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Long weekends, forever: The 4-day workweek comes to Vermont

Symbol for a 4 day work week.
Fokusiert/Getty Images/iStockphoto
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iStockphoto
Results from a pilot program involving dozens of employers in the United Kingdom show a shorter workweek increases productivity and improves employee health.

Do you wish you had another day to decompress this weekend? Some workers have three-day weekends every week, as their companies offer four-day workweeks.

The pandemic, the Great Resignation and a tight labor market have led many companies to reconsider their staffing and office structures. And the concept of a four-day workweek is being adopted by businesses across the country, including in Vermont. Results from a pilot programinvolving dozens of employers in the United Kingdom last year show a shorter workweek increases productivity and improves employee health.

Our guests are:

  • Peter Varkonyi, co-owner and executive chef at Brownsville Butcher & Pantry in West Windsor, who is experimenting with a four-day workweek with some of his staff
  • Dr. Wen Fan, associate professor of Sociology at Boston College, who is part of a team studying global data from employees and companies involved in a trial of the four-day workweek

Broadcast live on Monday, March 20, 2023, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

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Mikaela Lefrak is the host and senior producer of Vermont Edition. Her stories have aired nationally on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Marketplace, The World and Here & Now. A seasoned local reporter, Mikaela has won two regional Edward R. Murrow awards and a Public Media Journalists Association award for her work.
Tedra joined Vermont Public as a producer for Vermont Edition in January 2022 and now serves as the Managing Editor and Senior Producer. Before moving to Vermont, she was a journalist in New York City for 20 years. She has a master’s degree in journalism from New York University.