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Mass. lawmakers look to create 4-day work week pilot program
The 2-year program would let employers transition workers to a shorter work week without an overall reduction in pay.
A pair of Massachusetts lawmakers have filed legislation that would create a pilot program to study the concept of a four-day work week.
Rep. Dylan Fernandes of Falmouth and Rep. Josh Cutler of Duxbury filed the legislation this week. It would create a voluntary program that would let businesses transition employees to a shorter work week without an overall reduction in pay.
“Americans have not had a meaningful reduction in days off since the 40 hour work week was invented nearly a century ago. There’s been huge technological improvements, and we’ve become much more efficient workers, but we’re still working the same amount of hours,” Fernandes said.
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The employers participating in this pilot program would agree to regularly report their findings, so that the impact of a shorter work week on Massachusetts residents could be better studied. In return, the employers would qualify for a tax credit.
The tax credit incentive would be tied to participation in the program for a set amount of time. Fernandes said that the specifics of the credit would be flexible, and could change from employer to employer. The goal is to incentivize a wide variety of companies to join, so that experts can study how the shortened work week model impacts people in different parts of the state and in different industries.
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The program, dubbed the “Massachusetts Smart Work Week Pilot,” will accept applications from employers across the state. Priority will be given to certain employers so that the program has participants from all sorts of industries, locations, and sizes. The architects of the pilot program will also work to ensure participation from veteran-, women- and minority-owned businesses as well as those owned by people with disabilities.
Cutler said he anticipates that the program will appeal to a large portion of the public.
“I do think there’s a lot of interest out there just from the broader electorate,” he said. “We’re in this tight labor crunch and we need to get creative about how we approach work. This is one way to get creative and I think this is the kind of creativity that we really need to embrace.”
The nonprofit 4 Day Week Global has already conducted pilot programs around the world to study a shortened work week. A four-day workweek can lead to increased productivity, happier employees, and fewer carbon emissions, according to researchers at the organization and data shared with the public.
In announcing their legislation, Fernandes and Cutler said that the research they reviewed backs up these findings. Fernandes said he reached out to 4 Day Week Global to learn more about the concept.
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“The 4 Day Week is proving to be an invaluable investment wherever it is implemented. Organizations see rising productivity, people are happier and healthier, and the benefits only scale up from there. With this bill, Massachusetts is poised to lead the nation towards a better future,” Jon Steinman, founder and board member of 4 Day Week US, said in a statement.
The pilot program would run for two years, and be overseen by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. To participate, employers must agree to transition at least 15 workers to a shortened work week, Cutler said.
Fernandes said that this concept could help save lives.
“We are living in an incredibly overworked, overstressed society that is increasingly disconnected from friends, family and community. Because of that, we have an epidemic in this country of unhappiness. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are dying each year from suicide, drug overdoses, alcoholism, and similar factors,” he said.
Federal health officials have said that life expectancy in America dropped notably during the second year of the pandemic. This happened even as much of the rest of the world saw life expectancy rebound after 2020. Fernandes emphasized this fact.
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“We need to give people a break,” he said. “We need to allow people the time off to pursue happiness. That’s what this bill does.”
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