likely than their older peers to say so, though. Half (50%) of sophomores believe it’s likely to become common, compared to 44% of seniors and 43% of juniors.
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Methodology: This survey was designed and conducted by College Pulse. Interviews were conducted in July among a sample of 1,500 full-time and part-time students attending colleges or universities in the U.S. who are part of College Pulse’s American College Student Panel.
