‘So far it is working really well’

Bath, N.H., construction firm embraces four-day work week

By PATRICK O’GR ADY Valley News Correspondent

In the competition for a shrinking labor pool, some employers have added flexible work hours and work-from-home options in hopes of standing out among potential employees.

Remote work accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic when many employees were forced to stay out of the office. Although the pandemic is no longer an overriding concern, working from home has become routine for both full- and part-time employees.

Some companies are also experimenting with a four-day work week as they seek an advantage in hiring and retaining quality employees. The four-day week does not mean four, 10-hour days —rather, it reduces the work week to 32 hours with the same pay and benefits that they would provide for a 40-hour work week.

At Houseal Construction in Bath, N.H., husband-and-wife owners Kyle Houseal and Meredith Bienvenue instituted a four-day week in February on a trial basis with the British nonprofit consulting group 4-Day Week Global. The organization was established a few years ago as a platform to support and promote the four-day week. Bienvenue said 4-Day Week Global looks at ways to make meetings more efficient and other areas where time management can be improved.

“We have taken some of those ideas and tried to convert them to work for our company,”Bienvenue said.

Bienvenue said the four-day week has been a good fit for the company.

“So far it is working really well,” said Bienvenue, the company’s designer and chief operating officer. “Employees are actually more productive on the four days. They are just really happy to get the extra rest and extra time for other interests.”

Advocates of the four-day week point to the results from a six-month trial in the United Kingdom involving 2,900 workers from 61 companies. Among the findings were increased job satisfaction, reduced employee stress and improved work/ life balance, product quality and customer service, along with fewer absences and sick days.

Kristin Smith, a visiting associate professor of sociology and the Rockefeller Center policy research shop director at Dartmouth College, has done research on labor markets and employment including the four-day workweek.

While she agrees it can be beneficial to employees, particularly those who feel “over worked,”it is not a panacea for many workplace issues, such as pay inequality and workers without benefits. Smith also cautions against those who suggest the fourday week is a trend that will eventually take hold across all industries.

“I don’t think the pandemic had much of an influence on that, and I haven’t seen anything showing that this is a big trend,”Smith said. “I think the bottom line is a lot of employers are thinking about whether they can afford to raise (hourly) wages in this type of way. Some may feel they will have to hire more employees.”

The 32-hour week is standard in many European countries. Bills have been introduced in a few state legislatures, including Massachusetts’, that would provide incentives such as tax credits for companies with 32-hour weeks at the same pay and benefits. To date, no legislation has become law.

“I see it as something employers may decide to test out,”Smith said.

What appears to be happening is that even those in the same industry will have to tailor any workplace changes, whether it is a four-day week or remote work, to their specific circumstances and employee makeup, while ensuring customers are not adversely impacted and employee costs don’t rise.

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